Seattle’s Commercial Aviation 1908-1941

Interested in aviation as early as 1910, William Boeing waited until 1914 for his first airplane ride. In 1916, he founded the airplane company that put Seattle on the aviation map. Before Boeing, Seattle featured aircraft builders like Eugene Romano, G. T. Takasou, Tom Hamilton, and Herb Munter. Boeing emerged during World War I and, by the beginning of World War II, had become a world leader. In those years, lesser known individuals like Eddie Hubbard, Percy Barnes, Vern Gorst, the Becvar brothers, Elliott Merrill, Jim Galvin, and Lana Kurtzer influenced commercial aviation around Seattle. Drawing on photographs from around the area, Seattle’s Commercial Aviation: 1908-1941 illustrates the early days beginning with dirigible flights, recognizes the arrival of commercial airmail and the airlines, salutes the local operators, and marks Seattle’s emergence as the aviation gateway to Alaska.