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CITY LANDMARK ASSESSMENT REPORT SANTA MONICA AIRPORT ROSE 3223 Donald Douglas Loop SANTA MONICA,

Prepared for: City of Santa Monica City Planning Division 1685 Main Street, Room 212 Santa Monica, CA 90401

Prepared by: Jan Ostashay Principal Ostashay & Associates Consulting PO BOX 542 Long Beach, CA 90801

SEPTEMBER 2019 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK CITY LANDMARK ASSESSMENT REPORT

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT Santa Monica Airport 3223 Donald Douglas Loop Santa Monica, CA 91423 APN: 4272-016-903 (compass rose northern half) APN: 4272-015-900 (compass rose southern half)

INTRODUCTION This landmark assessment and evaluation report, completed by Ostashay & Associates Consulting (OAC) for the City of Santa Monica, documents and evaluates the local landmark eligibility of the functional navigational art feature located at the Santa Monica Airport and herein referred to as the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose (or the subject property). This assessment report was prepared at the request of the City and includes a discussion of the survey methodology utilized, a concise description of the feature (subject property); a summarized historical context of the Santa Monica Airport, compass rose, and related themes; evaluation for significance under the City of Santa Monica landmark criteria; photographs and other applicable supporting materials.

OAC evaluated the subject property, the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose, to determine whether it appears to satisfy one or more of the statutory landmark criteria pursuant to Chapter 9.56 (Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance) of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. The evaluation assessment and this report were prepared by Jan Ostashay, principal with OAC, who satisfies the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for Architectural History and History.

In summary, OAC finds that the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose appears eligible for local listing as a City Landmark under City of Santa Monica Landmark Criteria 9.56.100(A)(1). The feature is an important symbolic reminder of the City’s rich aviation history, in particular the early contributions to women’s aviation heritage. It is also emblematic of the early air marking program for which the all-women’s pilot organization the Ninety-Nines were so closely associated with here at the Santa Monica Airport and elsewhere across the country. The following sections of the report provide a contextual basis for the assessment analysis and a discussion of how this evaluation determination was made.

METHODOLOGY The historical assessment was conducted by Jan Ostashay, principal with Ostashay & Associates Consulting. To help identify and evaluate the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose as a potential

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 1 local landmark, an intensive-level survey of the airport and functional art feature, the compass rose, was conducted. In order to determine if any previous evaluations or survey assessments of the property had been performed the assessment included a review of the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and its annual updates, the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register), the California Historic Resources Inventory System (CHRIS) maintained by the State Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), and the City’s Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) and its updates.

For this current assessment a site inspection of the compass rose and airport and a review of associated archival records were performed to document the property’s existing condition and assist in evaluating the compass rose for historical significance. Building permits were not provided by City staff, as they were deemed non-relevant for this particular assessment. The City of Santa Monica landmark criteria were employed to evaluate the local significance of the property and its eligibility for landmark designation by the City’s Landmark Commission.

In addition, the following tasks were performed for the study:

• Searched records of the National Register, California Register, Library of Congress archives, OHP CHRIS, and the local City of Santa Monica HRI. • Conducted a site inspection of the airport and compass rose; photographed the site, feature, and adjacent areas. • Conducted site-specific and contextual research on the subject property utilizing Sanborn fire insurance , newspaper articles, historical photographs, aerial photographs, and associated archival, historical references and repositories. • Reviewed and analyzed ordinances, statutes, regulations, bulletins, and technical materials relating to federal, state, and local historic preservation, designation assessment procedures, and related programs. • Evaluated the potential historic resource based upon landmark criteria established by the City of Santa Monica and utilized the OHP survey methodology for conducting surveys. The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose was not evaluated for National Register or California Register eligibility.

PROPERTY INFORMATION The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose functional feature and navigational aid under consideration as a potential City Landmark is located at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The airfield is situated on a mesa in the southeastern-most corner of the City adjacent to the southwestern boundary line of the City of . The airport site is roughly bounded to the by 23rd Street, to the by Donald Douglas Loop South and Airport Avenue, to the by Donald Douglas Loop North, and to the by South Bundy Drive. The primary arterial access point to the airport is from Bundy Drive via Airport Avenue. The Airport is owned by the City of Santa Monica and is operated under a division of the City of Santa Monica Public

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 2 Works Department. Today, the airport’s 227 acres also includes non-aviation uses including a city park, offices, art studio, museum, event venues, parking, airplane hangars, and more.

The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose is a large functional floor mural of a navigational compass rose painted onto the concrete paving within the northwest sector of the airport adjacent to 3 and Donald Douglas Loop North. The compass rose under consideration is circular in shape with a diameter of roughly 50 feet and a circumference of approximately 160 feet. Twelve triangular points surround the central circle. Four large points face the cardinal directions of a compass, north, south, east, and west (referred to as cardinal points). These cardinal points measure 15 feet from the central circle to the point tip and are painted half white and half blue. Two shorter points are sited between each of the cardinal points (with a total of eight shorter points). These shorter points measure eight feet from the central circle to each respective point tip and are also painted half white and half blue. The points are connected by an outer ring painted white. In the center of the compass rose is a painted solid white circle that is overlaid by two blue interlocking number ‘9”s in block font of varying size and shape that create the number “99.”

It has been postulated that a navigational compass rose existed at the Santa Monica Airport at some unknown location as far back as 1929. It has also been hypothesized that a compass rose was painted on the tarmac at the northeast side of the airport adjacent the east end of runways 21 and 22 from around 1947 to roughly 1987-1988. The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose was relocated and re-painted at its current location in 1985 by the Los Angeles chapter (LA 99s) of the Ninety-Nines International Association of Women Pilots (The Ninety-Nines). The group voluntarily maintains the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose and it was last re-painted in its current location in 2010.

