World’s most famous flier is first to visit

On October 10, 1927, amid tremendous excitement, aviation hero Charles Lindbergh touched down in Jacksonville, Florida, in his Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh was on a U.S. tour promoting aviation and airport development and Jacksonville was honored as the only Florida city officially included on his itinerary. An estimated 150,000 people turned out to greet him—more than the city’s entire population at the time!

Jacksonville had every reason to be proud. Located on the Atlantic Coastal Highway seven miles from the heart of the city, Jacksonville’s municipal airport had been declared by visiting aviation authorities to be one of the best located and constructed flying fields in the South.

A modern airport takes shape

Occupying over 100 acres of level, unobstructed land, the airport’s most impressive features were its three intersecting hard-surfaced runways, an advanced feature for any airport of the era. Two had already been completed by the time of Lindbergh’s visit: a north-south runway and an east-west runway, each measuring 2,100 feet in length and 100 feet in width. A third diagonal runway, extending northeast to southwest and measuring 2,500 feet long, was nearing completion. The runways were carefully engineered with layers of rolled crushed shell, asphalt, and rolled cinders to provide durable all-weather landing surfaces.

Runways notwithstanding, the facility was still very much a work in progress when Lindbergh visited. A 75 ft. x 63 ft. hangar said to be capable of housing several aircraft was still under construction. Fuel storage tanks and refueling pumps had yet to be installed. Although a passenger waiting room was planned, it had not yet been built, and arrangements were also still being made with the U.S. Department of Commerce for the installation of runway and boundary lighting.

Local aviation operators were expected to construct their own hangars as activity increased. Plans were underway for facilities to be used by pioneering Jacksonville aviators Laurie Yonge and John C. Curtiss.

The airport itself was the culmination of several years of effort by aviation advocates led by City Commissioner Thomas C. Imeson, who successfully championed a bond issue to fund its construction.

Official dedication and early growth

A little over a year after Lindbergh’s visit, on December 9, 1928, the new airport was officially dedicated. By that time, the Florida Times-Union reported, in addition to the original 75 ft. x 63 ft. hangar, eight new all-metal hangars were being constructed. A small office and administration building had been completed. It included an office and waiting room, ladies’ restroom, and “one bedroom for night attendant or other uses, shower, bath, etc.”

The total cost of all work carried out to date was estimated at $60,000, not including the cost of the land. Plans were still being drawn up for the airport lighting system; however, it was not until March 1930 that night lighting was finally installed.