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Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building
Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
The Glenn Curtiss House was constructed in 1925 for this aviation pioneer who had established his own airplane company before becoming the developer of Miami Springs, Florida. Located in his Miami Spring development, Curtiss lived in this large, two-story residence designed in the Pueblo Revival style until his death in 1930. Glenn Hammond Curtiss, born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York, was a rival of the Wright Brothers. Like the Wright Brothers, Curtiss was interested in bicycles as a young man, opening a bicycle repair shop in 1900 after his marriage to Lena Pearl Neff. Interested in speed, he soon turned to motorcycles and designed a machine with a lightweight, high-power engine. He created the G.H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company in New York in 1902, and began producing the Hercules motorcycle. Although setting records for motorcycle racing, his company also drew the attention of aeronautical experimenters--in July 1904 Thomas Scott Baldwin used a Curtiss two-cylinder engine to power the first successful dirigible to fly in the United States, the California Arrow.
Alexander Graham Bell, the famed inventor, was also impressed by the Curtiss engines, and invited Curtiss to join the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA). Curtiss turned to airplanes after Bell's man-carrying motorized kite was deemed a failure. The AEA designed and built several airplanes, including the Red Wing which first flew on March 12, 1908. This was followed two months later by the White Wing, which employed Bell-contrived ailerons for lateral control, a system that was superior to the wing warping used by the Wright Brothers. Curtiss became an enthusiastic flyer, and after the AEA disbanded in 1909, established his own airplane company in Hammondsport, New York. The second airplane company that Curtiss established, the Curtiss Aeroplane Company, became the world's largest aircraft manufacturer during the war. He developed an airplane that could land on water for the Navy, but he soon found himself in a legal battle with the Wright Brothers, who held a patent on their wing-warping system. While the Wrights won in court, Curtiss paid no penalty, and a Wall Street syndicate formed the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company, with Curtiss as president. The most widely produced model during World War I was Curtiss's JN-4 "Jenny." When the company underwent major financial reorganization in 1920, Curtiss moved to southern Florida, where he became a real estate developer during the 1920s. As William M. Leary wrote in American National Biography, "Curtiss stands in the forefront of American aeronautical pioneers, second only to the Wright brothers in historical significance."
The Glenn Curtiss House is one of the largest and most architecturally distinguished of the Pueblo Revival residences associated with Curtiss's Miami Springs development. Its architect, Martin Luther Hampton, was one of Miami's most prominent architects during the 1920s--his designs include the former Miami Beach City Hall and the Congress Building in downtown Miami. The house is roughly V-shaped in plan and constructed of hollow clay tile with a rough textured stucco exterior. The roof is flat with very irregular parapet walls embellished by projecting waterspouts and irregular shaped openings. The main entrance to the residence is set within a deeply recessed T-shaped opening and marked by a flat-roofed porte cochere. The southeast central courtyard of the building features a later oolithic (rock consisting of small round grains) limestone facing on its first story pierced by modern windows and glass doors.
After Glenn Curtiss's death in the early 1930s, Lena Curtiss married an old friend and business associate of her husband, H. Sayre Wheeler. Wheeler served as mayor of Miami Springs from 1942 to 1944 and was also part owner of the Michaels and Wheeler Insurance Company. The couple lived in the house until the late 1940s. It was subsequently converted into the Miami Springs Villas House in 1953.
The Glenn Curtiss House, at 500 Deer Run in Miami Springs, Florida, is one block off of NW 36th St. It is currently not open to the public while it is being restored to serve as a museum honoring the life of Glenn Curtiss. The museum plans to open in 2005 or 2006.
