Hourglass Field

Hourglass Field was the popular name for an auxiliary landing field operated by the

El Cajon Boulevard Riot

. A community college now occupies the site. Its athletics complex and a community park adjacent to the college are named after the airfield.

History

Hourglass field was located just west of

MCAS Miramar. It was formerly known as Linda Vista Mesa Field and, later, Navy Outlying Field (NOLF) Miramar or Miramar Field / #01715 (OLF). From late 1931 to 1941 it was just a square clearing with an east-west runway. The popular name comes from the layout of the airport's runway system, which was a single piece of asphalt mostly in the shape of an hourglass (3 overlapping runways) which started construction in late 1941 and completed February 1, 1942. The hourglass field was primarily used for carrier landing practice during World War 2.^[1]^[2]

Around the time of World War II the Navy used the surrounding area as a bombing range. The Army also used the area as a test area.

In 1956 the Navy made the airfield available to the

socialists

call one of the first major youth riots of the 1960s.

Mira Mesa

.

Most of Hourglass Field is now gone. As of 2006 the northern edge of the hourglass still existed adjacent to the north side of the police/firefighter driving course. The southern edge of some baseball/softball fields paralleled the edge of runway 3/21, east of the indent of the "hourglass", separated by approximately 40 feet. The remaining surface of this part of runway 3/21 was used as a parking lot for the baseball/softball fields. As of 2012 only a small triangle of the original asphalt remains, from runway 13/31, as part of an open field adjacent to Black Mountain Road. Hourglass Field Athletics Complex now sits on the east end of the runway 3/21 location. Its grass plaza has narrow cobblestone features that outline an "X" and a bar reminiscent the runway layout.

The alignment of Black Mountain Road is adjacent to the former eastern edge of runway 18/36, the north/south runway (that was not part of the hourglass shape). Hourglass Field Community Park is near the former eastern edge of the southern one-third or so of the runway 18/36.

References

^ San Diego Military Sites 2007 (1769-2007) page 220 by Hinds, James W.
^ ftp://swrcb2a.waterboards.ca.gov/pub/swrcb/dwq/dodscp/CA%20INPRS%20and%20ASRs%20LA%20District/ASRs/J09CA723601.pdf^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

[1] Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California: Northern San Diego Area
Wild streets: American Graffiti versus the Cold War, International Socialism Journal, Summer 2001

32°54′30″N 117°7′21″W / 32.90833°N 117.12250°W / 32.90833; -117.12250

[1] San Diego Military Sites 2007 (1769-2007) page 220 by Hinds, James W.

[2] tp://swrcb2a.waterboards.ca.gov/pub/swrcb/dwq/dodscp/CA%20INPRS%20and%20ASRs%20LA%20District/ASRs/J09CA723601.pdf^{[permanent dead link]}

[1]

[2]