18. O’Hare International Airport
In the 1940s Chicago’s civic leaders recognized the need for a new airport to reduce the congestion at Midway, and increase the number of flights serving the city. In 1945 the Mayor created a Selection Committee to study the region and select a site for the new airport. They chose Orchard Field, where a Douglas Aircraft plant had a field containing four concrete runways and support infrastructure. The following year temporary lights were added to the field, and in 1949 it was named O’Hare for Edward H. O’Hare, a Naval Aviator and Medal of Honor recipient during World War II. In 1955, O’Hare International Airport officially opened to commercial air traffic, with 13 airlines. Over 175,000 passengers flew into and out of the airport during its first year of operation.
In 1960 it surpassed Midway as the world’s busiest airport. It continued to expand throughout the 1960s. The expansion was aided by the construction of an eight-lane freeway connecting downtown Chicago to the terminals, completed in 1960. In 1962 scheduled flights from Midway were transferred to O’Hare, and by the end of that year, more than 10 million passengers used the facilities at O’Hare when travelling to, from, or through Chicago. By 1971 the airport expanded to seven runways, multiple terminals, including one dedicated to international traffic, and additional hangars, maintenance facilities, and other support facilities for travelers and their families.