- City:
- Santa Monica, CA
- Site Type:
- Airports, Infrastructure and Utilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1940
- Completed:
- 1941
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Partially Extant
Description
The Work Projects Administration (WPA) built a new runway for the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in 1940-41. It was one of many WPA airport projects completed in the run-up to the Second World War. Santa Monica was, at the time, a key locale for aircraft development and production.
“Designed especially for the heavier and faster craft of today, the new WPA-built runway, from which the famed B-19 took off on her maiden flight, was […] a certified national defense project sponsored by the city of Santa Monica. Begun December 30, 1940, the runway project more recently was classified as an ‘expedite’ defense job” (see pictured WPA project card).
Source notes
Project card in National Archives (see photos)
Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on June 23, 2010.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.
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