The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose has not been previously identified or assessed for historical significance under any of the City’s prior survey efforts. The Santa Monica Airport, 3223 Donald Douglas Loop, was identified, but not evaluated under the 2018 Historic Resources Inventory Update survey. The evaluation was not completed as the property was not visible from the public right-of-way at the time of the assessment. It was, therefore, assigned a California Register Status Code of 7R, which means it was identified in a reconnaissance level survey, but not evaluated. The Rotating Beacon Tower at the airport, 3223 Donald Douglas Loop South, was identified in the 2018 survey and was assigned a California Register Status Code of 5S1, as the property is a designated Santa Monica Landmark. The Beacon Tower, dating to 1928 and moved to Santa Monica from Downey in 1952, and was formally designated a local landmark by the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission in 1988. Historically, the Rotating Beacon Tower physically represents one of the earliest navigational tools used in night flying and symbolizes the vital role aviation has played in the economic history of the City.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT Santa Monica. In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from 26th

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 3 Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the community operated as a tourist destination, visited by mostly wealthy patrons. Those areas just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and were populated with scattered residences. In the southeast section of town near Ocean Park Boulevard and Centinela Avenue a large flat parcel of land used as a barley farm was converted to an airfield by 1919. After the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica experienced a significant building boom with homes being constructed in the tracts north of Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents. In the mid-1920s, the airfield officially became a municipal airport called Clover Field and established itself as one of the first airports in the Los Angeles area. It later became home to the Douglas Aircraft Company, which shared the aviation facilities with civilian flyers. In later years, a number of annexations occurred in the City that further expanded and diversified the community.1

After World II, when was inundated with returning veterans and their families seeking homes, the demand for housing continued to be high in Santa Monica and apartment construction in particular escalated. Although the original Santa Monica townsite was substantially built-out by the onset of World War II, a marked change in the character of neighborhoods throughout the city occurred in the late 1950s and 1960s, when older buildings began to be replaced by multi-story apartment buildings.

Within the past decades, Santa Monica has been continuously transformed. Modest single- family houses are being replaced by larger homes or by condominium units throughout the city. Neighborhoods south of the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) are experiencing the growth of multi-family housing, ranging from high-rise towers constructed in the 1960s to two- and three-story dwellings, which continue to be developed today.2

South of Colorado Avenue, a small industrial section, which includes studio and entertainment related uses, has grown up around Olympic Boulevard, and a large office park has developed off Ocean Park Boulevard adjacent the airport on the former site of the Douglas Aircraft Company plant. In addition, several new office complexes have been constructed along Colorado Avenue in the eastern part of the city. The Santa Monica Airport continues to operate though its runway has been recently shortened and the area south of the airfield has been converted to non-aviation uses that include a public park, aviation museum, administrative offices, art studios, event venues, parking, and hangars.3

Santa Monica Airport. The Santa Monica Municipal Airport has played an important role in both the history of U.S. aviation and in the economic and regional development of Santa Monica. The earliest recorded use of the area that now occupies the airport is as barley fields in 1916.4 As early as 1917; however, aviators flying World War I biplanes began using the site as

1 City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 “Project Site History,” Santa Monica Airport Park EIR, July 2002, 3-5.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 4 an informal landing strip. In the spring of 1923, the U.S. Army Air Corps officially converted the barley field airstrip into an operational military airfield and named it Clover Field.5 The airfield was named for World War I pilot Lt. Greayer “Grubby” Clover (1897-1918), a Los Angeles native who was killed in France as a result of a crash during a practice flight on August 30, 1918.6

Dedication of Clover Field was held on April 15, 1923, with over 50,000 spectators in attendance to watch the dozens of Army airplanes fly in formation and civilian pilots perform high-flying, barnstorming stunts. The airfield was developed as an Army Air Corps training station and as a postal air station. The U.S. Department of Commerce Aeronautical Bulletin from January 15, 1924, noted some aviation characteristics of Clover Field as having 173 acres, approximately square in shape with only the north half of the field used for operations; a 150 foot long row of hangars (two steel hangars for government use and an assortment of smaller wood-frame hangars for civilian use); a row of high eucalyptus trees along the northwest and northeast sides as possible flying obstructions; and a signal marker in the center of the runway consisting of a large white circle with a “T” in the center indicating to land on circle.

In April 1926, through the use of Park Bond revenue, the City of Santa Monica purchased 158 acres of land comprising the Clover Field site (adjacent to Ocean Park Boulevard) for use as a general aviation public-use airport. At that time, the Army moved to the northeast corner of the field. In 1927, the California Legislature authorized cities to build and maintain airports, specifically providing that existing parklands could be used for that purpose. That year the City acquired an additional 60 acres to expand the growing airport facility and changed the airfield’s name to Santa Monica Municipal Airport.7,8 In May 1928, the City officially opened the new Santa Monica Municipal Golf Course adjacent the airport to the immediate south. This new recreational facility included an eighteen-hole golf course, tennis courts, archery range, baseball field, and clubhouse. According to a article dated May 27, 1928, “Clover Field now combines the double function of a municipal airport and public recreation.” At the end of the 1928 year, the airport was upgraded with two new hangars, a revolving light beacon, an oiled runway, and flood lights to mark the ends of the runway and the airfield’s boundaries.9

By 1929, the Douglas Aircraft Company completed the move of its factory to Clover Field.10,11 Aviator and engineer Donald W. Douglas, Sr. (1892-1981) had established an aircraft factory in an abandoned movie studio on Wilshire Boulevard in 1922 to manufacture early civilian airliners and military aircraft. Their rapid development in Santa Monica led the company to produce the airplanes that would complete the first “Round the World Flight” in 1924. On

5 Ibid. 6 “The Beginnings of Clover Field,” Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1959, B1. 7 City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement, 249. 8 “Project Site History,” Santa Monica Airport Park EIR, July 2002, 3-5. 9 “City Gets Christmas Presents,” Los Angeles Times, December 24, 1928, A8. 10 City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement, 249. 11 “Aircraft Factory Showing Phenomenal Growth in Ten Years,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1929, E5.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 5 March 17, 1924, four single-engine, open-cockpit World Cruiser planes left Clover Field and two returned intact 175 days later (two planes had crashed, no one was killed).

