Century Aviation

Stearman Exhibit

Client:

Von Maur
Glenview, Illinois

Von Maur, a family owned department store chain, has a reputation of giving each of their stores a little something special. Glenview, Illinois had been the home of an important WWII Naval Air Station. So for their new store in Glenview they decided to hang a Stearman in the atrium above the escalators. This entailed lifting the aircraft up to the second floor, into the building though a double door and re-assembling the aircraft there. It was then rolled out onto scaffolding that had been erected over the escalators. The Stearman was put into the approximate position for hanging and the scaffolding was built around it to let the riggers get to the ceiling attach points two floors above. The plane was then lifted to its correct height and adjusted to the preferences of the Von Maur family and their representatives.