On day 37 in 365 Things To Do in Glendale, Ca, take a trip to the Glendale Airport.
“Airport?!”, you say, with some incredulity. There is no airport in Glendale!
Technically- no airplanes fly into Glendale, Ca today. However, in the 1920′s, the Grand Central Air Terminal, located at 1310 Air Way was the first official airport in the Los Angeles area.
The Grand Central Air Terminal was designed by Henry L. Gogerty. Gogerty was a prolific architect who was active until he died in 1990 at the age of 96. It combines Spanish Colonial Revival style with Zig-zag (Art Deco) Moderne influences
The Air Terminal enjoyed a heydayas a major commercial air terminal throughout the 20′s and into the 30′s and was privately held from the mid 30′s to 1944. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at the end of 1944 changed everything and amny war time pilots were trained at this facility. After the war, the pilot training company that owned the terminal fell on hard times.
From the mid-1950s, the Grand Central Airport’s runway and facilities had not been maintained and the unpaved parallel strip was riddled with gopher holes. There was an attempt to save a portion of the airport to accommodate the local general aviation community when the Glendale City Council was petitioned to make it a municipal airport. However, the petition was not passed and the airport was officially closed on July 15, 1959.
The terminal is located at 1310 Air Way, between Sonora and Grandview Ave. It’s exterior is accessible and it’s well worth a visit. It is now the last intact original building associated with the Golden Age of aviation in the San Fernando Valley….except for one old wooden hangar at Van Nuys airport.
About Kendyl
A Shirley Temple movie was filmed here. The one where she sang on the Good Ship Lollipop