Bernard's Airport, also known as Bernard Airport, was a non-commercial airfield in
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...
, United States, from 1928 to 1969.
In its early years, it was one of two private airports located in Beaverton,
[ the other being Watts Field, about one-half mile to the south of Bernard's Airport.][Jones, Webster A. (May 8, 1932). "Nine bustling airports now operate in and near Portland". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', Section 4, p. 1 (including map).] The Bernard Airport site was redeveloped in 1969 as "Bernard's Beaverton Mall", now known as Cedar Hills Crossing.
History
Both of Beaverton's airports were opened in the latter half of the 1920s. The first was Watts Field, or Watts Airport, located on the west side of Erickson Avenue, along what is now 6th Street, to the southwest of the center of town. Different sources give its opening year as either circa 1925–26[
Its site was originally developed as a ]motion picture studio
A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; howe ...
in 1922, Premium Picture Productions opening its Beaverton Studios on the site in that year.[ The airport was named for Dr. G.E. Watts, the financier behind the film venture in Beaverton, who was also an ]aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
enthusiast.[ Premium Pictures went out of business in late 1925,][ after ]filmmaking
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
on the West Coast became concentrated in 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 ...
, and in 1928 the buildings were sold to Davis-Langman Aircraft Corporation,[ but G.E. Watts remained an investor.][ The ][ film studio site was converted into an airstrip. In 1929, the facilities were sold to the Breese Aircraft Corporation (of San Francisco), for use in aircraft manufacturing.][Planes Will Be Built; Beaverton Site Bought By Breese Company". (February 5, 1929). ''The Morning Oregonian'', p. 13.] The first airplane manufactured in Beaverton was launched in April 1930, and the Watts airstrip was used for many test flights.[
Later in 1928,][ Beaverton's second airport began to take shape, as Charles Bernard erected the first hangar along what is now Cedar Hills Blvd.][ (then Cedar Street), to the northwest of the center of Beaverton. Named Bernard's Airport, it was located about one-half mile north of Watts Airport,][ immediately north of Beaverton Creek (with its south end just south of present-day Hall Blvd.).
'']Air & Space/Smithsonian
''Air & Space/Smithsonian'' was a quarterly magazine published by the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city an ...
'' has stated that the real history of grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
aviation in Oregon began in "the hayfields of Beaverton" (i.e. Watts Field and Bernard's Airport), where aircraft innovation design achieved a wide circle of inventors and pilots.Portland metropolitan area
The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...
, while Bernard's Airport occupied and had only three planes based there at that time.[
]
Expansion
Activity at Watts Airport began to outgrow the site, so some of its users convinced 'Charlie' Bernard (as he was commonly known) to expand his nearby airport.[ Several additional wood frame hangars were constructed, designed by George Edward Moshofsky, a Beaverton builder whose home was across the street from the airstrip. The unusual design, which accommodated the aircraft wings, was later depicted in a mural at the Salem Airport. The home-built airplane industry in Beaverton thrived.
Bernard's Airport and Watts Airport were still in operation concurrently in 1935,][Jones, Webster A. (March 3, 1935). "Swan Island ir-Port Carries Big Load; Aviation Facing Crisis Due to Landing Field Dearth". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', Section 1, p. 13.] but Watts Airport closed not long afterwards, leading to still more expansion at the Bernard airfield.
''The Oregonian'' of September 11, 1938, stated that Bernard Airport was "perhaps the busiest non-commercial airport in the United States".[ By 1955, Bernard's Airport had 44 wooden hangars, along with numerous open sheds (or "plane-ports") capable of housing more than 100 additional light aircraft.]["Richards, Leverett G. (November 20, 1955). "Beaverton's Busiest Pasture". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', "Northwest" magazine section, pp. 14–15.] By that time, it was "Oregon's oldest – and one of its busiest – private airports".[ It was also once known as the "oldest continuously-operated airport in Oregon".][Richards, Leverett G. (November 14, 1963). "Beaverton Airport Owner Ponders Sale Of Site For Portland Housing Development". ''The Oregonian'', p. 20.]
Problems
The Cedar Hills residential area was built between 1946 and 1955, to the north of the airport. Some residents disliked having airplanes flying so near their homes and in 1955 a group of 34 property owners filed a lawsuit claiming that the planes were trespassing in the airspace above their properties, in an attempt to force the airport to close.["Airport Hit In New Suit" (July 24, 1955). ''The Oregonian'', p. 38.] A circuit court judge ruled against them.runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
, despite objections by Charlie Bernard and others to the county commission.
Closure
In January 1969, Bernard announced that he had leased his , including the 40 acres of airport property, to a group of developers and that the airport would close in February.["Oregon's Oldest Airport Closes". (January 17, 1969). ''The Oregonian'', p. 21.] The airport was to be replaced by a shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
. Closure of the runways was set for February 1. At this time, the airport had 40 hangars remaining, and around 100 planes were residing there.["Airport closing set Saturday". (January 30, 1969). '' The Valley Times'' (Beaverton), p. 1.] Demolition of the hangars began in late February["Bernard's Beaverton Mall" (photo and caption only). (February 27, 1969). '' The Valley Times'' (Beaverton), p. 1.] and was nearing completion in mid-March, although the last few planes had not yet been removed at that time.["Bernard airport becomes part of Beaverton history: Hangars fall before bulldozer and fire". (March 13, 1969). '' The Valley Times'' (Beaverton), p. 1.]
The shopping mall, known since 2002 as Cedar Hills Crossing, was originally named "Bernard's Beaverton Mall" (and referred to as "Bernard Mall", for short), after the local aviation pioneer who still owned the property.["Bernard Mall Opens Friday". (March 13, 1970). ''The Oregonian'', p. 30.]
References
External links
{{Coord, 45.496925, -122.810454, type:airport_region:US-OR, display=title
Airports in Washington County, Oregon
Buildings and structures in Beaverton, Oregon
1969 disestablishments in Oregon
History of transportation in Oregon
Transportation in Beaverton, Oregon
1928 establishments in Oregon
Defunct airports in Oregon