Wiley G. Clarkson, Architect

Corsicana:  June 1908 to Dec. 1911

Fort Worth: Jan. 1912 to May 5, 1952

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Texas Airports and Airfields

 

Municipal Airport  -  Meacham Field

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport

City of Fort Worth

This project came to light when reading my grandfather's 1944 Professional Record.  Later, letters were found from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

He received international recognition for his design of the Administration Building and Control Tower.

Administration Building 1936  $155,000.00

photo taken by W. D. Smith for my grandfather

Photo supplied by Gd Pyeatt, who has done considerable research on Fort Worth architecture

 

Other jobs for For the Airport:

Municipal Airport Tower  1943  $9,000.00

Unknown job at Meacham Field 1945  $35,000.00

 

International correspondence relating to Meacham Airport Administration Building and Control Tower.

 

 

 

Admin Building and Control Tower in background of photo

Photo by W. D. Smith

The following link is to an excellent history of

FORT WORTH MEACHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:  By Don Pyeatt

 

 

Army Air Force Station

Childress, Texas

1942

designed when associated with the firm of

Clarkson, Pelich, Gerens, and Rady

Work done for the U. S. Engineers

Childress, Texas

1942 Army Air Force Station and Childress Municipal Airport

Childress Army Airfield was initially authorized on 2 May 1942 and occupied an area of 2,474 acres. Construction of the field began immediately thereafter. An activation ceremony was held on 27 October 1942, and Col. John W. White assumed command on 24 November. The base was assigned to the Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command.  The initial mission of Childress AAF was bombardier training.  Near the end of the war, it was used as a prisoner of war camp. 

After the field was closed on December 21, 1945, it was given to the city and transformed into a municipal airport. Childress Municipal Airport is a commercial airport located within city limits, 4 miles west of central Childress, Texas. It is owned and operated by the city of Childress, Texas.

 

The airfield at childress is located about 3 miles outside of Childress.  When driving onto the airfield paved areas to the hangers and the main runways, it becomes apparent very quickly that the airfield is not one through which there is a lot of air traffic.  The older buildings from WW2 are showing their age and lack of upkeep.  One frame building was a falling down shell.

 

 

 

Perrin Air Force Base/Grayson County Airport

2.5 miles south of Pottsboro

Work done for the U. S. Engineers

Some time in the 1930's Clarkson formed an airport design company.  From what little I have been able to find on this airfield, it probably started out as a commercial venture by Denison and Sherman. In the Spring of 1941, Grayson County leaders leased it out to the Army Air Force as a pilot training base. In 1940, he had already taken on a large scale government contract in Fort Worth.  As World War II started up, he took on more and more defense related contracts with several other leading architects in Fort Worth.  From a description below, the design of this air field is similar to the Childress airfield using a triangular pattern for runways.

announced in a Dallas Paper on 08/20/1940

The following information was found in two Wikipedia postings:

 

Perrin Air Force Base

In the spring of 1941, Grayson County leaders began to discuss the possibilities of a U.S. Army Air Corps basic flying school to be built in Grayson County. In March 1941 Grayson County Judge Jake J. Loy went to Washington, DC, to further the project idea. After his visit to Washington, Judge Loy returned to Sherman and began to work on the project with county commissioners, and a tract of land was subsequently selected that was suitable for use as a flying field.

On 16 June 1941, the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps drew up a program for construction. A tentative authorized strength of 199 officers, 422 cadets, 1730 enlisted men, and funds in the amount of $3,966,833.00 were ordered and set aside for the construction of the airfield. The lease was signed by the United States Government and Grayson County on 1 July 1941 and the Army Corps of Engineers started construction on the newly established Grayson Basic Flying School the same week.

On 9 August 1941, Major Robert J. Warren was the first person to report to duty at the partially constructed airfield, assuming duties as project officer and temporary Commanding Officer. Ten days later, five enlisted men arrived from San Angelo, TX, to assist Major Warren in the development of the airstrip, hangars, barracks, and field headquarters building.

The airfield was laid out with four runways in a triangle pattern, consisting of 4500x150(N/S), 2700x150(NE/SW), 4200x150(E/W), 5137x150(NW/SE), all constructed of concrete. A large parking apron was constructed to accommodate the planned basic (phase II) training aircraft with at least 6 maintenance hangars and supporting buildings. East of the airfield, a ground support station was constructed consisting of about several hundred buildings based on standardized plans and architectural drawings. The buildings were designed to be the "cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use." To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board and concrete asbestos. Metal was sparsely used. Perrin Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, and stores to buy living necessities.

and

North Texas Regional Airport

 

North Texas Regional Airport / Perrin Field[2] (IATA: PNX, ICAO: KGYI, FAA LID: GYI) is a county owned, public use airport in Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is located between the cities of Sherman and Denison.[1] Formerly known as Grayson County Airport, the airport was renamed in November 2007.[2] It is used entirely for general aviation purposes. Several of the buildings are occupied by businesses, Grayson County government agencies, as well as Grayson County College.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned GYI by the FAA and PNX by the IATA[3] (which assigned GYI to Gisenyi Airport in Gisenyi, Rwanda).[4]

As a general aviation reliever airport, unconfirmed reports suggest that the airport might potentially (in the distant future) serve as a third airport for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to handle travelers from its growing northern suburbs. If this occurs, commercial traffic would be focused on regional jet airline operations. A planned extension of State Highway 289 would pass the airport on the west side.

For usage of airport before 1971, see Perrin Air Force Base.

The airport is located on the site of the former Perrin Air Force Base, which was built in 1941 and closed in 1971.[5] Since the closure, a small group of local Sherman and Denison citizens have held the memory of Perrin together, hosting nine Perrin Field reunions since the early 1980s. The Perrin AFB Research Foundation was established in 1998. Today, in addition to serving as a general aviation airport, several businesses, as well as a juvenile detention center/boot-camp and adult probation center are built upon former barracks and nearby areas. There is a small museum dedicated to the former Perrin Air Force Base at the airport and Grayson County College uses several of the buildings for its course offerings. The college also operates the former base golf course.

After seeing the fighters take off from here as a young man, noted aviation expert Chesley Sullenberger (best known as the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549) became interested in flying.[6][7]