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Built in 1942 at the height of the Second World War, Hangar 11, located in NW Edmonton, has long been left vacant, its fate to be decided today by City Council. Listed by the National Trust in 2017 as one of the "Top Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Canada," Hangar 11 could very well be on the chopping block, its sprawling, slowly decaying, 80,000 square-foot husk standing upon the future Blatchford Redevelopment site.
Originally part of the United States Lend-Lease program, the hangar was once used to build and deliver aircraft to the USSR during WWII, the planes to be flown from Edmonton to Alaska, and then on to Russia across the Bering Strait. No longer home to shiny new Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers, the derelict facility has suffered greatly in the absence of regular maintenance and care, with considerable water damage having leaked into the structure over the last few years.
According to the Edmonton Historical Board, a full restoration would come in at anywhere between $14-$20 million, depending on the exact amount of damage the hangar has accumulated, and the intended future re-use of the structure, whether it be preserved as an aviation museum, community centre, or library.
Sitting as it does, however, directly in the path of the future Blatchford Redevelopment plans, Hangar 11's fate may come down to whether or not the case can be convincingly made as to what its role might be amid the planned neighbourhood overhaul that is scheduled for the area adjacent to NAIT. For though the hangar is the last of its kind in Western Canada, its massive size and unfortunate positioning means that those seeking to retain this portion of Edmonton's history will have to succeed getting across a tangible plan for its future.
Should the City opt to restore this piece of Edmonton's aviation history? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
