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28-470: The museum was initially conceived by Stan Reynolds , who had amassed a large collection of agricultural machinery, airplanes, and automobiles during the mid-20th century. During the 1980s, Reynolds donated 850 artifacts to the government of Alberta for the purposes of showcasing these items in a public museum . The provincial government opened the Reynolds-Alberta Museum to exhibit these items to

56-455: A number of artifacts from the museum's collection on display, in addition to several interactive displays on mechanization and how it changed life in Alberta from the 1890s to the present. Historically themed interactive exhibits include a 1911 automobile assembly line, a 1920s grain elevator, a 1930s service station, and a 1950s drive-in theatre . Other facilities in the main museum building include

84-432: A part of the museum's artifact tour program. The museum's agricultural and industrial collection includes 350 agricultural machines and 455 industrial artifacts; including a Bucyrus-Erie 200-B power shovel , and a Bucyrus Class 24 dragline from 1929. The Bucyrus Class 24 the world's oldest existing dragline excavator . The museum's transportation collection also includes 537 cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Automobiles in

112-428: A theatre, offices, a café, event venues, and a gift shop. The main museum building also houses a conservation and restoration workshop to restore its vehicles; and a library/resource centre, whose collection pertains to transportation and agricultural machinery. The museum's library contains over 1,800 publications and 18,000 trade literature items. The 1,830-square-metre-aviation (19,700 sq ft) display hangar

140-604: Is a hangar connected to Wetaskiwin Regional Airport , and is used to exhibit airplanes from the museum's collection. Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame , which moved to the display hangar in 1992 when the museum opened, moved to The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary in 2022. The 10,219-square-metre-collections (110,000 sq ft) storage facility houses artifacts from the museum's collection which are not on exhibit in its main building nor at its aviation display hangar. As opposed to

168-432: Is situated near the eastern portion of Alberta Highway 13 before it branches north. Three major buildings are situated on the property; the main museum building, the aviation display hangar, and the collections storage facility. RPK Architects served as the architect for the museum buildings. The main museum building is 9,450 square metres (101,700 sq ft) and houses the museum's exhibition gallery. The gallery has

196-648: The Order of Canada in 1999. Reynolds was born in Wetaskiwin in 1923. His father, Ted Reynolds, was a pilot and collector. Ted also operated a local garage where his son would work after school hours. In 1942, Stan Reynolds joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in Great Britain as a part of a night-fighter squadron. He became one of the youngest pilots to fly Beaufighters and Mosquitos. In 1945 Reynolds

224-406: The Alberta government in 1974 about donating his collection to them so that his collection could be preserved. In 1981, Reynolds donated 851 machines to the Alberta government. This donation provided the foundation of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum, which opened on September 12, 1992 and is one of Alberta's provincial historic sites. The donation that Reynolds gave to the province of Alberta for all

252-562: The Wetaskiwin Auto Mile. As the business grew, Reynolds expanded to sell new and used trucks, farm machinery, industrial equipment, house trailers, and airplanes. Recognizing the growing importance of aviation and needing a place to land his plane, Reynolds built and operated the Wetaskiwin airport until he transferred the facility to the City and County of Wetaskiwin in 1969. Reynolds sold

280-400: The airfield to the town for $ 29,875, less than half the market value. To avoid a plebiscite on the issue, Reynolds agreed to receive the money in five equal installments of $ 5,975.00 without interest. In return, he was given use in perpetuity of the airstrip and a taxi strip between the airfield and his property. On July 13, 1970, the agreement was signed to transfer 52 acres of land, including

308-512: The artifacts in the museum was the single largest donation in Canadian history. The museum was built on a 156-acre site on the west side of the Wetaskiwin airport. The government also erected an 18,300 square feet (1,700 m ) hangar, which became the home of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. The Reynolds-Alberta Museum quickly became a major tourist attraction. In their first year they had 114,000 visitors. Reynolds continued to make donations over

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336-489: The collection to the provincial government in 1974; which eventually resulted in him donating 850 artifacts to the government of Alberta between 1981 and 1986. The donation represented the largest of its kind in Canadian history. On 12 September 1992, the government of Alberta opened the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in order to exhibit the donated items, with the institution being operated by Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women . The Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame

364-452: The federal government also committed funds towards the expansion project. However, in March 2020, Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women announced that construction would not proceed as planned, with the expansion plans placed on hold. The museum is located on an 89-hectare (220-acre) property in Wetaskiwin , Alberta . The property is adjacent to Wetaskiwin Regional Airport , and

392-505: The full-scale Avro Arrow model used in The Arrow miniseries. The museum's resource centre contains the largest publicly accessible library of trade literature in North America, containing more than 70,000 items including service manuals, parts catalogues, technical leaflets, periodicals, and books. Stan Reynolds Stanley George Reynolds (May 18, 1923 – February 9, 2012)

