4 hours ago - News

Salt Lake City scraps historic planes after failed auctions

Kim Bojórquez

Inside a museum, a large silver vintage aircraft hangs from the ceiling. Blue structural beams, railings, and a mezzanine surround the suspended fuselage, with colorful walls in the background. — C-31 Samaritan formerly at The Leonardo. Photo: Courtesy of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is scrapping two vintage aircraft formerly housed at The Leonardo after multiple efforts to auction them failed.

State of play: The full-size planes — a C-131 Samaritan, designed in the U.S. as a "flying hospital," and a MiG-21, a Soviet Union fighter jet — were part of the museum's aviation exhibit for nearly a decade. The Samaritan has already been scrapped.

Both were produced during the Cold War.

Catch up quick: The struggling science and art museum closed more than a year ago, citing extensive renovations and repairs, but never reopened.

During the closure, the museum launched an auction to sell the planes, but it was canceled.
After The Leonardo's lease at the city-owned property was terminated last November, the city took possession of the items left behind.

Zoom in: The city also made several attempts to find buyers for the planes and held an open house for prospective bidders, but no one showed up, according to a statement from the city's public services department.

Because of their size and the lack of buyers, the city was forced to take them apart.

What's next: The city plans to use a portion of the former museum space for administrative offices.

Add Axios on Google

Salt Lake City scraps historic planes after failed auctions

More Salt Lake City stories