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Local Historic Landmarks |
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Hangar No. 1 at Albert Whitted Municipal Airport
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In 1926, St. Petersburg officials decided to construct an airport on landfill by Bayboro Harbor, south of the downtown area. On October 12, 1928, a resolution was passed by the Board of Commissioners establishing the Albert Whitted Municipal Airport. The airport officially opened in 1929 with a narrow shell runway. It is the first and only municipally owned facility and the only airport to be built in the downtown area. Within a few months of the airport’s opening, the City authorized $33,062 for the construction of a blimp hangar. The following year, the Goodyear Blimp moved into this hangar and called it home for the next fifteen years. In January 1931, the airport acquired Hangar No. 1. Ted Baker founded National Airlines in October 1934 when he was awarded the 142-mile mail route between St. Petersburg and Daytona Beach. The route included stops in Tampa, Lakeland, and Orlando. Baker made the inaugural run on October 15 in a four passenger Ryan monoplane from Albert Whitted Municipal Airport. He used Hangar No. 1 as a base for the company. During that year, National Airlines carried 400 passengers. The following year, National hired six additional employees and expanded its fleet to include two 10-passenger Stinsons. Over the next couple of years, routes from St. Petersburg were extended to Jacksonville and Miami. The Miami route was so popular during the 1936-37 winter season that the following July the Post Office Department increased the service from twice weekly to a daily service which made stops in Sarasota and Ft. Myers. In 1938, the company gained an additional route from Jacksonville to New Orleans. At this time, Baker requested that the City of St. Petersburg expand the existing facilities to include a “shop room” in order to comply with the Department of Commerce regulations. After some negotiation, the City agreed to construct a $6,800 lean-to at the south end of Hangar No. 1 to encompass a dust proof repair shop, testing room, and office space. Despite the enlarged facilities, in 1939, National Airlines relocated its general offices and center of operations to Jacksonville. |
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