The Pan American Seaplane Base in Coconut Grove, Florida, is important in the history of the aviation industry. Dinner Key was a small island in Biscayne Bay, and was joined to the mainland during World War I to provide a training field for the U.S. Navy. After the war, the base was used by non-scheduled commercial fliers, until the Navy facility was destroyed by the 1926 hurricane. In 1930, a newly formed airline company, known as Pan American Airways (Pan Am), symbolized by eagles and globes, acquired the New York-Rio-Buenos Aires Airline which flew twin-engine Commodore flying boats between Miami and Buenos Aires. The former naval air base at Dinner Key was selected by Pan Am as the base for its inter-American operations with the inaugural flight from Dinner Key to Panama taking place on December 1, 1930. Charles Lindbergh, who was a technical advisor to Pan Am, surveyed some of the early air routes. Because of inadequate landing facilities along the South American route, flying clipper ships were utilized by Pan Am, forming a vital link between North and South America.
Pan American opened the first hangar in 1931. The first passenger "terminal" at the Dinner Key seaplane base was a houseboat obtained in Havana, Cuba, towed by tugs to Miami and anchored to pilings with barges at each end. That same year expansion of the facilities at Dinner Key was undertaken. Additional land was filled in, and a deeper channel, one mile long and 700 feet wide was dredged. The dredging of the channel was a significant event, marking the first time an appropriation was approved by the Congressional Rivers and Harbors Committee "expressly for dredging to create a navigable channel for marine aircraft." The present terminal building and several additional hangars were also constructed during this period of expansion. By 1938, all major structures called for in the plans were completed and operative. During World War II, the Key again served as a base for the U.S. Navy, as well as continuing to serve the needs of international air travelers. With the appearance of landing fields in Latin America came a decrease in the need for seaplanes. Pan Am's final flight to Dinner Key took place August 9, 1945.
The two-story terminal building is rectangular in shape with one-story extensions on each side, white stucco exterior walls and a flat roof. Extending around the building just below the cornice is a frieze of winged globes and rising suns, connected at the corners by sculptured eagles. A restaurant and cocktail lounge originally existed in the building, and takesoffs and landings were observed from an outer promenade on the second floor. At the first-floor level were waiting rooms, an international mail office, customs, public health offices, immigration and ticket counters. A giant, three-and-one-half ton revolving world globe in the lobby once attracted thousands of visitors to the building. In 1946, the City of Miami purchased 39 acres of the Dinner Key site. In 1954, the terminal building was adapted for use as the Miami City Hall. Recent renovations to the building include restoring the original decorative features of the terminal including the beams, wall murals and ceiling, which consisted of panels depicting the signs of the zodiac painted in a modern style. The murals near the ceiling depict the history of flight from Leonardo Da Vinci's designs to the Clipper planes flown by Pan American.
The Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building is located at 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. Now Miami City Hall, the building is open during normal business hours.
Pensacola Naval Air Station was the United States' first permanent naval air station, the first Navy pilot training center and the first naval installation to send pilots into combat. In 1911 the Navy secured an appropriation from Congress for a naval air service and within two years Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ordered the creation of the first permanent naval air station at Pensacola, Florida, where the climate favored year-round flying. The entire command that arrived at Pensacola Naval Aeronautic Station in January 1914 consisted of six qualified pilots, 23 enlisted men, seven seaplanes, some spare parts and a few canvas hangars. During the station's first three years it produced many firsts, including altitude records, the first catapult launch of an aircraft from a ship and the Navy's first fatal crash.
With the onset of WWI, naval aviation expanded rapidly, leading to the establishment of additional training bases. Pensacola remained a major flight center and the first aerographical officer reported for duty here, the Navy's first aircraft carrier conducted experiments here and the Navy's aerial photography school relocated here. Between 1935 and 1939 the air station expanded its facilities to include aviation mechanics and aviation medicine. Within the historic district are 55 frame and brick buildings, including residential, administrative and maintenance facilities. Particularly notable are the octagonal Armory and Chapel (1854) and six metal seaplane hangers (1916-1918).
Within nine days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Pensacola Naval Air Station adjusted its training schedule to accommodate 2,300 students per month, a 300 percent increase that produced nearly 20,000 pilots by mid-1943. These Pensacola-trained Navy and Marine fliers sank 63 German submarines and 161 Japanese warships and destroyed more than 15,000 Japanese aircraft while losing 451 aircraft to Japanese fliers. Pensacola made similar contributions to the U.S. military effort in Korea and continues its leadership role today as the headquarters for the Chief of Naval Education and Training. For a complete copy of the National Historic Landmark registration form for Pensacola Naval Air Station, click here.
Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, consists of 55 historic structures on 82 acres roughly bounded by Soufley St., Jaynes, Ave., and East Ave. in Pensacola Fl. There is a self guided tour available from the Public Affairs Office, 191 Radford Blvd., 2nd floor, or call 850-452-2311. Please visit the base's website for further information. You can also download (in pdf) the Pensacola Naval Air Station National Historic Landmark nomination.
Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has made major contributions to the defense of the United States in the development of tactical strategies, testing of weaponry and missile research. Development of the military base began in 1933 when U.S. Army Air Corps officials from Maxwell, Alabama, initiated a search for a site suitable for a bombing and gunnery range. In 1935 the War Department acquired by lease 137 acres of land near Valparaiso on which to build an airport. Eglin eventually grew to be the largest Air Force base in the Western Hemisphere, and played an important role in World War II. It covers 724 square miles of land and 86,500 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. There are more than 3,000 buildings on the base, of which 164 were built during World War II. The Eglin Field Historic District contains 20 buildings representative of that era. These buildings are distinguished by the structural clay tile used in their wall construction. The administrative buildings and residences are rectangular in form, capped by shallow-pitched roofs and lack ornamentation. Common plans for wartime buildings, the urgency of wartime, local environmental conditions, and the availability of construction materials, dictated the design of Eglin's buildings. Some of the family housing quarters in the district display architectural characteristics related to the Minimal Traditional style, which reflects the transition from the earlier pre-War Tudor and Colonial Revival styles and the post-war Ranch style.
During World War II, Eglin Field served as the nation's principle station for air warfare experimentation. Accelerated aircraft and armament tests began in September 1941, three months before Pearl Harbor. In May 1941, the Army Air Corps designated Eglin as the Air Corps Proving Ground, removing it from the jurisdiction of the Southeast Air Corps Training Command and placing the base immediately under the control of the Chief of Air Corps. It was at Eglin Field that Lt. Col. James "Jimmy" Doolittle's B-25 crews from the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron and 17th Bombardment Group practiced short-field take-offs in preparation for the carrier-based raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942. Although the damage the bombs inflicted was relatively small, the psychological effect on the Japanese was significant and America's resolve was strengthened. The primary purpose of the Proving Ground was to provide a station for tactical tests of aircraft armament and accessory equipment and of aviation tactics and techniques. Also, it was here, that final tests of the B-17, the workhorse of the allied air effort against Nazi Germany, were completed and evaluations of the B-29, which was to be employed against the Japanese isles, were initiated. Charles Lindbergh accompanied a flight from Eglin Field January 21, 1944, in an experimental XB-29, which had arrived at the base for tests. The crew of the flight included 1st Lt. F.A. Lewis and Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets, who flew the Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan, and Charles Sweeney, who flew in the B-29 that dropped the second atomic weapon upon Nagasaki. By late 1944, development of a U.S. version of the German V-1 missile had begun at the proving grounds. During the war, it became apparent to military planners that America needed armaments and materials that could function in all climates and under all circumstances. To meet this need, the United States designed and constructed the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin.
Eglin Field Historic District is roughly bounded by Barranca, Choctawhatchee, Fourth and "F" aves. on the Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is an active base and generally not accessible to the public. However, group tours (20 to 40 people) are available for high-school age and older, depending on AAC mission demands and security levels. Each group must provide its own bus transportation and will be accompanied by an Eglin escort. Contact the Eglin Community Relations department a minimum of three months prior to the desired tour date at 850-882-2817 (or try ext. 2836 or 2879).