On August 18, 1929, the first National Women’s Air Derby, dubbed by humorist Will Rogers as the “Powder Puff Derby,” was held at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport.12 Twenty (though 19 took off) of the world’s best female aviatrixes participated in the first all-female transcontinental air race in the , which started from Santa Monica’s Clover Field and finished in , Ohio. The event took place as part of the 1929 of Cleveland. Participants in the air race included , Poncho Barnes, , Evelyn “Bobbi” Trout, Florence Barnes, and other women aviators of the era who together brought international attention to and flying in general. The Derby was a grueling race covering roughly 2,800 miles over nine days, encompassing brutal terrain, extreme heat, and little ground support.13 With the race ending on August 26, Louise Thaden won first place in the Derby (in the heavyweight aircraft class) followed by Gladys O’Donnell in second, and Amelia Earhart in their place (the entries were divided into two classes, depending upon the size of the plane’s engine).14 Following the “Powder Puff Derby” air race a group of aviatrixes, some of who flew in the air race, went on to form an organization of women pilots called “The Ninety-Nines” only a few months later in November 1929. The group The Ninety- Nines was established to encourage women to fly and to make a united stand on the issues that affected them (this organization continues today with established chapters nationwide and around the world).

By 1933, the Santa Monica Airport area was rectangular in plan with a straight 2,800 foot long asphalt paved runway with an adjacent oiled macadam open airfield space to the immediate south. A row of hangars with concrete paved aprons of varying size and a narrow taxiway lined the airfield to the north, as did the factory buildings of the Douglas Aircraft Company. At the time, known navigational air markings at the airport consisted of the standard, large circle at the center of the field, “CLOVER FIELD” painted on the roof of a hangar, and a compass rose near one of the non-metal hangars’ paved apron.

Despite the of the 1930s, the Douglas plant at the airport continued to grow, employing many local residents and developing the residential neighborhoods around the airfield. The company built large factory assembly structures, massive hangars, and modern administrative offices that were sited primarily at the northwest corner of the site. The airport also witnessed the maiden flight of Douglas’ prototype DC-1 airliner with its streamline design and comfortable, noise-insulated cabin on July 1, 1933. This monumental event inaugurated the age of modern passenger air travel world-wide.

12 Gene Nora Jessen. Powder Puff Derby of 1929, Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2002, 66. 13 Terry Von Thaden. Amelia Earhart Fellow Presentation, https://web.archive.org/web/20060813221706 /http://www.zontafrederick.org/Terry_Von_Thaden_speech_July_2004.pdf. 14 D.D. Hatfield. Los Angeles Aeronautics, 1920-1929, Hatfield History of Aeronautics, Northrop Institute of Technology, 1973, 188-189.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 6 By 1937, the municipal airfield was still referred to as Clover Field, though it had been officially deemed the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in the late 1920s. A works Progress Administration (WPA) project included paving 85,000 square yards at the Santa Monica Airport that year. 15 Aviation magazines described the airport as having an altitude of 150 feet; a rectangular shape; and a level runway measuring 2,750 feet in length by 1,000 feet wide. Improvements on site were noted by these magazines to include pole lines, buildings, hangars, a rotating beacon, and “CLOVER FIELD” painted on the roof of a hangar. It was at this time, that the airfield’s runway was reconfigured from a single straight east-west airstrip to one comprised of two paved east- west runways in a “X” pattern with adjacent oiled macadam surfaces. Placed at the axis of the “X” was a large circle marked with a “T.” All of the aviation facilities (both civilian, public use and private) associated with the airport were still situated along the northern side of the airfield. The large municipal golf course was still adjacent the runway strips to the immediate south.

During World War II, Douglas manufactured, housed, and transported newly built transport planes and bomber aircraft used extensively during the conflict. During its peak years, Douglas Aircraft employed up to 44,000 employees and changed the town of Santa Monica permanently by transforming the once sleepy beach resort town into a primarily blue-collar community.16 At this time, the runway and taxi areas were further widened, reconfigured, and upgraded with concrete pavement in order to support the larger planes being assembled and test flown there at the plant, such as the Douglas XB-19 bomber. The airport now covered roughly 149 acres with an irregular shape and had a landing area consisting of a single northeast-southwest (east- west) diagonal runway that was 3,850 feet in length by 200 feet wide.

While Douglas Aircraft held contracts with the U.S. government to design and assemble military aircraft the federal government leased the airport from the City in order to provide greater protection for the company. Because of war-time security issues associated with the Douglas plant all air markings, beacons, and airfield lights had been removed; and at one point the facility was camouflaged from the air. Aircraft maintenance training schools had also been established on-site during the war period to train military personnel.

By 1947, the Douglas Aircraft plant occupied the entire north side of the airport while the civilian side of the airport was now on the south side of the airfield. Following the end of the war, the federal government relinquished its leasehold interest in the airport back to the City in 1948.17 The site of the municipal golf course, adjacent the airport to the south, was under redevelopment at this time, as was the re-alignment of Centinela Avenue (Bundy Drive), just east of the airfield. In 1950, the City of Santa Monica constructed Airport Avenue on the south side of the airport as a catalyst for industrial development. In 1952, the city sold a portion of

15 American Aviation, July 15, 1937. 16 “Project Site History,” Santa Monica Airport Park EIR, July 2002, 3-5. 17 Ibid.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 7 the land (that was the golf course) to inventor and entrepreneur William Lear, expanding the footprint of aviation manufacturing in the city.18

The Douglas Aircraft Company continued to flourish through the 1960s. By 1975, however, the company left Santa Monica to consolidate its operations at its Long Beach Airport site.19 During its 50 year tenure at the Santa Monica Airport, the Douglas Aircraft Company built a total of roughly 10,724 aircraft at the plant.

During the 1950s through to the 1970s, the Santa Monica Airport became a base for significant civilian aviation activity. Pilots returning from World War II and the Korean War purchased aircraft and continued to fly. On March 14, 1959, the airfield received a bronze plaque of dedication from the Native Daughters of the Golden West celebrating nearly 40 years of contribution to worldwide aviation. In the late 1960s, interest in general civilian aviation peaked nationwide.20 At the airport total operations that included take-offs and landings, reached an all-time high of over 356,000 per year or 975 per day (which equates to 40 take-offs and 40 landings per hour over 12 hours).

