Grand Central Air Terminal

by John Underwood

From 1923, when it was known as the Glendale Airport, to the World War II era, when the military took it over, Grand Central Air Terminal was the main commercial airport serving Southern California and the ancestral home of what became Convair (General Dynamics) and Hughes Aircraft. The first scheduled transcontinental passenger service was flown out of Grand Central by Charles Lindbergh, with Amelia Earhart among the passengers. Grand Central had the first paved runway west of the Rocky Mountains, and was a terminal for Pickwick, TWA, American, and Pan Am's Mexican subsidiary. After Pearl Harbor, commercial operations ceased and the Army Air Corps turned Grand Central into a training center and a key element in the air defenses for Los Angeles when a Japanese invasion seemed imminent.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738546828
• ISBN13: 9780738546827
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Love this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The photos of the old airplanes, and the history of early flight is fascinating. Would recommend this highly.

Good overview of long-forgotten airport...

Grand Central Air Terminal (CA) (Images of Aviation) The book covers all aspects of the history of this now closed airport, filling a gap in my knowledge of the history of aviation in the L.A. area. It contains many photos of unusual aircraft, both military and civilian. I found it a bit light on the "airline" side of things. I found it worthwhile and would appreciate more of this type covering more Socal aviation history. (Santa Ana/Orange County, anyone?)