Hegenberger Road to the
Airport
"The
Pacific has been Lindberghed" shouted the headlines on June 29, 1927.
Just a month before, Charles Lindbergh had completed the first flight
across the Atlantic Ocean. Now, Albert Hegenberger and Lester Maitland
had flown the Pacific from the new Oakland Municipal Airport to the
Hawaiian Islands.
The 7,000 foot runway at the airport had been complete
just in time for the takeoff. The 2,400-mile flight had taken 25 hours
and 49 minutes. It was the first flight from the continental U.S. across
the Pacific Ocean, and it opened the way for commercial aviation service
to Hawaii, the Pacific and the Far East. Hegenberger Rd. is named to
commemorate this pioneering flight.
Deborah Cooper
Oakland Museum of California
"Walk Along the Water"
© Oakland Museum of California, used with permission.
Explore this
Topic:
Oakland Airport
Online Historical Videos - Select Chapter 1
(Requires Apple Quicktime, available
here.)
back to history map