Swan Island (Portland, Oregon)

USA / Oregon / Portland / Portland, Oregon
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Now joined to the mainland by landfill, Swan Islan was the site of Portland's first airport. Being an island, however, limited the amount of runway expansion. Soon after it was built, plans were already in the works for today's Portland International Airport, which is NE of Swan Island on the banks of the Columbia River. Charles Lindberg landed at the airport in 1927 to dedicate it, even though it wasn't 100% complete yet.

Declared superflous at the start of the Second World War, the island was converted into a massive shipyard for the construction of Liberty Ships for the war effort in 1942 and continues today as the main ship repair port in Portland.

members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/OR/Airfields_OR_NW...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Island,_Portland,_Oregon
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Coordinates:   45°33'47"N   122°43'5"W

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  • Swan Island was the site of Portland's first airport. Being an island, however, limited the amount of runway expansion. Soon after it was built, plans were already in the works for today's Portland International Airport, which is NE of Swan Island on the banks of the Columbia River. Charles Lindberg landed at the airport in 1927 to dedicate it, even though it wasn't 100% complete yet. In 1942 the island was converted into a massive shipyard for the construction of Liberty Ships for the war effort. Initially, workers imported from around the U.S. were housed on the island in trailers, before the completion of Vanport City. The site of Swan Island Airport is located at the intersection of North Dolphin Street & North Lagoon Avenue. Not a trace of the airport remains. http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/OR/Airfields_OR_NW.htm
This article was last modified 16 years ago