American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics

Historic Aerospace Site

Delta Air LinesHeadquarters
Atlanta, Georgia

Delta Air Lines World Headquarters in Atlanta, 1947.

American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics

Historic Aerospace Site

Delta Air Lines Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
Marie Force and Tiffany Meng
Delta Air Transport Museum

to help in designing dusting equipment and conduct
experiments.
George Post, an aircraft manufacturer, observed
the dusting experiments and was so impressedthat he convinced the management of Huff Daland
Manufacturing Company at Ogdensburg, New York,to form a separate crop dusting division, Huff DalandDusters, in Georgia. Woolman was hired by thenew company to perform entomological work, andbecame vice president and field manager. In 1924
the headquarters moved to Monroe, Louisiana, andWoolman became General Manager. At the time, thecompany’s fleet of 18 planes was the largest privatelyowned aircraft fleet in the world.
In 1929, Woolman convinced a group of Monroe
businessmen at home to buy the Monroe dusting
division from the parent company. The company namebecame Delta Air Service, for the Mississippi deltaregion it served. Woolman was named vice president
and operations manager. In 1929, he was named
vice president and general manager, and in 1930,
was named to the company’s board of directors.

C.E. Woolman, 1889–1966
Collett Everman (C.E.) Woolman was an aviation
pioneer whose career spanned the history of flightfrom Jennys to jets. As principal founder of Delta Air
Lines, he led its steady growth from the world’s firstcrop-dusting company to a firm place of leadershipamong the nation’s scheduled airlines.
[Note: Corrections made to this section in 2019.] Hewas born in Bloomington, Indiana on October 8,
1889, and attended high school in Urbana, Illinois.
He attended the University of Illinois and graduatedwith a BS degree in agricultural engineering and aninterest in aviation. He learned to fly an OX5 Jenny
airplane, and went to work for the Agricultural
Extension Department of Louisiana State University.
From there, he observed an entomologist named B.R.
Coad battling the boll weevil, devastating to thecotton economy at the time. Coad believed that themost effective treatment was to “dust” the crops fromthe air. From the USDA's Delta Laboratory in Tallualah,La., he borrowed planes and pilots from the Army

4 AIAA Historic Aerospace Site

The company purchased three five-passenger, 90
mile-per-hour Travel Air monoplanes, and on June 17,
1929, Delta operated its first passenger flight fromDallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, with stops atShreveport and Monroe. In 1934 Delta was awarded
an airmail contract stretching from Fort Worth toCharleston.
In 1945, Woolman was named president and generalmanager of Delta Air Lines. He had a genuine concern
for each of his employees. As his company grew, itcaused him considerable dismay that he could nolonger remember each employee by name, and thisintense relationship was mutual. Woolman was named
chairman of the board and chief executive officer onNovember 1, 1965. After his death on September 11,
1966, Delta’s employees completely reconditioned
a 1925 Huff Daland Duster and presented it to theSmithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as amemorial to the early days of the airline industry
and the dedicated leader who helped shape its
development.

Delta Air Lines Headquarters

In 1941, Delta Air Lines was ayoung airline, outgrowing its rootsin agricultural aviation and theMississippi Delta region where it started.
Corporate headquarters were locatedin Monroe, Louisiana, where aviation
pioneer C.E. Woolman and a group ofinvestors had formed Delta Air Servicein 1928, from crop-dusting company
Huff Daland Dusters. Delta became thefirst passenger airline serving the “DeepSouth” in 1929, between Dallas, Texas,
and Jackson, Mississippi, and entered
Atlanta in 1930. After earning an airline
contract in 1934, Delta flew west to Fort
Worth, Texas, and east to Charleston,South Carolina. By the late 1930s,
passenger and mail operations broughtin higher revenues than crop-dusting
operations. Delta had passed from thepioneering stage into a growing airline.
In 1936, as its route expanded eastward,
Delta moved its flight operations officeand maintenance shops to Atlanta,
housing them in a hangar leased fromEastern Airlines. By early 1941, overhalf of Delta employees were based in
Atlanta, as the city became increasingly
important to Delta’s growth.
At that time, Atlanta had one of thenation’s oldest municipal airfields.
Known as Candler Field, it wasdeveloping into the hub of aviation inthe Southeast. Eastern Airlines, based in
Miami, Florida, operated the majorityof flights in and out of Atlanta, flying
as far north as New York City andChicago. Recent improvements to theairport, after “air-minded” WilliamB. Hartsfield became Atlanta’s mayor
in 1937, included better lighting andan expanded administration building
topped by a control tower. An extensive
runway expansion project was also
underway. Hartsfield was ahead of histime in realizing that a city’s position

became the crossroads of the airline’s
16-city route system. Delta then gained
its first northern route, extending fromAtlanta to Cincinnati, Ohio; service
started on April 15. Delta also extended
its original west-east Route 24, from
Augusta to Savannah, Georgia.

