On June 07, 1927, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved spending $15,000 to begin the development of an airport in the City of Manchester. A few months later, on October 21, 1927, the newly formed Manchester Board of Aviation and Recreation approved the construction of an airport on an 84 acre tract of land near Pine Island Pond. Ground was broken four days later and within a month, two 1800 foot runways were cleared.
In 1933, the first passenger terminal opened, and in 1934 scheduled airline service and airmail began in Manchester.
The airport was expanded in 1940, when the Roosevelt Administration approved a $286,000 expansion project with funds from the Civil Works Administration and Emergency Relief Administration programs. Manchester had met the requirements of these programs, which included funds for drainage and construction of new roads, hangars, hard-surface runways, appropriate signage, and additional landing strips. In the same year, the US War Department selected Manchester as an Army Air Corps base, complete with military housing. The first troops arrived in May 1940, which would eventually house approximately 6,000 military personnel. The air base was renamed Grenier Field by the War Department in 1942, in honor and memory of Manchester native Lt. Jean B. Grenier. Lt. Grenier had died in a training mission in 1934. There was a military presence at the airport until 1966, when control over it was transferred back to the City of Manchester.
Commercial operations began to resume after World War II, when some of the land and buildings were turned over to the City of Manchester and the Town of Londonderry. Northeast Airlines resumed scheduled service in 1951, offering three daily flights to New York City, but the rest of the base was largely closed to other civilian aviation at that time. In 1959, the Manchester Airport Authority (MAA) was formed as a commission established by the City Charter. Under the MAA and with the financial help of Roscoe A. Ammon, the airport opened a new passenger terminal in 1961, named after Ammon. The terminal also included a new air traffic control tower.
The airport was renamed in 1978 to Manchester Airport. During the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, new additions and renovations continued to expand and improve the airport. In 2006 the airport was officially renamed the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
Collections
The records of the Aviation Department consist mostly of reports, focusing mostly on the airport located in the City of Manchester, including master/terminal expansions, renovation plans, and environmental impacts.
Airport Authority Meeting Minutes (0417.002)
This collection consists of monthly meeting minutes created by the Airport Authority from 1966-1977, which document the official actions and decisions of the authority.