Monrovia Airport, also called the Foothill Flying Field, was an American

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 surface ...

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

active from 1928 to 1952.

History

The airport was founded by the Monrovia Airport Club and Don Robertson on of leased land. The spot was flat, level, and no work was needed to open the airport. The airport had a single north–south runway. The club built a hangar and owned two planes. In November 1930 the Foothill Flying Field became a commercial-municipal airport and three more hangars were built. The airport had a repair shop and by 1932 had flown 12,000 passengers. Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes, an early movie stunt pilot, pioneer

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, member of the Barnes Happy Bottom Riding Club and founder of the movie stunt pilots' union, used the Monrovia Airport. Kalman Irwin, an airshow pilot and

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

captain, was a frequent guest at the airport. Aviation pioneers the Riley Brothers, Eleanor and Elmer Riley, also used the airport. 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) * Hollywood, ...

only away, Monrovia Airport became a popular spot to shoot movies. The 1935 movie ''

The Fighting Pilot ''The Fighting Pilot'' (aka ''Fighting Pilot'') is a 1935 American action film directed by Noel M. Smith and starring Richard Talmadge, Gertrude Messinger and Robert Frazer. When an inventor develops a new type of aircraft, a crooked businessman ...

'', directed by

Noel M. Smith Noel Mason Smith (May 22, 1895 – September 20, 1955) was an American film director and writer. He directed more than 120 films between 1917 and 1952. He was born in Rockland, California, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected fil ...

and starring

Richard Talmadge Richard Talmadge (born Sylvester Alphonse Metz; 3 December 1892 – 25 January 1981) also known as Sylvester Metzetti, Ricardo Metzetti, or Sylvester Ricardo Metzetti, was a German-born actor, stuntman and film director. Early life Born in ...

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

and

Robert Frazer Robert Frazer (born Robert William Browne, June 29, 1891August 17, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in some 224 shorts and films from the 1910s until his death. He began in films with the Eclair company which released through Universal ...

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

20,000 Men a Year ''20,000 Men a Year'' (aka ''Air Story'' and ''Aviation Story'') is a 1939 American action film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Lou Breslow and Owen Francis. The film stars Randolph Scott, Preston Foster, Margaret Lindsay, Mary Heal ...

'' was shot at the airport, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

Margaret Lindsay Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...

, Mary Healy, Robert Shaw and

George Ernest George Ernest (born George Ruud Hjorth; November 20, 1921 – June 25, 2009) was an American actor and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) combat photographer/cameraman during World War II. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1930 a ...

. In 1940 '' The Great Plane Robbery'' was shot at the airport, directed by

Lewis D. Collins Lewis D. Collins (January 12, 1899 – August 24, 1954) was an American film director and occasional screenwriter. In his career spanning over 30 years, he churned out dozens of Westerns. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Collins' film caree ...

and starring Jack Holt, Stanley Fields and

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor Ma ...

.Erickson, Hal
"The Great Plane Robbery - Cast, Reviews, Summary, and Awards."
''AllRovi''. Retrieved: September 20, 2014. A review in the book ''VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever'' gave ''The Great Plane Robbery'' one and a half stars. In 1944 '' The Big Noise'' starring

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

was shot at Monrovia Airport. The airport liked to call itself "America's Friendliest Airport" and used the slogan "See the Valley from the Air, Monrovia Airport Inc." In 1934 Don Robertson sold the airport operations to Wymann Ellis and Dan Moran. The first airmail flight at Monrovia Airport was on May 19, 1938, by Moran. About 1941 Al Blackburn became the operator of the airport. Blackburn would do stunt flying in his

Waco Aircraft Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

biplane, NC-11490, at the airport. During World War II the Monrovia

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

operated out of the airport, and three more hangars were built. The Squadron Commander of the Monrovia Civil Air Patrol was Kenny McComb, who went on to become an instructor for the C.A.A. After the war, the airport incorporated, and Monrovia Aircraft Repair, Reliance Flight Academy, and Riley Flying Service operated out of the airport. Monrovia Airport closed in 1952, and on February 26, 1952, the land was sold by Al Blackburn and Ruth Blackburn to

Consolidated Engineering Corporation Consolidated Engineering Corporation was a chemical instrument manufacturer from 1937 to 1960 when it became a subsidiary of Bell and Howell Corp. History CEC was founded in 1937 by Herbert Hoover Jr., eldest son of former United States president ...

for redevelopment. The site now is car dealerships and Pink's Transfer, just north of the

Foothill Freeway The Foothill Freeway is a freeway in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, California, running from the Sylmar district of Los Angeles east to Redlands. The western segment is signed as Interstate 210 (I-210) from its western end at I-5 to S ...

(I-210), between Shamrock and Mountain Avenue, south of

Huntington Drive Huntington Drive is a major thoroughfare that begins in the Rose Hills community in Los Angeles, California and heads east/northeast to Irwindale, California. The street was named after railroad magnate Henry Huntington. It also served as one ...

(Route 66), at an altitude of . The hangars, repair shop and office were on Shamrock at Route 66.

First McDonald's

The Airdrome restaurant was built by the brothers

Richard and Maurice McDonald Richard McDonald (February 1909 – July 14, 1998) and Maurice McDonald (1902 – December 11, 1971), together known as the McDonald Brothers, were American entrepreneurs who founded the fast food company McDonald's. They opened the original Mc ...

next to Monrovia Airport on Route 66. It was a small wooden octagonal building that was moved to 1398 North E Street in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

in 1940. The small restaurant was later renamed "

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

", the first one. In 1953 the McDonald's restaurant was purchased by

Ray Kroc Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman. He purchased the fast food company McDonald's in 1961 and was its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with the global expansion of McDonald's, turnin ...

and franchised. Those from the airport helped the Airdrome restaurant do very well selling hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh orange juice. Soon the McDonald brothers opened two more restaurants and brought their parents from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

to California.

External links

Photo Karl Irwin in a Mohawk PintoPhoto Monrovia Airport Club in 1937Photo Al Blackburn doing stunt flying in his Waco Aircraft biplane, NC-11490, at the AirportPhoto ''The Big Noise'' with Laurel and Hardy at the Monrovia AirportBill Harold and Al Blackburn on July 29, 1938 with Monocoupe 90-A

References

{{Greater Los Angeles Area

Monrovia Airport Roberts International Airport , informally also known as ''Robertsfield'', is an international airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located near the town of Harbel in Margibi County, the single runway airport is about outside of t ...

Defunct airports in California

History

First McDonald's

See also

External links

References