This 1941 ad shows the city of Atlanta
now at the center of Delta’s routes with thelaunch of new north-south service between
Cincinnati and Atlanta.
as an aviation center determined its
commercial growth—and that vision
soon attracted a hometown airline toAtlanta.
After Delta was awarded a major route
expansion in January 1941, Atlanta

Looking for sufficient capitaland infrastructure to continue
expansion, C.E. Woolman and Delta’s
directors realized the potential for
air transportation in Atlanta, andcommitted Delta’s future to the city.
On March 1, 1941, Delta’s corporate
headquarters officially moved to Atlanta.
On this date, an agreement between
Delta and the city, for lease of property
at the Municipal Airport, went intoeffect. Rent was set at $2,500 per year.

Initial Construction in 1941
Delta erected a new $150,000 General
Office and Hangar building on theairport property it leased from the Cityof Atlanta. The structure measured 150
feet x 200 feet, and 250 of Delta’s almost
400 employees worked from there.

Delta’s original 1941 headquarters in Atlanta. The aircraft maintenance hangar—the largest
one in the Southeast—and attached office building cost $150,000 to build.
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(left to right) Delta General Manager, and company founder, C. E. Woolman;
Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield; and Capt. George Cushing, head of Delta
Flight Operations, during expansion of the General Office Building in 1943.

Hangar 1 was said to be the largest
hangar in the Southeast in 1941, with148 feet by 125 feet of unobstructed
space and a clearance of 28 feet. Itwas built to accommodate “six giant
21-passenger airplanes,” Delta’s new
Douglas DC-3 aircraft. Support facilities
under the hangar’s roof included amachine shop, a paint shop, coal andoil storage rooms, locker rooms, andlavatories. The hangar cost $127,000
to build, of which the City of Atlanta
furnished $50,000.
With a plain red-brick exterior—stillused on all new buildings at Delta
headquarters—and simple, functional
interior spaces, the style of this original
building reflected Delta’s focus on goodservice, rather than ornate corporate
facilities, to represent the airline—andthe thrifty nature of its founder, C.E.
Woolman. According to the employee
magazine Delta Digest, in September
1944:

Cleaning a Douglas DC-4 outside Hangar One in 1947. At left, the larger
Hangar Two.

Delta’s accommodations are not plushy
and luxurious, nor streamlined inultra-modern style. General officebuilding walls are painted plain ochre.
Only two offices are carpeted… This in
a way, reflects the spirit and policy ofDelta—to be conservative, to hint at noself-importance or lavish resources, tolet the record stand on its own…

Additions Built in
1942–1943

The original 1941 hangar and General Office Building, now with wings added
in 1942–43. The one-story annex at right held the aircraft engine overhaul,accessory, and machine shops.

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In the midst of World War II, Delta
added two wings to its headquarters
building. The new facilities were needed
to take care of the overflow of newemployees resulting from war work—
modification of military aircraft, training
military pilots and flying cargo—andthe normal growth of the airline, bothpresent and future. Delta expanded its

Delta Air Lines Headquarters

routes in 1943, between Fort Worth,Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, andbegan advertising itself as “The Air Lineof the South.”
The first wing constructed was a onestory addition to the southwest cornerof the building. It accommodated
expanded activities in the engine
overhaul, accessory and machine shops.
It was completed in late 1942.
The second wing was a two-story
office annex, extending 50 feet wide in
front of the original building and 190
feet deep along the north side of theoriginal building. A courtyard, between
the original building and the annex,
allowed windows on all sides of the newbuilding. Delta’s accounting department,
soon to double in size, was the first
to move in, occupying the northwest
corner of the second floor. New
restrooms on the first floor of the annex
were provided for the convenience ofthe many women mechanics and clerks,
who had joined the company since thewar started.

