Show Miasmatic Swamp Lands Are AirPorts AirPorts Air AirPorts Ports Now Exit 16 Mosquitoes s sl I By I I. I S. S TERRELL STERRELL United Press Special Correspondent I BERKELEY Cal UP UP-Muni- UP Muni Municipal cipal authorities are watching watching- with much interest the tho ultimate results of ot on valueless miasmatic swamp and tidelands In Inthe Inthe inthe the San Francisco bay district Cities and private corporations active in that part of oC California are turning turn turn- ing property that once was a n. liability lia Ua- into the country's finest and most modern airports airport Officials of ot these cities and corporations corporations corporations cor cor- believe that through this unique type of or civic enterprise they are accomplishing two ends first ends first destroying breeding places for or mosquitos mos- mos and second reclaiming property unfit for ordinary Industrial industrial Indus Indus- trial trIll purposes for tor the worlds world's newest newest new new- est cst Industry industry aviation Probably the most outstanding ex example example ex- ex ample of or this typo of ot project is found at Alam Alameda da airport new air terminus of at Transcontinental Air Transport where the Wright Curtiss-WrIght Corporation Is 15 spending in transforming acres of ot tideland to one of ot the largest st airports in the United States Four million yards of ot silt Is being pumped from rom the Oakland estuary through huge pl pipes s sto to the field located on an arm of ot land that lies between the estu estuary r and San Francisco bay Charles R. R Schwan Schwanenberg resident engineer of or Wright Curtiss-Wright in ch charge of or construction estimates that approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately two years ears will be needed to complete the work started d slightly slight slightly ly more than two years cars ago Three crews of oC men working eight hours bours per da day are bringing the field to grade at the tho rate of ot yards ards of ot silt slit every 24 hours hour Before Wright Curtiss-Wright WrIght became interested Interested in interested In- In In the airport site millions of oC mosquitoes made their homes Inthe in inthe the tho swamp Harbor developers said the land practically was valueless to ordinary Industry and it became ame an Annie Orphan i iThe IThe The former swamp Is being filled up to an average depth of ot eight feet and Schwanenberg Is confident that when development Is complete the property will be listed among the most valuable In the entire bay district dis dis- After grade Is reached the surface is leveled oiled and rolled A squad of ot caterpillar tractors is being used in and towing the huge oil trucks over the new air terminus Schwanenberg s using a surface I of ot well oiled rolled silt instead of decomposed shell He says that shell has hIlS a tendency to whip up in u I high wind and Is la easily disturbed by landing planes whereas an oiled surface becomes packed In addition t to the tho airport Curtiss- Curtiss w right corporation Is s spending more mora than a quarter of ot a million dollars in developing a modern yacht jacht harbor har hUr- bor for tor transient pleasure vessels A clubhouse Is planned in connection with tho the harbor Near tho the Alameda airport Is the new San Francisco terminus terminus nus of ot the tho Western estern Air lr Express one once a Q mosquito infested marsh owned by the tho University of oC Call Call- fornia Cornia Tho The swamp was filled several years ears ago without cost of tho university when the city of Ook- Ook land dredged a n deeper channel channer inthe inthe in inthe the estuary Now ow the property has been leas leased to tho the Western Vestern Air Mr Express and its associated companies for develop develop- ment Engineers rs of oC tho the new port are arc using a decomposed shell surface In preference to the oiled runways 8 On the opposite side of ot the tho island on which the city of ot Alameda is lo located located located lo- lo is tho the huge Oakland airport home homo of ot the Boeing Air All School and port of oC the Boeing air lines JInes The city of ot Oakland has spent on developing what once was valueless land Into the most modern air terminus terminus terminus ter ter- minus in the tho countr country Ex Expenditure of ot several thousand dollars more for equipment and further development is planned I Several miles north of or these three I modern airports and facing the tho Golden Gate is tho emergency landIng landing land land- Ing field of the city of Berkeley This field presents a a. development unique in airport construction For many years cars the city of ot Berkely Berke- Berke ly Iy used the tidelands as a 1 dumping grounds for lor dry garbage Dry earth was thrown over the refuse refugo and it was allowed to d decompose For or ordinary ordinary ordinary or- or Industrial purposes the property property property prop prop- erty was useless Then almost overnight the need for Cor airports and landing fields became be became be- be came camo Financially unable to construct a large lorge airport city of officials of- of of or B Berkeley leveled the garbage garbage garb age dump constructed several hangars hangars hang hang- ars arg two runways and leased the the- property to an airplane manufacturing manufacturing turing concern Today the field has been approved by the department of ot commerce asan asan as asan an emergency landing field a small air school Is operating operating- there and the plane manufacturers are using It asa asa as asa a testing grounds These four c cases es of ot unique airport construction particularly that of at Dt Berkeley and Alameda indicate tho the possibilities of ot reclaiming g ua useless less I valueless swamp and marsh land for tho advancement of or aviation |