By September 1977, the entire Douglas Aircraft Company plant at the Santa Monica Airport had been razed to the ground leaving only a large vacant lot north of the airfield and just south of Ocean Park Boulevard. This area was later redeveloped with a sprawling office park, public park (Clover Park), and a single-family residential neighborhood that were built between 1978 and 1980.

In 1984, the City of Santa Monica adopted a new Airport Master Plan, followed by the Santa Monica Airport Agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that same year. During the 1980s improvements at the airport continued and included a new perimeter road, sound walls and aircraft noise mitigation equipment. Additional airport improvements also occurred between 1985 and 1989 that included the (re)installation of the compass rose painted by the local Los Angeles chapter of the Ninety-Nines on concrete paving in its new location northwest of Donald Douglas Loop North and adjacent runway 3 to the north. In preparation of the land south of the airport to be developed as a public park (Airport Park), portions of the existing aviation facilities moved to the airfield’s north side while other airport facilities, including new administration offices, moved to be adjacent to the southern edge of the runway.

In the mid-1990s, additional improvements to the airport continued with the construction of a new blast walls (sound walls), runway lights and signage, taxiway slurry seal and restriping, and the repair of some tie-down ramps and infield areas. By 2002, the airport covered approximately 225 acres and had one runway measuring 5,000 feet in length and 150 feet wide with two parallel (north and south) taxiways. Numerous aviation-related businesses that

18 City of Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory Update, Historic Context Statement, March 2018, 260. 19 Ibid, 265. 20 “Clover Field Receives Plaque of Dedication,” Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1959, B1.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 8 included fixed-based operators, supply services and aircraft maintenance were also part of the overall airport operation at this time.

Today, the airport occupies a smaller footprint than before or during the Douglas Aircraft Company years and now includes 187 acres of aviation land related to airport operations and 40 acres of non-aviation land on the south side of the runway. The east end of the runway was recently shortened in length. The Santa Monica Airport; however, remains one of the oldest continuously operating airports in Los Angeles County.

The Ninety-Nines. In 1784, Elisabeth Thible of Lyons, France became the first woman to fly as a passenger in a hot air balloon.21 As early as 1798, women in Europe were piloting balloons on solo flights. In the United States in 1880, Mary “Carlotta” Myers, of Frankford, New York, was one of the first documented female balloonists completing more than 500 balloon ascents testing her husband’s aeronautical theories.22 She went on to perform aerial exhibitions and also set a world altitude record in 1886 by soaring four miles above the ground.23 Early American female aviators include Bessica Raiche, Blanche Stuart Scott, Harriet Quimby, Ruth Law, and Katherine Stinson. Harriet Quimby became the first female licensed airplane pilot in the America in 1911. Bessie Coleman learned to fly in France and returned to the United States as the world’s first licensed African-American pilot.24 The road for female pilots in America was a difficult one, but with courage, ambition, and perseverance these early flyers helped to pave the way for future aviatrixes. By 1929, there were approximately 60 women pilots in the United States. A year later there were 200 licensed women pilots, which grew to over 700 by 1935.25

The nine-day National Women’s Air Derby, aka “Powder Puff Derby,” had proven that women pilots were competent and determined as well as mentally and physically strong. At the assembly of race in Santa Monica and during those nine challenging days of racing the women pilot contestants forged a strong peer bond that they were unwilling to relinquish. Immediately following the Derby in Cleveland, Amelia Earhart and others met to discuss starting all-woman pilot’s organization. Earhart had the idea of starting an all-female flying group prior to the Derby event, as such an idea was suggested in a letter to Ruth Nichols dated September 15, 1927.26 Four of the Derby contestants, Margery Brown, Fay Gillis, Frances Harrell, and Neva Paris, along with twenty-two other women met at Curtiss Field (no longer extant), Long Island, on November 2, 1929 to form an organization of women pilots.27 Invitations to join the new

21 Ninety-Nines History Book Committee. The Ninety-Nines: Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publications, 1996, 10. 22 Gene Nora Jessen. Powder Puff Derby of 1929, Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2002, p. xi. 23 Hope Bouvette Thornberg, “Women in Aviation,” The American Aviation Experience: A History, Tim Brady, editor; Carbondale, Illinois, Southern Illinois University Press, 2000, 367. 24 Gene Nora Jessen. Powder Puff Derby of 1929, Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2002, p. xiv. 25 Hope Bouvette Thornberg, “Women in Aviation,” The American Aviation Experience: A History, Tim Brady, editor; Carbondale, Illinois, Southern Illinois University Press, 2000, 379. 26 Amelia Earhart, Letter to Ruth Nichols, September 15, 1927, Purdue University Libraries, http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/ cdm/compoundobject/collection/earhart/id/3195/rec/2. 27 Donald M. Goldstein and Katherin V. Dillion. Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer,

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 9 group were sent to 126 women pilots who were licensed in the United States at the time. Cost of membership was one dollar. Affirmative replies rolled in from “76,” then “86” women, which was all but complete until some belated but properly postmarked membership letters boosted the total acceptance replies to “97” and finally to “99.”28 At Amelia Earhart’s suggestion, the name for the organization was selected based on the number that coincided with the total number of charter members, “The Ninety-Nines.29” The group was first chaired by Louise Thaden and in 1931 Amelia Earhart was elected the first president.30

The Ninety-Nines’ overall purpose was to be social as well as professional. The group’s goal was - and is - to encourage and support women in aviation and to enhance opportunities for women seeking careers in such a male-dominated field. The Ninety-Nines compass rose logo was designed in 1939 by Los Angeles chapter member Wilma Fritschey and was first used as the header on their stationery and newsletter in January 1940. The organization officially incorporated in 1950 and later the name was expanded to The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots in order to include members from around the world.

By the early 1930s, the Ninety-Nines were divided into regional sections. An article from the Los Angeles Times in 1933 noted that the organization divided the country into sections with each section sponsoring some activities furthering feminine flying and aviation in general. In total, eight geographic sections that were further divided into chapters were established for its members. Today, there are currently 155 chapters of the Ninety-Nines in 44 countries with over 6,000 members, including the Los Angeles chapter based out of the Santa Monica Airport.

