Fonds RG-2 - City of Edmonton. Municipal Airport fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

City of Edmonton. Municipal Airport fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material - photograph

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on name of creator.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA EDM RG-2

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1926-1974, predominant 1955-1963 (Creation)
    Creator
    City of Edmonton. Edmonton Municipal Airport

Physical description area

Physical description

2.5 m of textual records. - 2 photographs

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1926-1971)

Administrative history

On June 16, 1926 Edmonton's airport become the first licensed municipal airport in Canada. Upon its establishment the airport was the responsibility of the Engineer's Department. A short-lived and ill-fated experiment occurred in 1927 when the City leased the land to farmer Mary Watt, who was expected to clear the brush, graze animals and raise hay on the land while maintaining it as an air field. When this project failed the Engineering Department retook control of the airfield.

In 1929 the newly incorporated Edmonton and Northern Alberta Aero Club was given responsibility for the airport. A Council Report that year recommended that since the airport was owned by the City a municipal official should be placed in charge. As a result, the Finance Committee appointed James "Jimmy" Bell airport manager on February 5, 1930. A former WWI bomber pilot and active member of the Aero Club, Bell would be a fixture at the airport until his retirement in 1962. For the first few years Bell was responsible for maintaining the hangar and field, while the Aero Club continued the field operations. Airport construction was done by staff of the Engineer's Department.

In 1940, as a result of the airfield's important role in the war effort, the Federal Government took over operations of the Edmonton Municipal Airport. This lasted until November 1, 1946, at which point control of the airport was transferred back to the Engineer's Department.

In 1947 James Bell became Superintendent of the Airport, presumably making the airport a separate department. This is confirmed by the functional organizational charts of the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1950s and 1960s the airport superintendent supervised all construction, maintenance and operational activity associated with the airport. He supervised a staff of around twenty, which included clerks, maintenance workers, fieldmen, watchmen, electricians, and janitors.

In 1965 the Edmonton Municipal Airport returned to the control of the Engineer's Department for budgetary reasons, however this was short-lived, and on December 29, 1967 the airport became independent once more when a Bylaw to regulate the operation of the Edmonton Industrial Airport (No. 3092) was passed.

In 1971, as part of a departmental reorganization, the responsibility for the airport was given to the newly formed Engineering and Transportation Department.

On April 1, 1996 the Edmonton Municipal Airport was transferred to the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority under a 56 year lease.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds consist of meeting minutes, agreements, financial records, personnel records, correspondence, and other material generated through the business conducted at the Municipal Airport.

An order has been imposed on the material. The arrangement includes three series.

  • Series 1 – Administration
  • Series 2 – Correspondence
  • Series 3 – Airport Tenants

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

This material was transferred from City Hall and the Municipal Airport to the City of Edmonton Archives between 1961 and 1992.

Arrangement

The material was arranged according to the filing system of the creator.
The photographs were assigned item numbers with the prefix EA-681.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Location of originals

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    These records contain information that is protected in alignment with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Copyright may apply.
    Reproduction restrictions may apply.

    Finding aids

    Associated materials

    Accruals

    No further accruals are expected.

    General note

    Accession numbers: A61-158; A70-73; A92-102

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Standard number

    Standard number

    Access points

    Subject access points

    Place access points

    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Control area

    Description record identifier

    Institution identifier

    City of Edmonton Archives

    Rules or conventions

    Rules for Archival Description (RAD)
    Archives Society of Alberta Subject Terms

    Status

    Final

    Level of detail

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Language of description

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area