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida has played an important role in the space program and missile testing in the United States. In 1947 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was selected as the site for a U.S. Missile Testing Range. The first missile, a German V-2 rocket, was launched on July 14, 1950. During the following three years, facilities were constructed for the testing of cruise-type missile weapons including the Matador, Snark and Bomark. Launch Complex 5/6, constructed in 1955 for the Redstone missile testing program and subsequently used for the Jupiter C, Juno I, Juno II and Mercury/Redstone missiles, launched Alan Shepard in Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961 and Gus Grissom in Liberty Bell 7 on July 21, 1961. Launch Complex 26 launched Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, on January 31, 1958 and was the site of the launch of primates Ham, Gordo, Able and Baker in tests that paved the way for Alan Shepard's Mercury flight. The Atlas, the nation's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), utilized Launch Complexes 13 and 14. On December 18, 1958 an entire Atlas vehicle, Project Score, was placed into orbit carrying a tape-recorded message from President Eisenhower that was relayed to the world.
A total of 10 Gemini launches were flown from Complex 19 in 1965 and 1966, marking the beginning of sophisticated manned space flight. Two of the largest and most advanced launch facilities built at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were Launch Complexes 34 and 37. Here, the first of 15 launches of the Saturn space vehicle occurred on October 27, 1961. Launch Complex 34 was also the site of the January 27, 1967, fire that claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffe.These complexes went on to launch the first series of the three-man Apollo space flights.
However, a gradual decline occurred in most operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which could no longer house new rocket facilities. Most operations, including the remainder of the Apollo launches, were transferred to nearby John F. Kennedy Space Center. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station includes discontiguous sites and encompasses six launch pads, a mobile service tower and the original Mission Control Center that was used for all Mercury flights and the first three Gemini flights. For a complete copy of the National Historic Landmark registration form for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, click here.
The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a National Historic Landmark, is located on Patrick Air Force Base in the Cocoa and Cocoa Beach vicinity on the east coast of Florida. The Air Force Space and Missile Museum is open to the public daily. Please call 321-853-9171, or visit the museum's website for further information. Visitors may alse be interested in the nearby Canaveral National Seashore. You can also download (in pdf) the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station National Historic Landmark nomination.
John F. Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida has historically functioned as the major National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launch facility for manned and unmanned space missions. Prior to the development of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, space missions originated from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. However, when President Kennedy initiated the Man-to-the-Moon project, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was deemed insufficient to house further facilities. In 1961 NASA requested from Congress authority to purchase 125 square miles of property that became John F. Kennedy Space Center. The space program proceeded rapidly, progressing through four major phases: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the Space Shuttle. Project Mercury, executed in less than five years, put a manned spacecraft in orbital flight around the earth. Project Gemini was dedicated to long-duration missions. The goal of the Apollo program, the largest and most ambitious of the manned space programs, was landing astronauts on the moon and their safe return to earth. After the first few Apollo missions, all originating at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Apollo 11 culminated when astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Col. Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. touched down on the moon in their lunar module on July 21, 1969 while Lt. Col. Michael Collins, navigator of the Apollo craft, remained in orbit.
The Space Shuttle program was dedicated to creating a reusable shuttle. The first reusable space shuttle lifted off from John F. Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981, carrying John Young and Robert Crippen. By 1986, NASA was approaching a goal of 12 to 13 shuttle launches each year. Following the loss of the Challenger and its crew on January 28, 1986, the program experienced a 32-month hiatus. Today as the leading space center, John F. Kennedy Space Center launches manned space vehicles, unmanned planetary spacecraft, scientific, meteorological and communications satellites and serves as a launch site for the reusable Space Shuttle. The planning and directing of space vehicle assembly, preflight preparation, spacecraft tests, countdown and launch operations and landing operations are among a few of the responsibilities of John F. Kennedy Space Center. The National Register listings at the John F. Kennedy Space Center include the Operations and Checkout Building, the Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities, the Crawlerway, the Headquarters Building, the Press Site, Clock and Flag Pole, the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Central Instrumentation Facility, the Launch Control Center and Launch Complex 39.
John F. Kennedy Space Center Multiple Property Submission is located on the east coast of Florida approximately midway between Jacksonville and Miami. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open every day of the year (except Christmas Day and certain launch days) from 9:00am to 5:30pm. For further information please call 321-449-4444 or visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.
Sources: U.S. government, public domain information from Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms - National Register of Historic Places