Air Force Academy artist's home to hit market with 727 inside
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Rick Broome beside one of his airplane paintings. Photo: The family of Rick Broome
There's a house going up for sale in Colorado Springs — five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and half a Boeing 727.
Why it matters: The unusual property tells the story of Rick Broome, a local aviation artist whose paintings became a generations-long tradition at the U.S. Air Force Academy — and whose work documented the evolution of American air power for nearly half a century.
Catch up quick: The home includes a Boeing 727 cockpit and first-class cabin section integrated into a 7,000-square-foot addition that Broome built around 2005.
- The artist told 9News he bought the plane from a Hollywood backlot.
- From the studio, Broome painted aviation scenes for presidents, military leaders and thousands of Air Force Academy graduates.
- Beginning in 1979, graduating cadets commissioned him to create official class paintings that families and alumni could purchase as prints — an arrangement that, with some interruptions, lasted through 2022.
Flashback: Broome dabbled with art early in life, but he originally dreamed of becoming a commercial airline pilot. He was accepted into a pilot program in California, but before he could start training, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake motivated him to move to the more geologically stable Colorado Springs. He got a job as a Chevy salesman and sold his paintings "for flight time," according to his son, James Broome.
- Through the dealership, Broome met and befriended many Air Force cadets and began selling his art to them.
- Those relationships eventually led academy graduates to commission a painting for the class of 1979 — launching the tradition.
By the 1980s, Broome's paintings — known for their high level of detail —had become a recognizable part of academy culture, with scenes featuring the Front Range, the academy campus and the latest military aircraft soaring overhead.
What they're saying: "You get all those paintings put together, and you can see how the academy has changed and how air power has changed," James Broome tells Axios.
The artist's profile grew alongside his projects. In 1988, he was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.
- He was also nominated for a Living Legends of Aviation honor in 2017.
Between the lines: But the ambitious studio that symbolized Broome's success also became a major financial burden after costly 2005 expansions and a four-year stretch in which another artist handled the academy's graduation paintings.
- The setbacks were compounded by years of health challenges and family tragedies, eventually leading to the closure of the studio and sale of the home.
Now, James Broome tells us the family is attempting to liquidate the remaining artwork and studio assets to help cover his 80-year-old father's long-term care costs while trying to maintain "some dignity and integrity."
Even as the family prepares to part with the property, the artist's son says the plane and studio space could still find a second life as a unique short-term rental or event space.
- He initially explored selling the plane separately, he says, but the technical challenges of removing the aircraft from the building made finding a buyer difficult.
What's next: Though Broome's studio is closing, the tradition he helped build at the Air Force Academy continues.
- The classes of 2025 and 2026 selected Wyoming artist Justin Hayward for their paintings.
- Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak at Thursday's academy graduation ceremony, where the latest class painting will be presented.