A tail around two cities..
September 26, 2007 5:59 PM   Subscribe

After several disagreements between the Texas cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the Greater Fort Worth International Airport at Amon Carter Field opened on April 25th, 1953.

The lavishly decorated terminals were served by several airlines, including American, Braniff, Continental Airlines, and the now defunct Eastern Airlines. Love Field in Dallas eventually won over more airlines and passengers. The construction of the Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport at its new location was the final nail in the coffin for ACF.

After a mere 20 years, the Amon Carter airport was all but abandoned and eventually demolished.
posted by drstein (9 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
That website about forgotten airports

is one of my favorites

not least for its noted prose style.

This story of KGFW had escaped my attention.

posted by tss at 6:41 PM on September 26, 2007


Very interesting site! Thanks, drstein.
posted by amyms at 6:44 PM on September 26, 2007


At least y'all got Alliance...

Almost two decades ago, the City of Fort Worth, the FAA and Alliance began work on the first purely industrial airport in the Western Hemisphere. The airport officially opened on December 14, 1989. Today, Fort Worth Alliance Airport features a vast array of flight servies and is the conerstone for the nation's fastest-growing industrial complex. There is no finer facility for general and industrial aviation than Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
posted by erikgrande at 7:56 PM on September 26, 2007


So, how hard is it, exactly, to code a web page in such a way that images don't show up in Firefox? Third-gradeOf course, any site where ".htm" is the extension du jour is not going to be technically all that hot.

Interesting story, none-the-less.
posted by maxwelton at 8:02 PM on September 26, 2007


For a second I read it as "Aaron Carter Field". It was terrible.
posted by Xere at 8:05 PM on September 26, 2007


Interesting post, thanks.
posted by mrbula at 8:05 PM on September 26, 2007


And, if you're discussing Fort Worth airfields, don't forget James Stewart spent some time at Carswell.
posted by erikgrande at 8:08 PM on September 26, 2007


erik: I'm actually in the SF Bay Area. We have Moffett Field, which folks wanted to turn into a small commercial/cargo airport but local residents shot that idea down, Oakland International, SFO, and San Jose/Mineta International.

Sacramento also has a bunch of airports. Mather Field (former Air Force Base, now used for mostly cargo), the old McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento Executive, and the funky place that is the Sacramento International Airport. It's former name is Sacramento Metropolitan Field, and it still carries the SMF name.

Even Stockton (SCK) has commercial airline service once again, and underwent a $10 million expansion. It can easily handle widebody aircraft, and is one of the diversion airports for SFO traffic. I used to know a pilot that landed a Pan Am Boeing 747 there years ago after the Loma Prieta quake messed up SFO traffic.
posted by drstein at 11:21 PM on September 26, 2007


Great find, drstein! My paternal grandparents lived in Arlington during that time and I might have flown into Amon Carter Field once or twice as a very young child. I mainly remember Love Field and later DFW, though. The number of relatives I have in the area is dwindling, but if I do make it back there, I will be sure to look for some of the traces mentioned. It is interesting to think that I have driven along that stretch of runway that was turned into Amon Carter boulevard.

For anyone who wonders why half of Fort Worth seems to have Amon Carter's name on it, he was the founder of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and used his fortune to fund a foundation that among other things supports a well known museum devoted to western art.
posted by TedW at 5:38 AM on September 27, 2007


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