Then Again Podcast
National Airport / ep. 4
In the fourth episode of Then Again, we examine the dramatic history of National Airport and highlight the hard work of President Roosevelt that made the airport possible.
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Waiting room at National Airport, 1941. (FSA/OWI photo by Jack Delano, via the Library of Congress.)
Production Details
Then Again takes a deeper look at urban histories. This season, we’ll be unpacking the coming and going of Washington residents by exploring the history of the city’s many forms of transportation. Join us as we uncover the stories and dramas of D.C.’s rivers, streetcars, highways, and airports.
Then Again is produced by Allison Arlotta, Melissa Wadley, Erika Rydberg, Victoria Riechers, David Ramos, and Elena Goukassian, in association with Knowledge Commons DC. Recorded at the DC Public Library’s Studio Lab.
Music: “Rain Stops Play” and “Thought Projection” by Ketsa.
President Roosevelt’s Airport Dedication speech comes from the FDR Presidential Library’s Master Speech File.
Further Research
- Alastair Gordon. Naked Airport.
- ‪Washington National Airport: Historic Preservation Aspects of the Middle/north Parking Structure Design and the Associated Preservation Plan for the Abingdon Plantation Site
- Ten Buildings That Changed America. PBS film that showcases Dulles, another area airport.
National Airport, 1941. (FSA/OWI photo by Jack Delano, via the Library of Congress.)
More from Then Again
Steamboats (Episode 1)
Streetcars (Episode 2)
The Three Sisters Bridge (Episode 3)
Allison Arlotta grew up in Takoma Park, and no matter how many times she tries to leave the D.C. area, it keeps sucking her back in. It looks like she’ll finally break free this fall when she joins the Historic Preservation program at Columbia University. Besides shedding a tear when old buildings are demolished, her hobbies include flying trapeze, yelling at the TV, and celebrity gossip.