The original museum was called the Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific. The plan included 500 new homes for Navy personnel, a new child development center, a new Navy lodge, and the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor. § 2814) to authorize the Navy to sell land to fund the rebirth. Senator Inouye proposed a $500,000,000 'rebirth' of Ford Island through special legislation ( 10 U.S.C. Prior to the completion of the Admiral Clarey Bridge in 1998, access to Ford Island was provided via ferry boat only to those residing on Ford Island and their guests. A few of the exhibits were salvaged by the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor foundation as well as responsibility for the education and scholarship programs. Due to airport expansion plans, the Pacific Aerospace Museum operation was suspended in the fall of 2001 and finally removed two years later. The idea for the Pacific Aviation Museum began on the anniversary of the victory over Japan in 1995. The first phase of the museum opened in 1991 and was founded by Frank Der Yuen. In 1983, the Pacific Aerospace Museum was formed inside Honolulu International Airport after pressure from the Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce to create an aviation museum in Hawaii succeeded. The tower is being restored by the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor. The museum has received awards for their efforts to restore historical buildings.Ĭontrol tower on Ford Island seen in the movies Tora! Tora! Tora! and Pearl Harbor. Visitors to the museum gain access via tour bus from the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites on Halawa landing. The focus devoted efforts to restoring the Ford Island control tower and signed a lease with the Navy to begin repairs. The museum has been involved in community events ranging from preservation of historical landmarks to educational tours throughout Hawai'i. The museum's hangars show damage from the attacks on Pearl Harbor from December 7, 1941.

The first section of the museum, hangar 37, opened with the museum on December 7, 2006, and features much of the museum's static exhibits.

Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a variety of aviation exhibits with a majority relating directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II. Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (formerly the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor) is a non-profit founded in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii.

Pearl harbor museum