SAS Hotel / Base Headquarters 1953

Kangerlussuaq Museum is located in the old American headquarters (B-1714) in the base area of the settlement.

The building was originally constructed in 1953 as a Scandinavian Airlines hotel. It was soon taken over by the Americans and converted into Base Headquarters. The primary role of the air base during the Cold War was to supply the large radar station that the US had constructed on the Ice cap as part of their missile defence system.

At this time Kangerlussuaq was known as Sondrestrom Air Base. When the Americans left Kangerlussuaq in the early 1990s, the building and its interiors were kept the way they had been left, and now form part of the museum. This gives the museum a very special feel and is worth a visit on its own.