In 1924, four Douglas World Cruisers, each manned by an Army Air Corps pilot and mechanic, took off from Seattle’s Sand Point Field to fly around the world. Some 175 days later, on September 29, 1924, three of the planes arrived back in Seattle. Some 40,000 excited people greeted the flyers as they landed. The crowds were expected to be so large that Lake Washington steamers were pressed into service to carry some of the spectators from Madison Park.
Here, one of the Round the World Flight officers, possibly flight commander First Lieutenant Lowell Herbert Smith (1892-1945), walks through the crowd carrying a celebratory bouquet. Some of the lake steamers can be seen in the upper left background. The landing site at Sand Point is now part of Seattle’s Magnuson Park, and a winged memorial to the flight can be seen at the park entrance.
Webster & Stevens number: 107476
Caption information source: "The Seattle Times," September 28 and 29, 1924.
Physical Description: 1 negative : glass, b&w ; 5 x 7 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
