This older Burke and Herbert bank building in the Baileys Crossroad area of Northern Virginia looks like just about any other bank in the area. Nothing about it necessarily stands out. Yet it holds an interesting part of history on it's roof.
The odd looking lights that you might think are an old security system or fire alarm are actually the remaining becons that marked the building for incoming planes to the Cross Roads Airport. As you can see by the highrises behind the bank no pilot today would want to attempt a landing in the area.
The original agreement to operate an airport in the area was approved in 1942 but due to WWII the airport license was not issued and named until 1946. In 1947 the Cross Roads Airport opened and appeared on flight maps. By 1949 the name on the areonatutical maps now showed the airport being called Washington Airport with two unpaved runways.
As time passed the runways were paved and housing developments going up nearby began to complain about the noise from the aircraft. In the 1960's even the Goodyear Blimp made a visit to the airfield but as with many of the smaller airfields, such as the Springfield Airport 15 miles down the road the future of airport was determined by the increasing value of the land.
The airport officially closed in October 1970 and the construction of Skyline Plaza, two twenty six floor residential towers began. The condominiums were completed in 1977 and except for these two lights all traces of the airport are long gone.
Today's Baileys Crossroads is on the radar of Fairfax County for redevelopment to a more pedistrian friendly area with a future metro station. The area has come a long way from an area that once welcomed airplanes instead of traffic backups on Route 7.
For more information on the Cross Roads Airport, other small airports in Northern Virginia or across the US check out Abondoned & Little Known Airfields.
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Cool history. Thanks for sharing it. These are another one of those things that makes an area, neighborhood, or city unique and full of character.
Cal
Interesting how many airports once were and are no longer. I clicked on the link you provided and was awed by what once were in MD. Enlightening for sure.
That was really informative Cindy. Those beacon lights have been there for a long time.
Cindy
An interesting slice of history, thanks for shaing the insight.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Cindy,
What an interesting little piece of history. I've heard of Baileys Crossing a lot...just never knew anything about it.
Rich
Cindy - amazing how you turned a bank and its beacons into a history lesson. Loved it.
Thanks for the interesting info. Keep up the great blogging.
Another great piece of local trivia.
Cindy, my husband lived in Virginia when there was an airport on Route 7,...I also remember while living at Southern Towers, there was an apartment building on Route 7 being constructed and some floors fell in killing one or two people, which was unheard of back then. And, people were afraid of high rise buildings for a while.
Rebecca-the building that collapsed during construction killing 14 people was one of the Skyline Plaza condos.. The airport on Route 7 would have been this Bailieys Crossing. I've always been amazed that Southern Towers has never been razed for new buildings but they seem to continue to attract renters due to their good location.
Thanks Pat I've been writing about local history trivia on Active Rain since 2007 :-)
Sal-thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.
Leah-so little history...so litte time. Have a great weekend.
Rich-though housing and shopping centers took over many of our small regional airports we still have some close enough by in both VA and MD for private pilots to enjoy.
Lou-thanks for your comment. Have a great day.
Kay-it is interesting that they still remain today. If Fairfax County moves ahead with redevelopment in the future hopefully this little piece of history will stay.
Martha-seems there were a lot of small local airports in both of our areas at one time. Now we have cars instead.
Cal-I would suspect that 99% of the people who see those odd lights on the back of the bank think they are just....odd lights.
From the picture, I thought they might be security cameras. I love local tidbits of history. You are very creative in your blogs.
You and your historical airports. I really do need to introduce you to my husband, James. He'd love to talk about this stuff. :)
Interesting local history lesson. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Tere-thank you for stopping by and the compliment. I try to add a little personal knowledge or information gained from living in this area almost my entire life to my posts.
Chris Ann-having a husband who was a pilot and a son who flew for awhile as well gives me a strong interest in aviation and aviation history.
Roy-thank you for coming by and sharing one of your beautiful photos.