The Wright Co. Factory in Dayton, Ohio, will be open for free monthly tours through the end of 2015, the National Aviation Heritage Alliance announced Sept. 12.
Tours of the two buildings—the first U.S. factory built for the purpose of manufacturing airplanes—will take place at 10 a.m. on Sept. 17, Oct. 15, and Nov. 19. On Dec. 17, the tour will take place at 2 p.m.
The Wrights formed the company in 1909. The company's first factory building was built in 1910, and a second building was added in 1911. The buildings eventually became part of an auto parts manufacturing plant, which closed in 2008. A redevelopment company currently owns the property.
“In 2009, Congress authorized the National Park Service to restore the factory as a unit of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Aviation Park, but it hasn’t provided funding to acquire or restore it,” the National Aviation Heritage Alliance said in a news release. The alliance said its vision is “for the Wright factory to be restored as a national park unit and for other parts of the site to be redeveloped as an aerospace education, research and manufacturing hub.” The National Aviation Heritage Alliance said it is “conducting public tours to raise awareness of the factory and build community support for its restoration.”
