The Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility is named in honor of Paul Edward Garber (1899-1992), who was instrumental in collecting more than half of the Smithsonian-owned aircraft.

Known as “Silver Hill” when it opened in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC of the same name, the Garber Facility came to house the ever-expanding collection of aircraft, spacecraft, and other artifacts. One building was dedicated to a large shop where collections specialists worked to preserve treasured artifacts. 

Today, the no-frills assemblage of about 32 metal buildings still belongs to the National Air and Space Museum and other Smithsonian organizations, but the majority of the collection is being moved to a more modern, well-equipped location. The main preservation and restoration workshop has moved to the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.  While some airplanes, spacecraft, engines, and various parts are still stored at the Garber Facility, most have been, or soon will be, relocated to the Udvar-Hazy Center.

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  • Restoration Workshop at the Garber Facility
  • Airplanes In Storage at the Garber Facility
  • Three restoration volunteers are seated and smiling while working on aircraft parts. A volunteer in the foreground holds sandpaper over the center of a large wood propellor.