Grown! | Estrella Warbird Museum

Oh How We've Grown!

/growing at
Estrella Warbirds Museum

It is very gratifying to look back on our history and see how much we have grown, all with the support of our local community. Not bad for a local non profit museum that does not rely on funds through your tax dollars!

Growing, Growing, Growing, We Never Want To Stop Growing!

A very special thanks to George Marrett and Michael Levine for providing much of the aerial photography!

Pick A Moment In Time

View Image	Special thanks to George Marrett and Michael Levine for providing much of the aerial photography! October, 1995 The museum was original established as the Confederate Air Force (CAF) Estrella Squadron and temporarily housed in a end hangar at the Nunno facility back in early 1990. The initial permanet facility to house a growing museum, Hangar One under "re-construction." The hangar had a previous life, in another location, as an almond packing house.
View Image	October, 1997 Taxiway added to connect to Paso Airport runway. Foundation was poured for Thomson Hall, paved parking and Corippo way added.
View Image	October, 1999 Thomson Hall completed, Al Schade restoration hangar (r) added. Our collection of aircraft is starting to grow. Titan Missile landmark and F-104 were added in the front. As the original organization continued to grow, so did artifacts and memorabilia donations. They were no longer just a CAF Squadron but they were the Estrella Warbirds Museum. Becoming a full fledged locally based military aviation museum was the main intention of the original founders. As donations increased as did income from air show events. The CAF was a national organization and they wanted their share. At the end of 1999, the existing members of the CAF Estrella Squadron decided to reorganize and incorporate as a California 501(c)(3) Non-Profit corporation. This was completed and officially incorporated at the end of January of 2000.
View Image	April 2001 Restoration hangar completed, concrete pad added in front of Hangar One. Visit of a B-17 and it was obvious we needed to grow the taxiway. Parking space for events filled up fast.
View Image	May 2007 Freedom Hall was added, as was the F-14. Freedom Hall is the main center for artifact restoration. Taxiway had been widened and tarmac in for restoration hangar added.
View Image	July, 2007 After the arrival of the C-47 (top-center), it was apparent that more covered hangar space needed to be added. Two smaller hangars were added alongside the taxiway (center/right). A room to house an F-18 flight simulator was added to Freedom Hall and inbound traffic picked up.
View Image	April, 2008 Sidewalks around the aircraft display area were added. Taxiway was again widened to accommodate larger aircraft closer to the restoration hangar. It's beginning to look like a real museum!
View Image	May, 2009. First Warbirds, Wings & Wheels event brought 7-9,000 people and parking space was at a premium! The Brooks Building had just been completed, housing a myriad of frame up restored military vehicles and missile display. Construction of the Woodland Automobile Display had just commenced. Temporary parking needed to be added across Dry Creek Road and to the East of the Restoration Hangar to accommodate more visitors during main events.
View Image	March, 2010 Woodland Auto Display is completed (for a while). Approximately 5,000 square feet of automotive and racing history to complement the jet aircraft. The addition was short-lived. Less than a year following completion, we were out of room and in late 2010, the slab/footing was laid for the first addition to the Woodland Automobile Display.
View Image	April, 2011 Following the tremendous success of the historical automotive and racing displays, an addition 2,500 square feet was added to the Woodland Building to complement the original display. In addition, an outdoor patio was added to allow for temporary display of some autos, and areas for outdoor events. A main entrance was also added along with the addition. 2011 also saw the pouring of concrete for an expansion of the Brooks Building. Scheduled for completion in early 2012. The fleet of static displayed aircraft increased, as did the number of historic military vehicles on display.
View Image	March, 2012 The year started off with dust being dampened by the rains. Construction began on the Hind Pavilion, which will provide a "grand entrance" into the museum. The pavilion is located directly between Freedom Hall and the Brooks Building. The Pavilion will house a new entrance, larger gift shop, several offices, plus additional artifact display area. The Pavilion will open to both the Freedom Hall and the Brooks Building. The former gift shop and offices in Freedom Hall are being converted to a research library (currently housed upstairs in Thomson Hall.
View Image	May, 2014. Notice several roofline changes for some staged growth. The Hinds Building (center with red siding, arched roof) was finished and now houses the new gift shop and additional rest rooms. The Brooks Building, just to the left of the gift shop, shows an extension towards the aircraft static display area. This houses the expanded munitions display and the new communications display area. Also, the Woodland Auto Display widened their second building to give additional floor space for classic racing autos.
View Image	May, 2016. In this picture taken during the 9th annual Warbirds Wings & Wheels event, you will notice signs of considerable growth. The Woodland Auto Display has expanded again (multiple connected buildings to the left/rear. The Red Ball Motor Pool was added which stands among the aircraft displays, and another smaller hangar was constructed to the right side of the tarmak. In November of 2016, the city of Paso Robles signed off on a new lease agreement for Estrella Warbirds Museum to expand even more, into an additional 9 acres! Stay tuned! We're not done yet!
View Image	May, 2018. In this picture taken during the 9th annual Warbirds Wings & Wheels event, you will notice signs of considerable growth. The Woodland Auto Display has expanded again (multiple connected buildings to the left/rear. The Red Ball Motor Pool was added which stands among the aircraft displays, and another smaller hangar was constructed to the right side of the tarmak. In November of 2016, the city of Paso Robles signed off on a new lease agreement for Estrella Warbirds Museum to expand even more, into an additional 9 acres! Stay tuned! We're not done yet!
View Image	May, 2019. Crowds for the annual Warbirds Wings & Wheels event continue to bring in crowd, from not just locally but with cars exhibited from 4 or 5 western states. The Woodland Auto Display has expanded again as it continues to expand in facility space, exceptional exhibits plus considerable foot traffic for visitors. On the new acerage from the new area just west of the existing facilities. New area was given an initial grading and compacting prep. First utilized as part of the sellers area for the automotive related Swap Meet which is held during Warbirds Wings & Wheels. Initial planning and architectural designs are being drawn up so we can get a good idea for how munch funding this major project will take.
View Image	June, 2021. The Warbirds Wings & Wheels normally held in May was postponed until October due to pandemic. It had to be cancelled completely for 2020 for same reason. But that didn't keep the crews from doing interior upgrades, adding new exhibit displays and completely reorganizing the layout patterns for the static aircraft display area. There was also an added aircraft hangar for smaller aircraft. One item that should be mentioned is that the all volunteer restoration crew continues to turn our exceptional work, not just on aircraft but on frame up restorations of military vehicles. The curator was finally able to expand the much needed storage and preservation area needed for the ever growing artifacts collection. The Freedom Hall building was expanded on the area facing Thomson Hall.
View Image	May, 2022. We've almost built to the max on the initial 13 acres. Plans were just approved for another addition to the Woodland Building. 30th Anniversary plans call for expansion on the ten acres just west of the existing Estrella Warbird Museum facilities, to include at least three major hangars, a new dining/conference facility and added display area. This should keep us occupied for at least the next couple of years!