New Deal agencies did a variety of work on the five hangars at the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport) and later built a new hangar for the Naval Reserve Air Base at the… read more
The Works Projects Administration (WPA) built the first hanger, runway and road for the Navy Reserve Air Base at the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). Then, in 1940 the WPA authorized $237,000 for… read more
New Deal agencies were called upon several times to expand the runways at the growing Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). In the early 1930s, this involved bringing in quarried stone for fill to… read more
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed a fire-fighting water supply system and laid drainage tile under the Oakland Municipal Airport (now the North Field of the Oakland International Airport). The drainage system covered 3.6 million square feet and… read more
During the late 1930s the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped to develop what was then Ogdensburg’s new municipal airport.
This WPA project replaced a much smaller airport to the west of the present airport. It was a $350,000 project and was met with much fanfare, completed just after the start of WW II.
In 1936, the City of Oroville acquired 188 acres of grazing land north of the city to build a municipal airport. During 1941, the Works Project Administration (WPA) aided the city in extending the runways and increasing the airport’s footprint… read more
“Between 1935 and 1940, Massachusetts and the federal government, primarily using Works Project Administration funds, constructed 63 buildings (all but Buildings 102 and the old Williams Hospital have since been demolished) and two, 500-foot (150 m) wide turf runways at… read more
The Oxford Municipal Airport was constructed in the 1930s, most likely in 1937 which is the first time it appeared in the Airport Directory, which also indicated construction was under way on an additional runway. It is unclear from available… read more
“The development of the Pensacola International Airport began during the Great Depression. Conner Hagler, owner of the San Carlos Hotel, and Harry Blanchard, a barnstorming pilot originally from Virginia, bought 504 acres of thick woodland on Skinner’s Mill Road (12th… read more
“Peter O. Knight Airport…is an airport on Davis Islands, five minutes (3 NM or 5.6 km or 3.5 mi[1]) from downtown Tampa, Florida. Built as a Works Progress Administration project, it was Tampa’s main airport from 1935 to 1945, and is still used… read more
“The WPA’s good works in Philadelphia included … construction of the Municipal (later Philadelphia International) Airport …”
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at the Picatinny Arsenal and a sub-installation, the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot, in New Jersey. Work involved the construction… read more
“The Works Progress Administration constructed the Greenville Airport in 1940 on land that was jointly owned by the city of Greenville and Pitt County. A Civil Pilot training Program operated from the airport until it was leased by the United… read more
The Works Progress Administration built a hangar for the Pocatello Airport in Pocatello.
Between 1935 and 1941, the WPA contributed $127,000 towards work at Port Allen Airport, mostly runway expansion and improvement (“clearing, grading, and paving,” Port Allen Airport History). At its peak, in 1947, the airport served 37,000 passengers and provided a… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the original Portland Airport (now Portland International, PDX) in the late 1930s. “The present PDX site was purchased by the Portland City Council in 1936. At the time it was 700 acres (280 ha) bordered… read more
Multiple New Deal agencies were involved with the development of what is now called the Portland International Jetport. Under FERA and MERA (Maine Emergency Relief Administration), a 2000 x 100 gravel runway and a 1500 x 100 gravel runway were… read more
“Like many community airports, Portland International Jetport had its beginnings as the private field of a flying fan. Today, the Jetport is one of the nation’s fastest-growing airports, serving most of the major domestic airlines and over 1.6 million passengers… read more
In 1936, the WPA conducted wind studies at the prospective airport. Between 1938 and 1941, the WPA contributed $380,000 to the airport’s construction and improvements. The airport is no longer operational, but remnants of it are now part of Maui… read more
Sometimes misattributed to the WPA, early development of this, the first university-owned airport in the country, was undertaken by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). FERA also built a hangar for the airport.
The since-abandoned Putnam County Airport in Cookeville, Tennessee was built with Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor. Tennessee Encyclopedia: “Some of Tennessee’s largest WPA projects reflected the arrival of the age of flight. WPA workers helped complete landing fields and airports… read more
“$150,000 of WPA money went to Raleigh Municipal Airport for paving runways.” (ncsu.edu) The airport, which was located south of Raleigh, no longer exists.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed runways at Raleigh Municipal Airport south of Raleigh, North Carolina. The field closed in 1973 and the property has since been thoroughly redeveloped.
The New Deal had an impact on the development of Reading Regional Airport. Reading Eagle: The Work Projects Administration (WPA) “built terminal buildings and created runways for Reading Regional Airport in 1941.” The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a grant… read more
The first Washington DC airport was built during the New Deal. Long known as National Airport, it was renamed for former President Ronald Reagan in 1998. Most locals still refer to it by its former name. Construction began in 1938,… read more
Youth employed by the National Youth Administration carried out work for a road fronting the Losey Airfield (today’s Fort Allen Airport). “One of the important defense projects in puerto Rico is the construction of a military road fronting Losey Field. NYA boys… read more
Opened on it’s current location in 1929, the Roanoke Regional Airport began operating with two dirt runways and a single small hangar. In 1937, with the condition of the airport deteriorating, the City of Roanoke bought the property. Using funds… read more
The Robert LaFleur Airport is a small general aviation airport in Waterville. It was originally opened in 1931. A 2011 history of the airport explains the federal involvement in its development. In a 1933 town report, Mayor Thayer explains that:… read more
News-Press NOW: “Rosecrans Field got a large hangar, thanks to the WPA; it survived until the 1993 flood led to its demolition.”
The airport originally opened in 1930 as the Sutterville Aerodrome. Today's main terminal building was built in 1955, but several of the airport's other corrugated iron buildings are left over from work the WPA did on the site.
WPA crews contributed to expanding Salt Lake City Municipal Airport, now Salt Lake City International. From the Salt Lake City International Airport history site: “At a cost of $52,000, Salt Lake City built an airport administration building that housed a passenger… read more
The airport first opened in 1927 as Mills Field Municipal Airport. It became San Francisco Municipal Airport in 1931, and SF International Airport in 1955. Both the WPA and the PWA were heavily involved in airport construction and expansion: “[The… read more
“Sanford Town Engineer, Earnest Gallant, oversaw initial construction of the runways in 1930 on land owned by Lela H. Goodall Thomurg…” William Campbell, President of the Goodall Worsted Company, founded Sanford Airways in 1931. After several improvement were made during… read more
“An airfield coincided with the establishment of the Camp McQuaide military base on what had been known as Hihn’s eastern field. Camp McQuaide was a summertime coast artillery training camp located on twenty-seven acres east of Depot Hill from 1922… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a new runway for the Santa Monica airport in 1940-41. It was one of many WPA airport projects built in the run-up to the Second World War. Santa Monica was, at the time, a… read more
Although the exact dates and type of work are not known, the WPA worked on the Santa Rosa Municipal Airport sometime between 1935 and 1939, as noted in Lawson final report on the Works Progress Administration. A source on the… read more
“The airport’s beginnings date back to early 1939 when government and business leaders from Sarasota and Manatee counties agreed to construct an airport together, designed to serve the aviation needs of the two-county area. A 620-acre site was selected on… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) began and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) completed improvement work at the Sheridan Airport. The work included the building of runways. The airport is in service today.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked to construct / develop an airport in Saratoga, Wyoming, likely the airport now known as Shively Field.