Front Range Flight

Front Range Flight (HM1C5N)

Location: Bennett, CO 80102 Arapahoe County
Buy Colorado State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 39° 44.215', W 104° 23.844'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 722 views
Inscription
The Rocky Mountains proved a formidable barrier to early aviation, leaving Colorado in a familiar position: bypassed. As with the railroads fifty years earlier, transcontinental air traffic went through Wyoming; Colorado had to make do with a Denver-based spur line—in this case, Colorado Airways, which began flying the fifty-five-minute Denver-to-Cheyenne route in 1926. Airplane technology quickly conquered the mountains, and Front Rangers began taking to the skies. In 1938 Continental Airlines became the state's first coast-to-coast passenger carrier, and after World War II Colorado became a major aviation axis, hosting Lowry Air Force Base and Buckley Naval Air Station as well as the U.S. Air Force Academy. Ultimately air travel changed life for Coloradans, tying them into national affairs as never before.

Denver Municipal Airport opened in 1929, its four gravel runways squeezed onto a square-mile parcel in northeastern Denver. Boosters called it "the West's best airfield," but critics derided it as a pork-barrel reward for Mayor Benjamin Stapleton's political allies. Time proved out the boosters; by 1950 Stapleton Airport was serving six major airlines and 200,000 passengers, and in 1986 it ranked as the fifth-busiest airport in the world. Three years later voters authorized construction of Denver International Airport, a 34,000-acre facility to be supported by Front Range Airport and other satellite sites. Once again detractors cried boondoggle, particularly when construction glitches pushed the project behind schedule and over budget. When DIA finally went into service in February 1995, it was the largest airport in the world—and one of the most talked about.

Photo of old Denver municipal airport:(Caption) Denver Municipal Airport in 1931, soon after its first expansion—a second hanger.Colorado Historical Society

Photo of airmail plane:(Caption) The revenue from carrying airmail sustained early Colorado aviation. Pilot Floyd Pace (left) flew the Pueblo-to-Cheyenne, Wyoming, route in 1926.Colorado Historical Society

Photo of DIA terminal:(Caption) Denver International AirportColorado Historical Society
Details
HM NumberHM1C5N
Series This marker is part of the Colorado: History Colorado series
Tags
Marker Number218
Year Placed1998
Placed ByThe Colorado Historical Society & the Historical Society of Bennett
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, September 30th, 2014 at 4:27pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13S E 551634 N 4398731
Decimal Degrees39.73691667, -104.39740000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 44.215', W 104° 23.844'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 44' 12.90" N, 104° 23' 50.64" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)303
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 432 E Colfax Ave, Bennett CO 80102, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. This marker needs at least one picture.
  7. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  8. Is the marker in the median?