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Former names |
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| Established | 1997 |
| Location | Edenvale Airport |
| Coordinates | 44°26′34″N79°57′48″W / 44.4429°N 79.9634°W /44.4429; -79.9634 |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Website | https://www.avroarrow203.com/ |
TheCanadian Air and Space Conservancy (formerly theToronto Aerospace Museum and theCanadian Air and Space Museum) was anaviation museum that was located inToronto,Ontario, featuring artifacts, exhibits and stories illustrating a century of Canadian aviation heritage and achievements. The museum was located in a hangar that once housed the originalde Havilland Canada aircraft manufacturing building, but in September 2011 the museum and all of the other tenants in the building were evicted by the landlord, the Crown Corporation, PDP (Downsview Park). The site was slated for redevelopment as a new sports centre but after closing the museum the development was placed on hold. The museum is developing a new location and its collections are currently not available for public viewing.[1]
Located in what is now known asDownsview Park, the hangar was later appropriated by theRoyal Canadian Air Force as a part ofRCAF Station Downsview, and then later asCFB Toronto, which was closed in April 1996. On September 20, 2011, after the order to vacate the premises, the museum's collection was transferred to forty-four, 40-foot freight containers and stored in a parking lot on theGreater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) property in Toronto.[1][2][3][4][5] The collection was then unloaded into warehouse space provided by GTAA, until 2018.
When it was active the institution was largely run by volunteers and had the goal of educating visitors on the Canadian aerospace industry and technology.[6] It is a registered Canadian non-profit organization, operating as the "Canadian Air & Space Museum".[7]
In November 2018 it was announced that the museum would reopen atEdenvale Airport, 100 km northwest of Toronto, nearEdenvale, Ontario, in 2019 and be renamed the Canadian Air and Space Conservancy.[8]
The museum was housed in what was the original factory for thede Havilland Aircraft of Canada. It is the oldest surviving aircraft factory building in Canada.[7] This building saw the creation of the de HavillandBeaver andOtter bush planes which helped to open the Canadian North, and was also the place whereAlouette I, the first Canadian satellite was assembled.
Originally named theToronto Aerospace Museum, the museum was re-launched under its new name, theCanadian Air and Space Museum, on February 20, 2009.[9] To add space exploration to the museum's mandate the board contemplated a series of possible names. Since the national museum in Ottawa was called the "National Aviation Museum" and also had no space mandate, the name "Canadian Air and Space Museum" (CASM) was chosen. About one year after the successful rebranding and launch in Downsview the National Museum in Ottawa moved its space artifacts from the Science Museum to the National Aviation Museum and rebranded itself as theCanada Aviation and Space Museum which led to considerable confusion since Ottawa also adopted the acronymCASM.
At that time the Downsview museum had plans to further renovate the premises to better house their large exhibits and to provide more detailed information for visitors and school programs. Plans included specific galleries to house the full-sized Avro Arrow replica, another for the Avro Lancaster and additional galleries dedicated to the history of the de Havilland aircraft company, Canadian achievements in space, including a theatre andplanetarium.
The museum was given the notice of eviction from its hangar ostensibly for failure to pay overCan$100,000 in back rent, even though the museum was in the process of repaying the rent owed and had been assured they would not be evicted. The museum relocated the collection into storage by March 2012 before subsequently learning that all of the other tenants of 65 Carl Hall Road had also been served eviction notices and that Downsview Park intended to replace the entire facility with a hockey rink.
Media reports indicate that the museum held its last day open on 25 September 2011 and also launched a massive campaign to save the museum, including enlisting the aid of historians likeJack Granatstein as well as starting a petition. On September 21, 2011 Toronto CouncillorMaria Augimeri proposed a motion that "City Council call on the Federal Government to recognize the contributions of Canadian aerospace and aviation innovation; grant the Canadian Air and Space Museum (CASM) located on the site of the former military base in Downsview, a long-term reprieve and provide assurances of its preservation on the Downsview lands." The motion was passed unanimously.[2][3][5][10][11][12]
On 29 October 2011 it was reported that, although the museum building had previously been listed as afederal Heritage Building by bothParks Canada and the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, these listings had recently disappeared and Parks Canada claimed that they had been erroneous.[13][14]
The museum temporarily relocated its artifacts to a secure storage location atToronto Pearson International Airport.[15]
In November 2018 it was announced that the museum's collection would be relocated toEdenvale Airport, 100 km northwest of Toronto. It will reopen in 2019 and be renamed the Canadian Air and Space Conservancy.[8] By mid-December 2018 the museum's Avro Arrow replica had been relocated from outdoor storage where it had begun to deteriorate, to an Edenvale hangar.[16]
The museum is affiliated with theCanadian Museums Association,Canadian Heritage Information Network and theVirtual Museum of Canada.
The museum's collection includes: anAvro Lancaster that was undergoing restoration; a full-scale replica of theAvro Arrow, ade Havilland Tiger Moth,Grumman Tracker and many other Canadian-made aircraft. The museum also houses the original equipment that was used to build over a thousandCurtiss JN-4 biplanes in between 1917 and 1918, flight training simulators from the 1940s and 1950s, and exhibits relating to the history of Downsview air force base.
