Washington Airport was the second major airport to serve the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Located in Arlington, Virginia, near the intersection of the Highway Bridge and the Mount Vernon Parkway (where The Pentagon's south parking lots, Metrobus bus bays, and a portion of Interstate-395 now exist). The first airport to serve the city was Hoover Field, a private airfield constructed in 1925. Washington Airport, a private airport triple the size of Hoover Field, was built literally across the road in late 1927. The airfield suffered from short and unpaved runways, numerous life-threatening obstructions around the field, poor visibility (due to a burning garbage dump adjacent to each field), and poor drainage. Washington Airport nearly went bankrupt in 1933, and it was auctioned off to a new owner. The new owner also owned Hoover Field, and merged the two into a single airfield, Washington-Hoover Airport.Washington-Hoover Airport closed in 1941 when Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport), a replacement facility, was opened.Hoover FieldHoover Field was built in 1925 by Thomas E. Mitten, president of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (which held the airmail contract between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia). A small expansion of the then-unnamed field led to its rededication on July 16, 1926. It was given the name Hoover Field in honor of then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, a major promoter of civil aviation.
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