Headquarters Double inSize in 1947
In the immediate post-war period,
1946 was a significant year for Delta, asreported to stockholders:This has been a year of transition,a year in which Delta emerged as amajor air carrier of the nation. Onemain reason for this was the openingof the Chicago-Miami and ChicagoCharleston routes, increasing thesystem total by 1,036 miles and lifting
Delta out of the regional or area class.
Another main cause was the additionof new equipment, as Delta placed
44-passenger Douglas DC-4s inservice to match the speed, capacity

The historic 1940s area of today’s Delta headquarters was built as two aircraft
maintenance hangars with attached administrative and support facilities.
This blueprint shows how the complex grew from 1941 to 1947.

Atlanta Municipal Airport in 1946. Delta’s hangar and office facilities are shown a shortdistance down the road—today’s Delta Boulevard—behind the tall white terminal building.

(right-left) Hangar One, built in 1941, and Hangar Two, built in 1947, shown here withaircraft undergoing maintenance and overhaul work in 1953.
AIAA Historic Aerospace Site7

and non-stop service of other airlinesof the nation.
Delta now had access to the second
largest city in the U.S. and a routewith enormous potential for vacation
travel. As the first airline in the East tointroduce the DC-4, Delta also had agood start in the post-war race against
its main competitor for Chicago to
Miami travel—Eastern Airlines.

Delta personnel outside the new Executive Building in 1947.

The new routes, aircraft and risingpassenger and cargo loads, created aneed for more employees and expandedfacilities at the airline’s hub in Atlanta.
By 1947, the airline operated 44 daily
flights between 35 cities in thirteenstates, and employed 2,050 people,
with 1,000 of them in Atlanta. New
administration and operations spaces
were required to support the airline’sgrowth.
Delta’s headquarters more than doubled
in size in 1947, with a $1 million
addition of a two-story executive officebuilding and a second maintenancehangar. The 29,450 square foot hangar
had a span of 187 feet and clearance of
32 feet, capable of handling Douglas
DC-4 aircraft. There was also 15,790
additional square feet of shop space.

Delta’s headquarters more than doubled in size in 1947, with a second larger aircraft hangar, withattached office and support facilities, and a new executive building in front.

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The new executive building included alarge, functional, northwest corner officefor C.E. Woolman, Delta’s principal
founder and first CEO. From thislocation, he managed Delta’s growthfrom regional to major airline, until his
death in 1966. He had an open door
policy for his office, welcoming visitsfrom any employee with concerns.
Delta retirees have vivid memories ofmeeting Woolman, his personal concern
for employees, his memorable quotes
and charisma. They also remember hisoffice, with desk and windowsills piled

Delta Air Lines Headquarters

with papers and magazines, and how
Woolman was always able to lay handson any piece of paper he needed. Fromhis office, Woolman established a closeknit business team with the primary goalof good customer service—the “Deltadifference.”

Symbol of Delta andAtlanta Partnership“Aviation will extend
Atlanta’s horizon ofbusiness influence.”—C. E. Woolman, 1946
The move to Atlanta in 1941 solidified
a partnership between airline and citythat was initiated eleven years earlier
when Delta provided the first scheduled
passenger service to the city. Delta
Air Service launched a trial service
from Birmingham, Alabama, on June
12, 1930, and on June 18 made it an“official” permanent route. All Delta
passenger operations were suspended
on October 1, 1930 (Eastern started
passenger service later that December).
After winning an air mail contract, Delta
re-established its Ft. Worth-Atlanta
route on July 4, 1934, securing its placein Atlanta’s aviation history as theairport’s oldest continuous tenant.
As Delta grew into an important aircarrier, it contributed significantly tochanging Atlanta, a city founded byrailroad commerce, into a major airtransportation hub. From its Atlanta
headquarters, Delta and Atlanta marked
many innovations in air transportation
over the years:
Delta was an early pioneer of the huband-spoke air traffic system, startingin Atlanta.

Atlanta’s first jet service: to New Yorkon September 18, 1959.
First nonstop service from Atlanta toCalifornia in 1961.

a museum, and even support aircraft
maintenance on a small scale—forDelta’s fleet of vintage aircraft.

