Under a variety of official designations, Sand Point, a peninsula in north Seattle that juts into Lake Washington, served for almost 50 years as an air base, aviation training center, and aircraft repair depot for the U.S. Navy. The development of the combat-ready naval air station on Whidbey Island made Sand Point superfluous as an air base, and in 1970 Sand Point changed to the Naval Station Seattle. In 1975 a large portion of the Navy's land was given to the City of Seattle and to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The city's land was largely developed as a park and named Sand Point Park (now Magnuson Park).
This image shows the main entrance to Sand Point Naval Air Station, with the dispensary in the left foreground and the administration building in the center background. The Navy built both structures between 1931-1935 with the assistance of civilian agencies such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Caption information source: "Sand Point Naval Air Station:Â 1920-1970," by David Wilma, HistoryLink.org Essay 2249 Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
ID Number: 2000.107.217.35.01
Date: Circa 1940
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 7.5 x 9 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