The non-profit group was initially headquartered in Washington, D.C. In 1955, they moved to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in order to be more centrally located in the country.31 At their headquarters office they support the 99s Museum of Women Pilots and the Aviation Research Library. They also own and manage the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas.32 Founded in 1929, the Ninety-Nines continue to promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring their unique history and sharing a passion for flight.33

Air Markings/Early Navigational Aids. Before radio was widely available to pilots of small aircraft they depended on natural landmarks, roads, or unusual structures that they could

Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc., 1997, 74. 28 “The Ninety-Nines from 1929-1959, Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of The Ninety-Nines, Inc.” Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots, https://ninety-nines.org/thirty-years.htm. 29 Ninety-Nines History Book Committee. The Ninety-Nines: Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publications, 1996, 11. 30 Kathleen C. Winters. Amelia Earhart: The Turbulent Life of an American Icon, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 100. 31 “International Headquarters,” Ninety-Nines International Association of Women Pilots, https://ninety- nines.org/headquarters.htm. 32 Ibid. 33 “About the organization,” Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots, https://ninety- nines.org/who-we-are.htm.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 10 see from the air. In unfamiliar terrain, it was easy to get lost. Air marking is known as a program of painting or other marking placed on the roofs of buildings and on ground areas at and near airports to make the location of airfields identifiable to pilots from their planes.

In order to assist flyers in navigating correctly the government set out to promote air marking as early as 1924.34 They urged air marking the roofs of prominent buildings and areas adjacent airfields with a ground-based arrow pointing in the direction of the airfield or simply the name of the town with an arrow indicating north. They also provided recommendations as to the size, color, and content of these markings as well as the distance between markers. Early-on, labor came from the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Air Patrol, the Civilian Conservation Corps, civic volunteers, scouting groups, and the Ninety-Nines organization of women pilots. Along with the safety benefits of guided navigation, air marking was variously touted as a job program, a scout merit badge, and a commercial welcome mat, in addition to a boon to women in aviation.

In 1933, one of the Ninety-Nines founding members, Phoebe F. Omlie (1902-1975), was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as special advisor for air intelligence to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics - NACA (the predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA) becoming the first woman to hold an aviation related federal position.35 During her tenure, she initiated an air marking program to paint 12-foot high black and orange letters on the roofs of barns, factories, warehouses, and water tanks to identify the locale and direction of the nearest airport.36 The program was funded through a system of state grants from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Omlie hired five fellow members of the Ninety-Nines to administer the program in each state: Louise Thaden, , , Nancy Harkness, and Helen McCloskey.37

By the middle of 1936, 30 states were actively involved in the program with approvals given for 16,000 markers at a cost of roughly one million dollars.38 Blanche Noyes was named chief of the Air Marking staff, a position she held for almost three decades. Noyes along with her staff were responsible for travelling the country and training others to paint town and airport names, directional arrows, mileage, and eventually latitude and longitude coordinates on rooftops and on open land where a pilot could clearly see the air markings. Noyes and her colleagues helped aid in the painting of some 13,000 air markers before World War II.39,40

34 “Concrete Arrows and the U.S. Airmail Beacon System,” Sometimes Interesting, https://sometimes- interesting.com/2013/12/04/concrete-arrows-and-the-u-s-airmail-beacon-system. 35 Ellen Nobles-Harris. “Marking the Way,” 99News Magazine, March/April, 2002. 36 “The Ninety-Nines: Air Marking The Way,” The 99News/International Women Pilots, January/February 1995, 5. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Jacqline Barnes. “Early Earhart Rival Leave Legacy of Safety: Blanche Noyes Guides Pilots Home,” Journal of Air Traffic Control, Fall 2013, https://www.atca.org/uploads/Blanches%20Noyes%20ATC%20Journal%20Fall.pdf

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 11 With the onset of World War II, it was feared that air markings would be an aid to enemy airships. The federal government ordered that all air markings within 150 miles of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts be erased. Hence, Noyes and her staff set out across the country to blacken out those very same markings the team of women pilots had diligently created.41 In Santa Monica the air markers near or at the airport were removed and the Douglas Aircraft plant was camouflaged from the air.

Following the war, Blanche Noyes managed the air marking division of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).42 Blanche believed it was critical to not only replace the air markings that were removed during the war period for security reasons, but also to add even more navigational aids.43 When federal funds for the program ended in 1947, Noyes gained financial support from civic groups around the country and also involved the Ninety-Nines as a means to continue the air marking program. In the years to come the newer airplanes, airways, and airports came equipped with more modern, technologically advance air navigational equipment and air markings were no longer necessarily utilized. Nonetheless, today any formal air marking is conducted under the conditions of stipulated federal regulations.

Though Blanche Noyes retired in 1971 she continued as a lifelong advocate to aviation, women pilots, and flight safety. Today, local chapters of the Ninety-Nines continue the tradition of air marking by raising funds and organizing volunteers to repaint the air markers, symbolic navigational compass roses, and other forms of aviation identification marks at airports across the country. The air markings that remain are a physical reminder of the early days of aviation and symbolize the important history of women in aviation.

Compass Rose, Navigational Aid. were originally developed when lodestones, a mineral that has naturally magnetized iron ore, were suspended above a board with the ability to pivot and turn.44 It was discovered that the stones would always point in the same direction, and align themselves with the north/south axis of the earth.

