The two major runways of old Municipal Airport, 5,450 and 5,000 feet in length, are pictured on an old photographic post card published by Woods Brothers Corporation, industrial developers. Ricahrds Flying Field, east of Swope Park, was Kansas City's only airfield in 1926 when army officers recommended the site at the bend of the Missouri River near the Hannibal bridge as the most convenient and the least likely in demand by other industries. Peninsula Field was the name given to the site and officers began campaigning to point out the advantages to city officials and civic leaders. Admiral Richard E. Byrd visited Kansas City about this time, having just completed a successful flight over the North Pole. He, too, urged purchase of the site and pointed out that Kansas City was so located geographically that it must become an air hub with commercial lines operating in all directions.The 453 acres of land was purchased by the city and the ground dedicated Aug. 17, 1927, by Col. Charles A. Lindbergh. By 1948 there were 157 daily schedules and movements through Municipal Terminal alone and passengers in and out through Kansas City totaled well over three-quarters of a million. The old airport was just five minutes from downtown Kansas City, a convenience not enjoyed by other cities, then or now. Kansas City Times, July 31, 1976.
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