Winter is on the wane, but it’s still chilly outdoors and the sky is often gray. What better time than to visit a museum?
Because I volunteer there, I, of course, suggest the Northwest Airlines History Center.
Northwest Airlines originated in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1926 as Northwest Airways, delivering the mail in open cockpit biplanes. In the decades that followed, it soared to prominence as a major domestic and international airline until it was absorbed in a merger with Delta Airlines in 2010.
Anything you ever wanted to know about Minnesota’s “hometown airline,” as Northwest has been dubbed, is on display at the History Center.
This includes a scale model of every airliner Northwest ever flew, including the diminutive propeller-driven Douglas DC-3 (21 passengers) on up to the magnificent Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet (369 passengers).
As a former long-time Northwest Airlines stewardess, I worked trips on many of these aircraft. The different uniforms I wore through the years also are on display, along with those of our pilots and ground crew members.
Quite a bit of Northwest advertising material can be seen at the History Center, and some of it can be touched. Remember the TV commercial of Buster Keaton hitting a Chinese gong to the tune of “Northwest Orient BONG! Airlines?” Well, the gong is there. Each visitor is allowed to hit the gong once—but not too vigorously, because we are in a hotel!
Yes, I said a hotel! The History Center is the only museum I know of that is situated inside a hotel. Or, should I say the Crown Plaza Aire in Bloomington is the only hotel hereabouts having a museum on its premises?
I’ve only barely scratched the surface of what awaits you at the History Center. So much more is there to be enjoyed. This includes a gift shop which offers merchandise from other commercial airlines, including many—like Northwest—that are no longer in existence.
And, I’m also here to tell you how much I enjoy volunteering at the History Center. My 3-hour Saturday shift allows me to meet and greet not only nostalgia seekers who remember Northwest’s famous “red tails,” but also aviation enthusiasts of all kinds.
I encourage you to spend another March day looking into volunteering, yourself.
Northwest Airlines History Center
Crown Plaza Aire Hotel, 3rd floor
SE corner, American Blvd & 34th Ave. S.
Bloomington, MN
Telephone: 952-876-8677
Open: Thursday and Friday, 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm
(We welcome groups, but please telephone in advance so we can properly accommodate you.)
Carol Hall lives in Woodbury. She’s a longtime freelance writer, a University of Minnesota graduate and a former Northwest Airlines stewardess.