Future of heritage site secured.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Sault Ste. Marie - Bushplane Museum - Brief Article

The future of the Sault's Bushplane Museum and the longevity of a waterfront landmark were secured over the, summer thanks to a well-known Sault businessman who stepped forward to acquire the property.

The regional tourist attraction's next door neighbour, Jack Purvis, president of Purvis Marine Ltd. and operator of one of the largest tug, barge and salvage companies on the Great Lakes, purchased the parcel of land housing the former provincial government aerodrome and a vacated insect forestry research lab.

"There's a lot of people in town who don't appreciate, the history of the place," says Purvis, who is making the rest of the facility available to museum officials should they have any future expansion plans. "They have an option on the rest of it when they can afford it."

The hangars and machine shop complex, which houses the Bushplane Museum, is situated on the eastern edge of the downtown on prime waterfront property at Bay and Pim Streets.

The facility has historical significance as the first, headquarters of the Ontario Provincial Air Service in the 1920s, whose role was fighting forest fires, conducting aerial surveys of timber and wildlife, collecting insects for researchers and housing government transportation.

The old hangar, built in 1924-25, was deemed historically significant for its then innovative use of engineering technology that used large steel beam trusses to support a low-pitched gable roof. The truss roof span was reportedly the largest span of beam used up to that time. Additional hangar space was added in 1947, and the entire facility was in use until 1991, when the Ministry of Natural Resources pulled out.

One of the conditions of the sale by the Ontario Realty Corp. was to continue museum operations, says Purvis. Purvis leased the building back to the Bushplane Museum under a 30-year lease.

"We wanted to do what we could to preserve Bush Plane (Museum) and all of the historical aspects of its operation,"...