Fittingly, an aerial view of the Quad Cities Airport in the late 1930s.

Prior to the mid-1930s, the Moline airport had been a small airfield with a few hangers of modest size. Then in October 1935, during the depression, the Federal Air Commerce Bureau approved the use of WPA funds for substantial improvements at the airport, which then was the Moline Municipal Airport. Although the WPA supplied most of the money, the City of Moline invested substantially into the project as well. At times the project employed over 400 men who typically were paid $55 to $77 a month for a thirty-hour workweek. The project included filling and grading of the field, installation of a drainage system, paving 14,000 feet of runways with asphalt, paving shoulders and parking areas, and the installation of a lighting system. Also built was a structure that included a gas station, restaurant, ticket office, and the airport manager’s office and residence, which are visible in this late 1930s aerial photo. It was located at the southwest corner of U. S. Highways 6 and 150, just south across Airport Road from the current Skyline Restaurant. Hangers and a pump house were built to its west along Airport Road. These airport buildings were designed William H. Schulzke, a prominent Moline architect who had designed Wharton Field House and other Moline buildings.

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