The Pacific Aviation Museum-Pearl Harbor plans on spending as much as $6 million to repaint and restore the iconic barber pole-striped control tower complex on Ford Island, with a longer-term goal of setting up offices, a research center and visitor observation area in the lower reaches of the facility, officials said.

There's also the thought — not much more than a fantasy right now — that the public could one day access the crow's nest atop the water tank tower.

"One can sit back and dream that that would become our Eiffel Tower or our Empire State Building in terms of public access. But it's a dream," said museum Executive Director Kenneth DeHoff.

A Navy appraisal is done and the museum hopes a lease agreement can be inked by the end of the year, DeHoff said. The nonprofit museum hopes to raise money in a hurry and get to work on the tower complex next year.

"It's in dire straits right now," DeHoff said. "The building and the way the rain seeps in is just continuing to deteriorate the foundation and the walls, so we've got to get into that thing quick."

The last time the 158-foot-tall riveted-steel tower got a paint job was for the 1970 film "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

There's a lot of lore and legend concerning the structure; the Navy said construction of the tower began in early 1941. The air traffic control room in the crow's nest was built after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack. By 1942 the complex was complete.

At the time of the Japanese attack, the water tank tower was standing and the platform on top had been started. It was a dark color, but by 1943 had been painted the familiar red and white.

On Dec. 7, 1941, at 8:05 a.m., the two-story operations building in the complex and the four-story "aerological tower" were the site of the first radio broadcast of the attack, according to the Navy. Exploding bombs shattered lower-level windows.

Restoring the control tower has been on the aviation museum's radar since it opened in the shadow of the landmark on Dec. 7, 2006. The museum restored Hangar 37 and also will occupy two others, 79 and 54.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific said the Navy still is negotiating with the Pacific Aviation Museum over the lease of the Ford Island control tower property.

An appraisal was completed in August, but the Navy said the document is "pre-decisional" and can't be released.

The museum in late 2007 had hoped to be working on the control tower by now. However, officials said the Navy determined a new appraisal was needed. DeHoff said the aviation museum paid about $38,000 toward the appraisal and updated environmental studies.

The first step in the restoration would be to remove casement windows that are rusted open, board up the openings and restore the windows, DeHoff said. Both the crow's nest atop the water tower and lower structures need to be re-roofed.

The museum is looking at several ways to deal with the tower's lead paint: encapsulate it and paint over it, or sandblast it or use a gel to remove the paint. The rusting platforms around the tower also would be renovated.

DeHoff estimates the work will cost between $4.5 million and $5 million.

Inside the lower-level buildings, asbestos floor tiles and ceilings would have to be removed, but the follow-on use plan still has to be negotiated with the Navy.

"There's this whole abatement process that has to go on inside of it before we can renovate, and that's probably, I would say, three to four years out," DeHoff said.

That phase of the work may cost between $500,000 and $1 million, DeHoff said.

The museum is requesting a grant through the public-private Save America's Treasures program, and has made the control tower restoration a priority as it prepares to embark on a national $100 million fundraising campaign to renovate and fill the two other big hangars, DeHoff said.

So far, $18 million of that total has been raised, and $16 million has been spent, he said.

Instead of paying rent to the Navy, the aviation museum has been making "in-kind" renovations to the hangars, officials said.