Alhambra Airport also called the Western Air College Airport was an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11 ...

from 1928 to 1946. The Airport was founded by the

Western Air Express Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...

on 157-acre of land. The airport had a single 2,830-foot

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

northeast–southwest runway. The Western Air Express built a unique hangar, that was a 44-foot hexagonal shape able to work on 6 aircraft at once. Western Air Express also build an air terminal building and a conventional hangar. Western Air Express at the opening operated

Fokker F-32 The Fokker F-32 was a passenger aircraft built by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America in 1929 in their Teterboro, New Jersey factory. It was the first four-engined aircraft designed and built in the United States. Ten examples were built ...

from the airport. Western Air Express held a large dedication ceremony on April 17, 1930 for the new air terminal. The

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

operated a patrol aircraft out of the airport to keep an eye out on the nearby

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies betw ...

. Just one year after the dedication ceremony, both Western Air Express and

Transcontinental Transcontinental may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Transcontinental", a song by the band Pedro the Lion from the album ''Achilles Heel'' * TC Transcontinental, a publishing, media and marketing company based in Canada, a subsidiary o ...

, which also had flights out of the airport, moved to the

Burbank Airport Hollywood Burbank Airport, legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope , is a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. e ...

and Glendale Grand Central Airport. With no scheduled flights, the Alhambra Airport became a private airport. A Western Air College flight school opened at the airport and some other small commercial operations. With

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

only 15 miles away the Alhambra Airport became a popular spot to shoot movies. The 1936 movie ''

13 Hours by Air ''13 Hours by Air'' (also known as ''20 Hours by Air'') is a 1936 drama film made by Paramount Pictures and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Kenyon Nicholson and Bogart Ro ...

'' directed by

Mitchell Leisen James Mitchell Leisen (October 6, 1898 – October 28, 1972) was an American director, art director, and costume designer. Film career He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments. He directed his f ...

and starring

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

was shot at the airport. In 1939 the film ''

Danger Flight ''Danger Flight'' (aka ''Scouts of the Air'') is a 1939 American film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring John Trent as Tailspin Tommy Tompkins, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone and Jason Robards Sr. The film featured young aviation enthus ...

'' was shot at the airport, directed by

Howard Bretherton Howard Bretherton (13 February 1890, in Tacoma, Washington – 12 April 1969, in San Diego, California) was an American film director, film editor, and the father of film editor David Bretherton. Career He began his career as a propman and then ...

, starring John Trent as

Tailspin Tommy ''Tailspin Tommy'' was an air adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, " Tailspin" Tommy Tomkins (sometimes spelled Tompkins). Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then ...

Tompkins, Marjorie Reynolds,

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series '' Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the for ...

and Jason Robards Sr. The film featured young aviation enthusiasts in a model club. The four-seat cabin

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

Harlow PJC-2 The Harlow PJC-2 was a 1930s American four-seat cabin monoplane, designed by Max Harlow. Development Max Harlow was an aeronautical engineer and instructor at the Pasadena Junior College. Under his tutelage, the aircraft designated PJC-1 was d ...

Max B. Harlow Max B. Harlow (1903 –1967) was an American aircraft engineer, educator, and producer. Early life Harlow was born in South Dakota in 1903. Harlow attended Stanford University, becoming an early aircraft engineering graduate. His first pos ...

was built at the Alhambra Airport in 1937. To support the build-up of the

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

effort, the Alhambra Airport was used as a depot for

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...

military airplanes, many

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive ...

fighters aircraft came, were packed and departed the depot on the

Lend Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

Program. In 1941 the ''

Flying Wild ''Flying Wild'' (aka ''The East Side Kids in Flying Wild'' and ''Air Devils'') is a 1941 film directed by William Beaudine under the pseudonym "William West" as the fifth installment of the East Side Kids series which eventually totaled 22 fi ...

'' and ''

They Met in Bombay ''They Met in Bombay '' is a 1941 American adventure drama film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell, with Peter Lorre.''Variety'' film review; June 25, 1941, page 16.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; July 5 ...

'' were shot at the airport. In 1942 the movie ''

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

'' was shot at the airport. In 1943 the airport was sold to the city.

Harlow Aircraft Company Harlow Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer at Alhambra Airport, Alhambra, California. History The company was founded in 1936 by professor Max B. Harlow to build the Harlow PJC-2 a production version of the PJC-1. The aircra ...

purchased the airport in 1945. Harlow Aircraft Company had been building small aircraft at the airport since 1936 in small qualities. In 1946 Harlow Aircraft Company sold the airport to real estate developers, the north part of the site is now commercial property and the remaining is houses. The Airport was located at what is now

Valley Boulevard Valley Boulevard is a street in Southern California, running east from Los Angeles to Pomona, where it becomes Holt Boulevard, and a continuation from Fontana to Colton. It generally parallels Interstate 10 (I-10) and State Route 6 ...

to the north, New Ave to the east, Almansor Street to the west and the

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

to the south. Western Air Express later became part of

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...

. Western Air College Airport also operated out of the Rosemead Airport for some years. Western Air Express operated out of the Vail Airport in Montebello before moving its operation to the Alhambra Airport.SoCal-History Alhambra Airport
/ref>

References

{{Greater Los Angeles Area

Alhambra Airport Alhambra Airport also called the Western Air College Airport was an airport in Alhambra, California from 1928 to 1946. The Airport was founded by the Western Air Express on 157-acre of land. The airport had a single 2,830-foot asphalt northeast ...

Defunct airports in California Airports established in 1928 Airports disestablished in 1946

See also

References