ATLANTA'S MOST MISCAPTIONED PHOTO?
CLAIM: This is a photo of Charles Lindbergh and his "Spirit of St. Louis" aircraft visiting Atlanta in 1927.
RATING: FALSE!
CONCLUSION: This photo shows Atlanta aviation pioneer Beeler Blevins' Ryan monoplane at Candler Field in 1928.
RATING: FALSE!
CONCLUSION: This photo shows Atlanta aviation pioneer Beeler Blevins' Ryan monoplane at Candler Field in 1928.
Apologies for the brief excursion into Snopes territory but I'd like to settle the confusion over this photo of a Ryan monoplane at Atlanta. This particular photo is perhaps the most famous and iconic image of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in its infancy. The dirt field, open cockpit bi-planes and rustic hangars look shockingly quaint and primitive to anyone used to today's gargantuan world class transportation hub. This image has been shared and reposted thousands of times on social media - by local residents, airline travelers, history buffs, aviation fans, universities, historical societies and institutions, even by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport - almost always with the incorrect information in the caption!
So, I thought it would be fun and educational to take a detailed look at this amazing photo and hopefully settle the date and Lindbergh / not Lindbergh debate once and for all.
So, I thought it would be fun and educational to take a detailed look at this amazing photo and hopefully settle the date and Lindbergh / not Lindbergh debate once and for all.
Clue #1 : The Windshield
The most obvious sign that this is not the "Spirit of St. Louis" is the windshield. Lindbergh's aircraft was heavily modified for its transatlantic flight with the addition of fuel tanks at the front of the fuselage, in front of the pilot, which required the removal of the windshield and forward windows.
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Clue #2 : Kicking Up Dust
Lindbergh arrived in Atlanta on Tuesday October 11, 1927 and departed the next morning, Wednesday October 12. By all accounts, both days were overcast, wet, and drizzly and the "Spirit of St. Louis" had to be pushed out of the ankle-deep mud at one point.
No rain here! This photo shows bright sunshine, clear shadows and a cloud of dust, suggesting that the Georgia red clay was dry and dusty instead of the quagmire described in news reports.
Clue #3 : Where's The Crowd?
The Atlanta Constitution reported that as many as 50,000 people gathered at Candler Field to welcome Charles Lindbergh with the crowd stretching almost a mile along the north and east sides of the field. Thousands gathered again on the following morning to witness his departure.
There are maybe a few hundred people at the airport in this photo and certainly not a mile long crowd lining the north and east sides of the field.
Clue #4 : The buildings in the photo were completed months after Lindbergh visited.
The following photo appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on November 27, 1927 and shows the buildings at the field still under construction, six weeks after Lindbergh's visit. The tower at left, which would eventually be topped with a spotlight/navigation beacon is unfinished and the deck and steps seen in the above photo are not yet in place. The "Atlanta Airport" titles had yet to be painted on the Pitcairn hangar at center and the Blevins hangar at right is still being framed. The bare trees in the background suggest this photo was taken in the late fall, shortly before it was published in the newspaper.
The airport was officially opened to the general public on December 31, 1927. A crowd of over 600 turned out on the cold, windy day for a short ceremony followed by the activation of the airport's new lighting system. In this photo, likely taken in December 1927 or January 1928, the buildings and lighting tower are complete but the "Atlanta Airport" titles are still absent from the roof of the Pitcairn hangar.
Clue #5: The "Atlanta Airport" titles on the roof didn't appear until the following year.
It is almost universally accepted that the photo in question was taken in 1927, but this short article from the Atlanta Constitution on January 26, 1928 disproves that assumption.
The rooftop titles were approved on January 25, 1928 and were presumably added soon after. Notice the full foliage in this photo. Trees in Atlanta are not that full until at least late spring. This couldn't have been taken before May 1928.
Clue #6: Atlanta aviator Beeler Blevins owned a Ryan Monoplane similar to Lindbergh's.
Only three days after Charles Lindbergh's visit to Atlanta, local aviator Beeler Blevins arrived from San Diego with his very own brand new Ryan Monoplane. It's easy to see how it could be confused with the "Spirit of St. Louis" but the windows and windshield on Blevins' plane distinguished it from its famed counterpart. This aircraft was based at Candler Field for several years.
Here's a side by side comparison of Blevin's and Lindbergh's planes.
And finally, here's a detail from the photo showing the Blevins hangar with its Ryan Monoplanes sign.
So, after all that, I'm certain that the photo shows Beeler Blevins', not Charles Lindbergh's Ryan Monoplane at Candler Field in 1928, not 1927. It's still unclear exactly what day this photograph was taken and what the occasion was. If you have any more information, please contact me!
