The Aerial Crossroads of America
St. Louis’s Lambert Airport
9781883982898
Distributed for Missouri Historical Society Press
The Aerial Crossroads of America
St. Louis’s Lambert Airport
The history of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport is the story of American aviation. Everything that has taken place on the airport’s footprint—from Lindbergh to American Airlines, jet airliners to space travel—constitutes a microcosm of the triumphs and tragedies of winged flight in America. The Aerial Crossroads of America chronicles the transformation of the patch of farmland leased by Albert Bond Lambert in 1920 into the sprawling international airport it is today. Illustrated extensively with images from the airport’s history, the book tells not only the story of Lambert, but also the history of what it means to take flight in America.
Aviation expert Daniel L. Rust begins his story with Albert Bond Lambert’s pioneering efforts to promote air travel in the Midwest. While other American airports might today eclipse Lambert, Rust shows that airports serving New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago all lack the longevity of Lambert and its range of historic activity. In the book, Rust moves at super-sonic speed, covering the 1923 Air Races, Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis, the US Air Mail service, the birth of American Airlines, military aviation, the rise of the aircraft manufacturing industry, the development of air traffic control, regulation and deregulation, and the decline of Lambert as a large hub following the demise of TWA and 9/11.
Brimming with anecdotes, little-known historical threads, and lively explanations of just what Lambert has meant to the aviation industry, The Aerial Crossroads of America will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in aviation, inspiring readers to glance out their windows and admire the view on every ascent.
Aviation expert Daniel L. Rust begins his story with Albert Bond Lambert’s pioneering efforts to promote air travel in the Midwest. While other American airports might today eclipse Lambert, Rust shows that airports serving New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago all lack the longevity of Lambert and its range of historic activity. In the book, Rust moves at super-sonic speed, covering the 1923 Air Races, Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis, the US Air Mail service, the birth of American Airlines, military aviation, the rise of the aircraft manufacturing industry, the development of air traffic control, regulation and deregulation, and the decline of Lambert as a large hub following the demise of TWA and 9/11.
Brimming with anecdotes, little-known historical threads, and lively explanations of just what Lambert has meant to the aviation industry, The Aerial Crossroads of America will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in aviation, inspiring readers to glance out their windows and admire the view on every ascent.
336 pages | 178 halftones | 8 1/2 x 11 | © 2016
History: American History
Travel and Tourism: Tourism and History
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Albert Bond Lambert and the Genesis of Lambert-St. Louis Airport
Chapter 2 Lambert’s Airport | 1920-1927
Chapter 3 A Municipal Airport for the City of St. Louis | 1928-1939
Chapter 4 Lambert during World War II | 1940-1945
Chapter 5 The Postwar Years | 1946-1956
Chapter 6 The Jet Age and the Space Age | 1957-1968
Chapter 7 The Battle for Lambert Airport | 1968-1977
Chapter 8 The Era of Airline Deregulation | 1978-1988
Chapter 9 Expanding Lambert: Alternatives F-4 and W-1W | 1989-2000
Chapter 10 Lambert in the Twenty-first Century | 2001 and Beyond
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Chapter 1 Albert Bond Lambert and the Genesis of Lambert-St. Louis Airport
Chapter 2 Lambert’s Airport | 1920-1927
Chapter 3 A Municipal Airport for the City of St. Louis | 1928-1939
Chapter 4 Lambert during World War II | 1940-1945
Chapter 5 The Postwar Years | 1946-1956
Chapter 6 The Jet Age and the Space Age | 1957-1968
Chapter 7 The Battle for Lambert Airport | 1968-1977
Chapter 8 The Era of Airline Deregulation | 1978-1988
Chapter 9 Expanding Lambert: Alternatives F-4 and W-1W | 1989-2000
Chapter 10 Lambert in the Twenty-first Century | 2001 and Beyond
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
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