Oakland Builds an Airport 

In 1926, the City bought land at the Oakland end of Bay Farm Island intending to create an airport. The prospect of hosting the first trans-Pacific flight spurred round-the-clock efforts to get the runway ready by June 1927, when Hegenberger and Maitland took off for Hawaii. This first airport is now called North Field and is home to air cargo, air mail, maintenance shops, and corporate flying services. There is also the Western Air History Museum at North Field, where you can learn about the history of aviation at one of pioneer aviation's most eventful sites.

Most airline passengers are more familiar with the jetport which opened in 1962 and now serves nearly 10 million passengers a year.

Deborah Cooper
Oakland Museum of California

  "Walk Along the Water"
  © Oakland Museum of California, used with permission.

Update: By 2007, the airport was serving nearly 15 million passengers per year.  Bill Threlfall, Waterfront Action, 2009

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Oakland Airport Online Historical Videos - Select Chapter 1
 (Requires Apple Quicktime, available here.)

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