Oakland Airport (North Field): Hangar Improvements – Oakland CA

City:
Oakland, CA

Site Type:
Infrastructure and Utilities, Airports

New Deal Agencies:
State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Started:
1935

Completed:
1942

Quality of Information:
Very Good

Marked:
No

Site Survival:
Unknown

Description

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 northern tip of the field.

In 1935, State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) workers painted four of the five hangars then existing at the Oakland Municipal Airport   They also installed a gasoline storage tank for United Air Lines.  SERA was funded through the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in the early years of the New Deal.

Minutes of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners detail the work:  “…. painting exterior of Hangars 1, 2, 4, and 5, and other miscellaneous buildings at the Oakland Municipal Airport at a cost of $2734.00 for material to be paid for by the Board, and labor in the amount of $28,232.00 to be furnished by the State Emergency Relief Administration; installation of gasoline storage tank at a cost of $467.00 for material to be paid for by the United Air Lines and $3600.00 for labor to be furnished by the State Emergency Relief Administration…” (Minutes of January 28, 1935, p 472).  The board approved the work by Resolution #3227 (p. 477).

In 1934-35, SERA workers built a two-story lean-to against Hangar 3 for the use of the Naval Reserve (Minutes, November 13, 1934, p. 387).

In 1935-36, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) – which took over relief work from SERA/FERA in mid-1935 – built lean-tos on Hangars 4 and 5 for use by the Boeing School of Aeronautics (Minutes of November 25, 1935, p. 266).

A final hangar (today’s #9) was built by the WPA for the Naval Reserve Air Base at the north end of the Municipal Airport (see separate entry).

 

 

 

Source notes

Minutes of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Oakland for 1935 https://www.portofoakland.com/pdf/about/meetings/archive/1935_minutes.pdf

"Development program for municipal airport told," Oakland Tribune, March 10, 1940, p.1.

"24 airports planned for N. California," Oakland Tribune, April 13, 1941, p. 9.

"Oakland airport gets extra funds," Oakland Tribune, August 31, 1941, p. 34.

 

 

 

Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on December 20, 2014.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.

Location Info


Earhart Road
Oakland, CA 94621
Alameda County

Coordinates: 37.73017, -122.210

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