Early compass roses were originally drawn to indicate winds and were used by sailors in seafaring navigation. The rose represented the eight major winds, the eight half-winds, and the 16 quarter-winds, totaling 32 points. The eight major winds are indicated by a letter initial above the line marking its name, as in N (north), E (east), S (south), and W (west). Around the time of the Christopher Columbus and Portuguese exploration some compass rose indicators used fleur-de-lis, which replaced the initial letter T (for tramontana, the classical name of the north wind) that marked north, and a cross that replaced the initial

41 Ellen Nobles-Harris. “Marking the Way,” 99News Magazine, March/April, 2002 42 Ibid. 43 Ibid. 44 Xanthe Webb Aintablian, “An Overview and ,” ThoughtCo.com, April 10, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/the-compass-instrument-1435002?print

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 12 letter L (for levante, an easterly wind) that marked east, showing the direction of the Holy Land. Fleur-de-lis and cross symbols are still common on compass roses today.45

As related to aviation, the compass rose is multi-functional. It is a form of air marking as it provides a visual feature on the ground to help pilots navigate and find airfields and it’s also used to help calibrate (or “swing”) on-board airplane compasses. It was a critical and necessary navigational aid for pilots of the early aviation era. A compass rose, and associated calibration pad, are in a paved area of the airport where it is magnetically calm.46 The taxiway to the compass rose is generally placed perpendicular to the taxiway with the least traffic.47 For a fully functioning compass rose, brass or bronze is used in its construction since neither metal affects magnetic instruments. In calibration of an on-board aircraft compass all electrical equipment is turned off and the engines are kept running to simulate actual flight conditions. The plane is then turned in a circle beginning at what the compass rose indicates as “magnetic” north and the plane’s compass is then adjusted accordingly. The aircraft is then rotated to the east, followed by the south, and then the west adjusting the compass at each cardinal point.4849

As for the design of a compass rose, there is no single type of style. For aviation purposes a properly surveyed compass is constructed to applicable FAA standards. Each cartographer typically designs a compass rose a little different, using different colors, graphics, and symbols. Multiple colors are often used as a means of easily distinguishing the many points and lines on a compass rose. The Ninety-Nines compass rose logo was designed in 1939 by Los Angeles chapter member Wilma Fritschey. The distinctive Ninety-Nine logo with the interlocking of two “9”s in block-cut font is prominently featured at the center of their commemorative compass rose design.

It appears that the Santa Monica Airport is known to have had a functioning compass rose on its grounds adjacent to the airfield in its early years. There is written documentation and visual evidence that such a navigational tool existed at “Clover Field” at one time.

Santa Monica Compass Rose. At the Santa Monica Airport there is indication that there was some form of a compass rose at the airfield prior to the standardization of air marking and the creation of the Ninety-Nines distinctive compass rose logo that is there at the airport today. Mention of a compass rose at the Santa Monica airfield is cited in the biography on aviatrix Bobbi Trout who flew in the “Powder Puff Derby” of August 1929. In her memoir she mentions that her airplane, a Golden Eagle Chief, had been delivered to Clover Field the night before the race without being tested.50 The next morning while testing the plane she taxied to the compass rose to find the aircraft’s compass was off alignment and would not hold on north.

45 Ibid. 46 Jeffrey Frank Jones, U.S. Navy Air Traffic Controller NAVEDTRA 14342, U.S. Navy, no date, 4-A-4. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid. 49 “Standardized Procedures for Performing Aircraft Magnetic Compass Calibration,” Advisory Circular #43-215, U.S. Department of Transportation-Federal Aviation Administration, 08/7/2017. 50 Donna Veca and Skip Mazzio. Just Plane Crazy, Santa Clara, California: Osborne Publisher, Inc., 1987, 106.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 13 Bobbi and engine mechanic, Joe Harrison, worked on the problem and ultimately fixed the plane’s internal compass in time for takeoff that afternoon (August 18, 1929).51

Other than Bobbi Trout’s reference, it is uncertain if or where a compass rose was located on the airfield at the time of the 1929 air race and in the years following the event. No documentation was uncovered during this current assessment to indicate the existence of the compass rose or its location during the 1930s and early 1940s. In reviewing older aerial photographs of the airfield from the late 1920s, 1930s, and much of the 1940s no such calibration device was evident on or near the airfield. It is; however, assumed that such a device would have existed at the airport for use by civilians and the Douglas Aircraft Company to calibrate the flight compasses onboard the aircraft being assembled and flown there at Santa Monica.

It appears that the compass rose at the Santa Monica Airport (Clover Field) was removed from the airport (or at least hidden from public view) during the war period as required by the federal government for security reasons. Some photographs of the facility taken after the war in 1947 do show the area where the compass rose was known to have existed when it was re- installed in the northeast corner of the airport adjacent to runways 21 and 22. At that time, the functioning calibration pad with compass rose was surrounded by a semi-circle lighting system and subsequently a semi-circular blast fence (sound wall). The compass rose is also visible in aerial photographs dating from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

The Clover Field compass rose is also referenced in an advertisement in the magazine Western Aerospace dated from 1950. An advertisement for aircraft dealers at the airport listed Clover Aviation along with the amenities of the airport that included large maintenance hangars with up to 150 feet clear span, control tower, utility buildings, aircraft turntables, beacon towers, and a compass rose.

The Los Angeles chapter of the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots website references that in November 1974, the chapter’s air marking committee obtained the approval to re-mark Santa Monica Airport. To what extent such air markings were completed at the airport is unclear. Around early 1985, the compass rose was removed from its northeast location in preparation of the new airport layout plan approved by the FAA in 1984. The initial painting of the current Ninety-Nine compass rose at the northwest section of the airport adjacent runway 3 and Donald Douglas Loop North was conducted over Father’s Day weekend in June 1985 by members of the local Ninety-Nine chapter. Just prior to the painting event the City’s engineer visited the proposed site of the new compass rose locale at the airfield to calibrate and mark the four magnetic points. The distinct Ninety-Nine compass rose pattern was laid out using a borrowed template from another local chapter of the Ninety-Nines. The paint was donated by a local paint shop, the paint brushes and rollers were provided by the airport, and the labor was supplied by volunteers from the local Los Angeles chapter of the Ninety-Nines (LA 99s).

51 Ibid.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 14 The painting/installation of the compass rose was one of several airport improvement projects completed between 1985 and 1989. Redevelopment work also included the resurfacing and relocation of taxiways and the installation of new roadways, sound walls (and their replacement), lighting, security fencing, and drainage systems.

Aerial photographs of the airport from June 1989 confirm the placement of the compass rose in its relocated (current) location. It was last repainted by the LA 99s and is dated as such in its present location. The compass rose is in fair condition with peeling paint along many of its points and outer circle. Today, the compass rose is a symbolic feature and is not necessarily in a historic location at the airport.

