When Glendale Ruled the Skies - Part 3 of 3

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Glendale, California.

Narrated by Fritz Coleman

The Grand Central Airport was an important facility to the city and to the history of aviation. The site provided the first paved runway West of the Rockies in 1923.

In 1928, the terminal opened, making the Glendale runway the first official airport in Greater Los Angeles. For the next two decades it was the main airport in Los Angeles County.

Jack Northrop built his first aircraft factory here in 1927. And, the first regularly-scheduled airline service between southern California and New York City was initiated on July 28, 1929 by Transcontinental Air Transport, with owner Charles A. Lindbergh piloting the first flight. Pioneering female aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly solo across the country when she landed at Glendale in 1930. Howard Hughes built his innovative and record-setting "H-1 Racer" in a plant next to the airport in 1935. And, during World War II, the site became a P-38 base where the 319th Fighter Wing trained.

After the war the airport returned to private use, but its runways were too short for jet aircraft. So, the airport closed in 1959. The Grand Central Air Terminal building, with its control tower, was designed by Henry L. Gogert, and it is currently owned by The Walt Disney Company.