History
Starting in 1925 the Pennsylvania National Guard used the PHL site (known as Hog Island) as a training airfield. The site was dedicated as the "Philadelphia Municipal Airport" by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, but it had no proper terminal building until 1940; airlines used the airfield (at 39°55′48″N 75°04′41″W / 39.930°N 75.078°W / 39.930; -75.078) in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Once Philadelphia's terminal was completed (on the east side of the field) American, Eastern, TWA and United began flights.
In 1947 and 1950 the airport had runways 4, 9, 12 and 17 all 5400 ft or less. In 1956 runway 9 was 7284 ft; in 1959 it was 9499 ft and runway 12 had been closed. Not much change occurred until the early 1970s, when runway 4 was closed and 9R opened with 10500 ft.
Read more about this topic: Philadelphia International Airport
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