EVALUATION CRITERIA Santa Monica Landmark Designation Criteria. Historic preservation in Santa Monica is governed by Chapter 9.56 (Landmarks and Historic Districts Ordinance) of the City of Santa Monica Municipal Code. The Ordinance includes criteria and procedures for designating City of Santa Monica Landmarks, Structures of Merit, and Historic Districts. Landmarks may include structures, natural features, or any type of improvement to a property that is found to have particular architectural or historical significance to the City. The Ordinance also defines “Improvement” as any building, structure, place, site, work of art, landscape feature, plant life, life-form, scenic condition or other object constituting a physical betterment of real property, or any part of such betterment.

Pursuant to Section 9.56.100(A) of the Ordinance, a property merits consideration as a City Landmark if it satisfies one or more of the following six criteria:

1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political, or architectural history of the City.

2) It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.

3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state, or national history.

4) It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail, or historical style valuable to such a study.

5) It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer, or architect.

6) It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community, or the City.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 15 Historical Integrity. “Integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance.”52 Both the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources recognize seven aspects of qualities that, in various combinations, define integrity. According to National Register Bulletin 15, the seven qualities that define integrity are location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Integrity is the authenticity of a property’s physical identity clearly indicated by the retention of characteristics that existed during the property’s period of significance. In addition to meeting the criteria of significance, a property must have integrity.

Properties eligible for local landmark designation must meet at least two of the local landmark designation criteria and retain enough of their historic character or appearance to be recognizable as historical resources and to convey the reasons for their historical significance. To retain historic integrity a property should possess several, and usually most, of these seven aspects. Thus, the retention of the specific aspects of integrity is paramount for a property to convey its significance.53 The following is excerpted from National Register Bulletin 15, which provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the seven qualities or aspects of historical integrity:

• Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred. • Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. • Setting is the physical environment of a historic property. • Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property. • Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. • Feeling is a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time. • Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.

In assessing a property’s integrity, the National Register criteria recognize that properties change over time, therefore, it is not necessary for a property to retain all its historic physical

52 U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service. National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, (Washington, DC, 1995), p. 44. 53 Ibid.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 16 features or characteristics. The property must retain, however, the essential physical features that enable it to convey its historic identity.54

Currently, the City of Santa Monica landmark designation criteria does not include a definition of historic integrity in its ordinance. Therefore, the assessment of integrity was not conducted for this particular property.

EVALUATION FOR LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION Application of City Landmark (Significance) Criteria. In summary, based on documentary research, site analysis, the development of historic contexts, and an evaluation against local eligibility criteria, the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose appears to satisfy the necessary City of Santa Monica Landmark significance criteria for formal landmark consideration. The property was evaluated according to statutory criteria, as follows.

• SMMC 9.56.100(a)(1). It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political, or architectural history of the City. Aside from the record-breaking events and flights that occurred at the Santa Monica Airport (aka Clover Field) during its formative years, the first National Women’s Air Derby of 1929 (Powder Puff Derby), which started at the Santa Monica Airport (Clover Field) became the turning point for women in aviation. This first major transcontinental race for women was the golden opportunity to prove that women were as competent to fly as men, and to prove to a nervous public that airplanes and long distance flying were going to be an important part of everyone’s future. Equally important to these ladies was to fly the race as a team. As much as each desired to win, they helped each other throughout the event, with the hope that all would finish the race. Beginning in Santa Monica they forged a tight bond during the course of that challenging and demanding cross-country race that ended in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the first time that they had met so many other female flyers. The comradery of the group led some of them to form an organization of their own to encourage women to fly and to make a united stand on the issues that affected them. Thus, the international organization of women pilots known as The Ninety-Nines was established November 2, 1929, only a few months after the so important all-female “Powder Puff Derby” air race.

The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose under review symbolizes an important chapter in the aviation history of women in Santa Monica. It not only is a symbolic link to the pioneering era of local women’s aviation history, but is also emblematic of the early air marking program for which the Ninety-Nines were and still are so closely associated with here at the Santa Monica Airport and elsewhere across the country. Therefore, the Santa Monica Compass Rose appears to satisfy this criterion.

54 Ibid, p. 46.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 17 • SMMC 9.56.100(a)(2). It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value. Although it is considered a functional piece of art, the Compass Rose does not appear to have the aesthetic or artistic interest or value necessary for such recognition under this criterion. Therefore, it does not meet this criterion.

• SMMC 9.56.100(a)(3). It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state, or national history. Though the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose symbolizes the importance of women in aviation history it does not necessarily have any direct physical association with the historic personages or with the important event in history in which it memorializes. The Compass Rose is merely commemorative in nature, emblematic for what it represents - the contributions of women in aviation history in Santa Monica and as an early navigational aid utilized at the airport. The Compass Rose under review was painted as a volunteer effort by members of the local chapter of The Ninety-Nines in 1985. It has been repainted since that time. The Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose was not in existence at the time of the National Women’s Air Derby of 1929 (aka Powder Puff Derby). Any association with historic personages or important events is merely symbolic. As a result, it does not appear to meet this criterion.

• SMMC 9.56.100(a)(4). It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail, or historical style valuable to such a study. The Santa Monica Compass Rose in its current location is considered a functional piece of art painted by the local chapter of the Ninety-Nines (Los Angeles Chapter, The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots). As such, it does not possess any distinguishing architectural characteristics or embody the use of indigenous materials that would be valuable to a study of a period, style, method of construction. As it is a symbolic re-creation of the Ninety-Nine’s compass rose, it does not represent a unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail, or historical style valuable to such a study. Therefore, it does not appear to meet this criterion.

• SMMC 9.56.100(a)(5). It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer, or architect. The Compass Rose is not a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer, or architect. While the design of the Santa Monica Compass Rose in its current location is based on the original scheme created in 1939 by Ninety-Nine member Wilma Fritschey, it was repainted by the members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Ninety- Nines. In addition, the template for the Santa Monica Compass Rose was borrowed from another chapter of the Ninety-Nines. Therefore, there is no indication that this local group should be considered a master in the field of design, construction, or architecture.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 18 • SMMC 9.56.100(a)(6). It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community, or the City. Despite its unique location at the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose, its siting is such that it is not readily accessible to the public or visible from the public right-of-way. Therefore, it has not become an established or familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community, or the City. Hence, the Santa Monica Compass Rose does not satisfy this criterion.

