Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is celebrating its 70th anniversary on Thursday.
Originally named National Airport, it replaced two smaller airports. President Franklin D. Roosevelt enthusiastically praised the building in his dedication speech, saying, “This airport, soon to be one of the world’s greatest facilities and surely its most convenient, and some of us like to think probably its most beautiful, should be brought with all possible emphasis to the attention of our people during this waking of America.”
It served 344,000 passengers in its first year. In 70 years, that number increased to more than 18 million.
President Clinton signed a bill in 1998 that changed its name to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
