June 16, 1941
In the Washington, D.C., area, Washington National Airport (now formally known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) first went into service. “Washington Airport Opened to Air Lines Without Ceremonies,” stated a headline in that day’s edition of the Baltimore Sun.
This federally owned and operated airport was preceded by two privately owned airports. Those airports, Hoover Field and Washington Airport, had both been built in the part of northern Virginia that is near the present-day site of the Pentagon. The financial setbacks of the Great Depression were the impetus for these airports to merge their operations in 1933, but the site for Washington-Hoover Airport turned out to be very problematic for reasons such as obtrusive high-tension electrical wires and tall radio towers on the property.
Consequently, in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the site for a new airport in the area. This site was located at Gravelly Point, approximately four miles (6.4 kilometers) from the U.S. Capitol.
Construction on this airport began in November 1938. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for Washington National Airport’s terminal on September 28, 1940. A little less than nine months later, this airport made its official public debut a minute past midnight.
“Washington shifted airports last midnight on the tick of a clock on in the control towers,” reported that day’s edition of the Washington, D.C.-based Evening Star. “Before 12 o’clock, passenger airplanes droned in to accustomed runways on the [eight-year-old] Washington-Hoover Airport. Immediately after the hour, the red and green lights of three transports became visible to 2,000 spectators lining the aluminum rails of the new Washington National Airport at Gravelly Point.”
The Evening Star further noted, “The airliners came in according to schedule, guided by directions from a new control tower on a radio frequency surrendered only a few minutes previously by the old airport.” (The accompanying photo of Washington National Airport was taken by Jack Delano in July 1941.)
Since 1987, this airport has been operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). The other airport operated by MWAA is Dulles International Airport, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the nation’s capital. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport serves a total of 91 non-stop destinations. In addition, it is a hub for American Airlines.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (originally named Washington National Airport), please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport
Transportation History 
It’s predecessor was a mess. My grandfather was chairman of the Aviation Committee of the Washington Chamber of Commerce, and helped to promote the Gravelly Point location, although it has its problems too. https://chet-aero.com/the-story/washington-and-its-airports/washington-hoover-airport/
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Thank you for the information and insights, Don. Much appreciated!
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