Character-defining Features. The character-defining features associated with Compass Rose are those that define it as a navigational tool associated with the female aviation organization The Ninety-Nines. Such distinct features include, but are not limited to the following:

• Location near or adjacent to the airfield, runway, taxiway, or other airport associated feature (the current location is not necessarily historic in itself)

• Large size and distinct shape as an 12 point compass rose

• Material (paint) and color pattern and hue (blue and white)

• Block font type of “99” logo and arrangement as two interlocking number “9”s of varying size and shape

CONCLUSION Despite its currently frayed condition, the Santa Monica Compass Rose is an important symbolic, commemorative reminder of the City’s rich aviation history, in particular the early contributions to women’s aviation heritage. It is also emblematic of the early air marking program for which the Ninety-Nines were so closely associated with here at the Santa Monica Airport and elsewhere across the country. Based on documentary research, site analysis, the development of historic contexts, and an evaluation against local eligibility criteria, it appears that the Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose is eligible for local landmark recognition under City of Santa Monica Landmark Criteria 9.56.100(A)(1). Note that the current location of the Compass Rose under review is not in itself historic, but rather its symbolic association with the airport and aviation setting are important character-defining features.

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Warren, Charles S. ed. History of the Santa Monica Bay Region. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1934.

Warren, Charles S. ed. Santa Monica Blue Book. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1941.

Warren, Charles S. ed. Santa Monica Community Book. Santa Monica: Cawston, 1944.

“Way Cleared for Improvement of Clover Field,” Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1944.

Webb Aintablian, Xanthe. “An Overview and History of the Compass,” ThoughtCo.com, April 10, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/the-compass-instrument-1435002?print.

Western Aerospace, vol. 30. Los Angeles: Western Aviation Magazine, 1950.

White, Col. Carl F. ed. Santa Monica Community Book (Fifth Edition). Santa Monica: Cawston, 1953.

Winters, Kathleen C. Amelia Earhart: The Turbulent Life of an American Icon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

“Women’s Air Race Starts with Throng Watching,” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, August 19, 1929.

“Women Derby Entrants and Cups They Hope to Win,” Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1929.

“Women Flyers Begin Line-Up,” Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1929.

“Women Fliers, Famous Throughout World: Gather at Airport for Final Plans for Contest; at Ballroom Tonight,” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, August 17, 1929.

“Women Pilots Will Hold Airport Dance,” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, January 29, 1932.

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 26

APPENDIX

Regional Location County Assessor Index Map Aerial Site Map Aerial Site View Photographs and Ephemeral Material Airfield Photographs

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 27

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK

SANTA MONICA AIRPORT COMPASS ROSE City Landmark Assessment Report page 28

Legend

Notes

Santa Monica Airport - Compass Rose Santa Monica, CA

1: 72,224

2.3 0 1.14 2.3 Miles WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere © Latitude Geographics Group Ltd. THIS MAP IS NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Aerial site map location, Santa Monica Airport

Aerial site view of Santa Monica Airport with Compass Rose location marked (left)

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Aerial view of Compass Rose adjacent taxiway area and Runway 3 to the south

Aerial view of Compass Rose, detail

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Compass Rose adjacent Donald Douglas Loop North (looking northeast)

Santa Monica Compass Rose adjacent Runway 3 (looking southeast) PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Compass Rose (looking southwest)

Santa Monica Compass Rose (looking northwest)

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Compass Rose, detail of The Ninety-Nines (99s) logo

Santa Monica Compass Rose, repaint signature and date local 99s chapter (LA99) PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Compass Rose, points detail

Santa Monica Compass Rose, condition detail

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Initial painting of Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose, June 1985 by local 99s chapter volunteers (LA 99s)

Volunteers in front of almost completed Santa Monica Airport Compass Rose, June 1985, looking southeast

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Ephemeral material – Clover Field, 1924

Ephemeral material – Douglas Aircraft Company promotion, 1926 PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Clover Field airfield information, 1924

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

“Powder Puff” National Women’s Air Derby aviation route map, 1929 PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Cover illustration of Gene Nora Jessen’s book on the “Powder Puff” air race of 1929

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Local newspaper coverage on the air race and female pilot participants

Additional news coverage on the air race and female pilot participants

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Front page of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook regarding the air race

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Race day, August 18, 1929 at Clover Field (Santa Monica Airport), looking southeast

Planes lined up ready for take-off at one minute intervals, August 18, 1929, looking southeast

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Large crowds at north side of airfield watch as planes depart at one minute intervals

Pilots, mechanics, and airfield officials at starting line prior to take-off, August 18, 1929, looking south

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

“Powder Puff” Derby publicity shot , Clover Field - Amelia Earhart center right; , far right; Bobbi Trout, second to the left; Louise Thaden (winner), far left

National Women’s First Transcontinental Air Race 1929 (Powder Puff Derby) Results PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

The Ninety-Nines ephemeral material

First meeting of The Ninety-Nines, November 2, 1929

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

The Ninety-Nines font style

Typical Ninety-Nines signature compass rose design

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

The Ninety-Nines ephemeral material, including first use of compass rose design on newsletter head in 1940

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view, 1947

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view, 1953

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view (bottom right), 1967

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view, 1971

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view, 1980

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view, 1983

PHOTOGRAPHS & EPHEMERAL MATERIAL

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view (99s Compass Rose), 1989

Santa Monica Airport – Compass Rose view (99s Compass Rose), 2018

Santa Monica Airport (Clover Field), Santa Monica, CA

1924, looking northeast, looking northeast 1927 (top = north)

1929, looking northwest 1934, looking northeast

1935 (top = north) 1937, looking southwest

Santa Monica Airport (Clover Field), Santa Monica, CA

1940 (top = north) 1947 (top = north)

1956 1969

1989 2018

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