History
The Northeast Philadelphia Airport had its origin in the 1930s, as the Northeast Airport, a grass field with no paved runways. It was one of three small airports in the area for private aviation. Just across Roosevelt Boulevard to the west, adjacent to Red Lion Road, was the Boulevard Airport, the most important of the three. Further west was the Somerton Airport, no longer in existence, close enough that pilots had to be careful not to infringe on adjacent traffic patterns. The site of the Boulevard Airport is now a shopping mall and housing. The Northeast Airport was the site for the development of the large airport that exists today.
The United States Army Air Corps began construction of a 545 acres (221 ha) airbase in Northeast Philadelphia during World War II, but the project was never completed, and the property was turned over to the city in 1944. After the city finished the work, Philadelphia Northeast Airport opened in June 1945. In 1948, the name of the airport was changed to North Philadelphia Airport.
The airport's infrastructure was expanded in 1960 when Runway 6/24 was extended to its present length. Runway 10/28 was abandoned at this time due to construction on the western end of the runway.The name of the airport was changed once again in 1980, to the present Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
Read more about this topic: Northeast Philadelphia Airport
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