Army’s facilities essential for expansion

Taking over Pan Am’s NW 36th Street Airport and the adjacent former Convair plant weren’t the only properties included in the County’s airport expansion plan. Still to be acquired were the Army’s 1500-acre holdings south of the 36th Street airfields. These consisted of the former Army Air Field and the Army’s huge former engine overhaul base and supply depot, MIAD. Also pending was the acquisition and removal of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad’s 94-plus acres of shops, railyards, and tracks as well as the acquisition of a privately owned 260-acre parcel near 20th Street called the Davis tract.

Ownership was crucial to the County’s ability to develop and expand MIA since it couldn’t borrow or raise money for capital improvements until it had clear title to all the tracts. There was an understanding that title to the Army’s former holdings would be turned over to the Port Authority as soon as they were officially declared surplus. Until that happened, however, the Port Authority was required to lease the Army’s former airfield and facilities on a month-to-month basis, while the former MIAD continued to be used by the Army for sales of surplus war assets.

It was only in February 1948 that formal title to the Army Air Field was transferred to the County. A month later, title to the overhaul base and supply depot, MIAD, was acquired. The cost to Dade taxpayers made the wait worthwhile. On the condition that the Army’s former holdings be used exclusively to expand the airport rather than for unrelated commercial purposes, title was transferred for $1.00. In May, the County also purchased the Davis tract of 260 acres near 20th Street for $1 million. This purchase rounded out the field. The multiple acquisitions more than doubled the size of Miami International Airport and promised to make Greater Miami the hub of one of the finest airports in the country. It was a source of pride that the Port Authority had managed to parlay $3 million in self-liquidating bonds into a property worth $40,000,000.

Credit for transfer of title of the MIAD facilities was ascribed to the tireless efforts of then Florida U.S. Congressional Representative (and later Senator) George Smathers. “The key to the project was getting the surplus MIAD classed for aviation, rather than general industrial use.  Last September, Jim Young [sic], Pan Am attorney, and J. Mark Wilcox, Port Authority attorney, came to Washington and with Smathers worked for that classification,” reported the Miami News, in March of 1948.

Pan Am’s interest and involvement in the MIAD transfer soon became apparent when shortly after the title was transferred it leased most of the newly acquired depot — some seven-plus acres of warehouse space — for conversion into the largest commercial airline maintenance and overhaul base in the world. With future airport prospects looking more secure, Eastern Airlines, too, broke ground on a new $1 million hangar.

Seaboard Air Line Railroad negotiations turn contentious

By the end of 1948, only one hurdle remained for the County to fully control its now vastly expanded airport: acquisition and removal of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad tracks and facilities, which had been built in 1926 on what were then still empty prairie lands.

Prior to World War II, SAL had given permission to Pan Am and the Army to cross the 550 ft. wide, mile long, strip containing Seaboard’s tracks, which bisected their two airfields. The lease expired in early January 1948 and since then, the Port Authority and the airlines had been using the right-of-way only with SAL’s acquiescence.

The need to acquire SAL’s holdings and relocate the tracks and other facilities had always been recognized. Tentative discussions between the County and SAL had been explored since 1945 but following the acquisition of the Army’s tracts, negotiations moved into high gear. Agreement appeared to have been reached in April 1948 when SAL consented to relocate its operations but only if the County acquired the land needed for the move and assumed all costs involved, which SAL estimated at between $3-$4 million. That amount exceeded funds then available in the County’s coffers. Efforts to obtain assistance through federal financing were unsuccessful. In October, the Port Authority notified SAL that it was having difficulty raising the money and that the project would have to be put aside until further notice. An offer of $1.5 million from the CAA for airport improvements had to be turned down because the County couldn’t match the amount required for eligibility. Meanwhile, SAL claimed that continued operation in its present “inadequate and restricted yards” was causing the railroad a substantial loss. It threatened to dig up tracks crossing the runway for more shop space, which would make current airport operations impossible.

Negotiations went further downhill when, on January 14, 1949, the County Commission, as well as the airlines and federal government, were served with a notice by SAL giving the County until July 15th to vacate a portion of SAL’s property. The notice terminated the Port Authority’s right to direct air traffic across the tracks which cut the north-south runway in half. The reason given for the notice was that although negotiations had been underway for months, assurance of financing for the relocation of the tracks was still uncertain.

The County promptly countersued, asking for an injunction to prevent SAL from tearing up its tracks and initiating condemnation proceedings to acquire the right of way across the property. SAL won the first round when the injunction was thrown out by a federal court judge in Tampa in March.

A month later, the County was able to come up with an acceptable compromise. The Port Authority offered SAL $2.625 million to acquire its airport railyards plus 15 months rent free while relocation was in progress. The financing was to come from private investors. The formal agreement removing the tracks and handing over 94.15 acres of land to the County was signed on June 14, 1949. On April 10, 1950, the County gave a SAL a check for $2,240,000, representing the balance of payment due, concluding years of negotiations. It was still over another year — July 9, 1951 — before the final SAL train left the airport.

36th Street terminal enlarged

Over the second half of 1949, the 36th Street Airport terminal was given a $200,000 facelift, which almost doubled its size, to 26,000 square feet. The expansion program was financed by a CAA grant of $140,000 and advance rental payments by concessionaires. Designed by Steward Skinner & Associates, the additions included a Dobbs House restaurant, enlarged passenger waiting rooms, an observation platform, improved baggage handling facilities and more area for customs and immigration. The terminal interior was also redecorated.

The terminal expansion and renovations also resulted in the reclassification of MIA as a Class 6 airport, one of only three in the country, the others being in Los Angeles and New York. A formal dedication ceremony to celebrate these accomplishments was held on January 4, 1950.

Most profitable municipal airport in nation

Despite complaints about congestion and crowds, Miami International Airport at NW 36th Street continued to serve the Greater Miami area well for the better part of the 1950s. Its profitability was the envy of many other cities. It wasn’t until early 1959 that the torch was passed from historic NW 36th Street to the new Miami International Airport terminal at 20th Street.