How Glenview could've been home to one of Chicago's major airports

Few Glenview residents may even be aware that the village they now call home was once envisioned as the site of Chicago's major commercial airport.

By 1927, Chicago already had a major airfield - today we call it Midway, but back then its name was Municipal Airport. Although its location was convenient, air quality over the city was terrible. Coal was the major fuel for heating and powering industry, railroads, homes, schools, hospitals and the like. This resulted in dense smog above the city; visibility for pilots was greatly compromised.

The situation required a creative solution, which the Curtiss Flying Service soon provided.

Curtiss was a major player in the aviation world at the time. In 1929, they purchased 325 acres of land from Glen View (as the village's name was spelled back in the day) farmers to construct what was planned to become the crown jewel of U.S. airfields.

Earle Reynolds, a Chicago banker, arranged the financing, with the caveat that his name would be included in the airport's official title. It was a great plan - but the timing was not. Curtiss Reynolds Airfield was dedicated on Oct. 20, 1929; nine days later, Black Friday ushered in the Great Depression.

By 1930, a merger of Curtiss, Wright Aeronautical Corporation and several smaller companies was completed, and the airport became known as Curtiss Wright or simply Curtiss Chicago Airport.

Remarkably, the field survived the depths of the Depression. Events such as the National Air Races in 1930 and the International Air Races (held during the Chicago World's Fair) in 1933. Local American Legion and Chicago Girls Flying Club airshows helped to keep the airport afloat during those dark years. Wiley Post and Will Rogers were regular visitors at Curtiss Reynolds.

While privately sponsored air shows delighted the locals, it was the air races that generated national attention. They attracted both American and international aviators, including Charles and Anne Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle and a multitude of others participated during those years.

By the mid-1930s, the Navy's aviation training program had outgrown available space at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. A search of potential sites for relocating the program resulted in the Navy leasing the north three-fifths of Hangar One to establish Naval Reserve Aviation Base Chicago. Dedicated on Aug. 28, 1937, its fledgling pilot training program recruited college men between 20 and 28 who could pass a rigid physical exam. They received 10 hours of ground school and dual flying instruction; those who could successfully solo following this training were eligible to go on to NAS Pensacola to pursue the coveted Navy Wings of Gold.

Navy and civilian aviation shared the airfield for nearly four years. During the latter 1930s, at least two commercial airlines, United and Grey Goose, operated flights out of Curtiss. Navy flight training continued at a modest pace until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The Navy moved quickly to take over the entire field and purchase surrounding land as it expanded its primary pilot training program to become the largest in the country. By mid-1942, the Navy's Carrier Qualification Training Unit was established at the base. Glenview became a full-fledged naval air station on Jan. 1, 1943.