Dallas Love Field opens time capsule for 100th anniversary

DALLAS - Love Field in Dallas is celebrating 100 years of flight.

The airport started operating in 1917 as an Army flight training base. It was named after an Army student pilot who died in a crash in California.

Love Field plans opened up a time capsule during a birthday ceremony Thursday morning. In it were historical documents, photos and memories of the airport’s early years.

“The best is yet to come. We’re certainly today a much more diverse city than we were 100 years ago. And I am the member of a family that first came to Dallas in 1868, so my family goes back in Dallas a lot of years,” said State Rep. Helen Giddings, a Democrat from DeSoto.

The time capsule was buried in 1973 when DFW Airport opened and many people thought Love Field would close.

Southwest Airlines is largely responsible for changing that story. Today Love Field handles 7 million passengers a year.

Reunion Tower also used its lights to honor Love Field Thursday.