"Hangar for Airships, Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, Dr. Karl Arnstein V. P. & Director of Engineering, Wilbur Watson & Associates, Architects and Engineers". Watercolor on paper, not signed by the artist, professionally matted and framed under glass. Image measures approx. 15" x 26", framed overall approx. 27" x 38". "The Goodyear Zeppelin Airdock, Akron, 1930. The Airdock was planned in the Roaring '20s, and was built during the Great Depression -- a monument to American inventiveness, Lockheed's Al Barber told those assembled. A hundred cities vied for what was expected to be the one of the biggest economic development opportunities of the century. Akron won, and in 1929 the monster rose from the ground so that Goodyear could build dirigibles in its belly. The black, cocoon-shaped hangar -- designed by Arnstein and built by Wilbur Watson & Associates of Cleveland -- is 1,175 feet long, 325 feet wide and 211 feet high. That is big enough to house two aircraft carriers, seven football fields or 100,000 people. In 1931, the USS Akron (designed by Arnstein) was built there, a floating aircraft carrier that could cradle Navy fighters inside her hull. But in 1933, the Akron crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 73 of the 76 aboard." (Reference: Akron Beacon Journal, 09/23/2003)
700/1,400 Sold $1,380.00
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