After they were constructed in the1940s, the two hangars housed all ofFirst nonstop trans-Atlantic service
Delta’s aircraft maintenance operations
from Atlanta: to London-Gatwick in
in Atlanta, until jets arrived and anApril 1978.
immense Jet Base (located at today’s
Technical Operations Center) opened
First airline in the world to board one
in 1960. Hangars 1 and 2 were usedmillion passengers in one city in one
as a secondary maintenance location
month (in Atlanta in August 1979).
for Delta jets until the mid 1980s. In
about 1985, airport and county officials
First airline to board two million
built two new roads, Toffie Terrace andpassengers in one city in one month
Woolman Place, severing the hangars(in Atlanta in 1997).
from airport property. The hangars
First commercial flight to land on the grew quiet, used only for storage by
new fifth runway at Hartsfield-Jackson the surrounding offices. In 1995, thenon-profit Delta Air Transport Heritage
Atlanta International Airport, hailed
Museum was founded and moved into
as “The Most Important Runway inAmerica” when it opened on May 27, the historic hangars, which are now
open to the public by appointment.
2006.
Today, Atlanta is the world’s largest
airline hub, with more than 1,000 dailydepartures to 226 destinations, andDelta serves 354 destinations in 65
countries on six continents. Although
Delta operates on a global scale today,
sections of Delta’s original 1940sbuildings still serve as the businesscenter of the airline’s operations.

The Site Today
This site is now a part of Delta andAtlanta aviation, past and present. The
office spaces in today’s Delta Buildings
A and B are still used for company
business by staff and executives, andstill house the office of Delta’s CEO,now Richard Anderson. Except fora modification to Hangar 1—raising
the roof three feet for larger aircraftin 1952—the two hangars remain
remarkably similar to their original
construction. Today, the hangars house
AIAA Historic Aerospace Site

9

For more information
Delta publications and image collections, 1941–1947, Delta Air Lines Corporate Archives
Delta Corporate Communications and Real Estate department records, Delta Air Lines Corporate Archives“Airport History,” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 2010, http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Airport/ATL/
Airport_History.aspx
Braden, Betsy and Paul Hagan, A Dream Takes Flight: Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport and Aviation in Atlanta, Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1989.
“Corporate Information,” Delta Air Lines, 2010, http://www.delta.com/about_delta/corporate_information/index.jsp“Delta Air Lines,” The New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2006, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1302
Lewis, W. David and Wesley Phillips Newton, Delta: The History of an Airline, Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1979.

10 AIAA Historic Aerospace Site

Delta Air Lines Headquarters

the aiaa historic aerospace sites program
For over 75 years, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has served as the principal society of theaerospace engineer and scientist. Formed in 1963 through a merger of the American Rocket Society (ARS) and the Instituteof the Aerospace Sciences (IAS), the purpose was, and still is, “to advance the arts, sciences, and technology of aeronautics
and astronautics, and to promote the professionalism of those engaged in these pursuits.” Today, AIAA has more than 35,000
individual members worldwide, and more than 90 corporate members.
In addition, AIAA sponsors many technical conferences, seminars, and short courses per year, and publishes Aerospace America,
the AIAA Student Journal, and seven archival technical journals. The Institute also publishes conference papers and proceedings,
technology assessments, position papers, many books, and a variety of career-related educational materials. The Instituteconducts a rigorous public policy program and works closely with other societies and with governments in broad areas of mutualconcern.
AIAA established the Historic Aerospace Sites Program in January 2000 to promote the preservation of and to disseminate
information about significant accomplishments made in the aerospace profession. In addition to the Delta Air Lines Headquarters,other sites recognized by the committee include the NASA Langley Research Center, Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia;
Oakland Municipal Airport, and the site of the first balloon launch in Annonay, France.

aiaa board of directors 2011–2012
Brian D. Dailey, President
Allen Arrington Jr.
Kathleen M. Atkins
Neal N. Barlow
Michael B. Bragg
Carol A. Cash
Wilson N. Felder
Sivaram P. Gogineni
Michael D. Griffin
Ferdinand W. Grosveld
Ashwani K. Gupta
Basil Hassan
In LeeGeorge A. Lesieutre
Mark J. Lewis
Robert E. Lindberg
Gordon A. Lowrey
Mark S. Maurice
Laura J. McGill
James C. Neidhoefer
Jürgen Quest
Neal J. Pfeiffer
Shamim A. Rahman
Laura A. Richard
David R. Riley

J. Stephen Rottler
Merri J. Sanchez
A. Tom Smith
Mary L. Snitch
Trevor C. Sorensen
James D. Walker
Bruce W. Wilson
Robert C. Winn
Vigor Yang
Susan X. Ying

aiaa historic sites committee 2011–2012
Anthony M. Springer, Chairman
Ranney G. Adams
Arnold Aldrich

John D. Anderson
Tom Crouch

Charles M. Ehresman
J. Michael Murphy

AIAA Historic Aerospace Site1111-0687