420-612: The largest donation of vintage aircraft in Canadian history. In the early 2000s, several vehicles from the Reynolds-Alberta Museum were displayed at the Powerama Motoring Expo in Edmonton. In August 2017, the provincial government announced it would provide over CA$ 39.5 million to the museum over the next three years; with approximately CA$ 34 million being used to expand the museum by 97,000 square feet (9,000 m), as well as creating an aviation storage facility. In August 2019,

448-494: The museum before his death in 2012. In addition to items donated by Reynolds, artifacts in the collection were either purchased by the museum or were gifted to the institution by members of the public, and the Reynolds Heritage Preservation Foundation. As of April 2019, the museum's collection contained approximately 6,600 agricultural, industrial, and transportation artifacts. In addition to machinery,

476-413: The museum's collection also includes a number of documents relating to mechanization in industry and transportation. More than 100 major artifacts are on display in the main museum building's exhibition gallery. However, the museum's collections storage facility holds the majority of the museum's artifacts; with over 5,000 items stored there. Several artifacts are also exhibited in travelling exhibitions as

504-518: The museum's collection include a Hupp-Yeats , a 1929 Duesenberg Phaeton Royale Model J , a 1933 Ford Fordor , and one of the two surviving 1934 Citroën P17 half-track used during the Bedaux expedition . The world's oldest known Chevrolet , a 1913 Chevrolet Series C Classic Six , is also held in the museum's collection. Newer vehicles in the museum's collection include the BugE , an electric vehicle donated to

532-520: The museum. In 2018, the museum acquired one of the two McLaughlin-Buick automobiles used by the royal family during the 1939 royal tour of Canada ; in addition to other related memorabilia from the tour. The museum's collection also includes 135 aircraft; providing the institution with the second largest collection of airplanes in Canada, after the Canada Aviation and Space Museum . The museum also has

560-405: The other museum buildings, access to the storage facility remains limited to the public. However, the museum does provide private tours of the facility. The museum's collection originated from the private collections of Stan Reynolds, who donated a number of items to the government of Alberta in 1981, and later the museum after it was opened in 1992. Reynolds donated approximately 1,500 artifacts to

588-416: The private collections of Stan Reynolds ; who acquired a large number of agricultural machines, airplanes, and automobiles through trade-ins he would accept at a car dealership he operated. By 1955, Reynolds had acquired enough vehicles to open a "private museum" to exhibit his collection. Desires to have his collection permanently displayed in a public museum led Reynolds to discuss the possibility of donating

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616-512: The public on 12 September 1992. The institution was named after Reynolds, who eventually donated over 1,500 artifacts to the institution before his death. The museum collection presently contains over 6,600 agricultural, industrial, and transportation artifacts. The majority of the artifacts are held in the museum's storage facility; although a number of artifacts are either on exhibit in the museum's main building and aviation display hangar, or on tour. The museum's initial collection originated from

644-443: The runway, to the city and county. As Reynolds' business grew so did his enthusiasm for collecting. One of the slogans of his business was 'Stan takes anything in trade' and Reynolds certainly did. His first acquisition was a 1911 Overland touring car that he acquired in a trade and decided not to sell. Reynolds started noticing that many of the machines that helped build the province were gradually disappearing. Feeling that Alberta

672-480: The years to the facility. In 1999, he made his second large contribution by donating 60 aircraft. It was the largest donation of vintage aircraft by any individual in Canadian history. This donation gave the Reynolds-Alberta Museum the second largest collection of aircraft in Canada behind the National Aviation Museum. As of February 2000, Reynolds had donated a total of $ 11.5 million worth of artifacts to

700-748: Was a Canadian businessman, collector, and aviation enthusiast. His contributions to the province of Alberta created the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin. During his life, Reynolds received many honours including a Heritage Canada Foundation Community Service Award in 1980 for heritage preservation, a Reilly Award from the Alberta Aviation Council in 1987, named Citizen of the Year by the Wetaskiwin Chamber of Commerce in 1986, inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2009 and named to

728-475: Was also relocated from the Edmonton Convention Centre to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum after the building was completed The hall of fame was housed at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum until 2022, when it was relocated to The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary. Stan Reynolds continued to donate artifacts to the museums collection after the institution opened, with Reynolds donating another 60 aircraft in 1999;

756-407: Was discharged from the air force and returned to Wetaskiwin. He started a business selling used cars and it became one of the most successful automotive dealerships in Alberta. Reynolds would repair and paint the cars himself and studied for his welder's and auto mechanic's licenses. From 1946 to 1958 he was Alberta's top auto dealer operating 13 lots. His efforts would eventually help in establishing

784-645: Was losing a vital part of its heritage, Reynolds extended his collection to include tractors, steam engines and airplanes. Reynolds also kept detailed files on every piece he collected. In 1955 the size of his collection grew to the point where he could open a private museum to the public. He had collected 2,000 cars, 1,100 tractors, 500 trucks, 200 steam engines, 300 threshing machines, 800 stationary engines and 125 aircraft as well as military artifacts, Native American artifacts and toys. Knowing that his collection represented an important part of Alberta's social and technological history, Reynolds initiated discussions with

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