Little Swan Island Unable to Meet Big Changes
by PSU students Hien Bui and Michelle Kain

He zoomed over town in his Spirit of St. Louis, then lazily circled and soared low over the Veteran’s Hospital to dip his wings in salute before finally heading for Swan Island. He made several test runs at the new air strip, then landed with the punctuality of a crack railroad train coming to stop just a few seconds before his scheduled arrival time of 2p.m. A reporter for The Oregon Journal writing about the September 14, 1927 dedication by Charles Lindbergh of the airport at Swan Island

Photo Courtesy of the Port of Portland, Portside, Fall 1997

   In 1925, like many growing urban areas, Portland insisted on having an airport. Aviation interests proposed that the swampy Swan Island be used as an airport, and the Port of Portland purchased 253 acres. Construction began in 1926 and was completed in May, 1930. The airport’s services included airmail and passenger service. By 1935, the Swan Island Airport could not handle all of Portland’s air traffic, especially the larger mainliner aircraft.