Photo taken in 1953. The airport had two 2,300" runways. One north/south and the other northwest/southwest. It was first known in 1945 as Artesia airport then in 1946 it was renamed Cranford.
Present day photo showing area where Cranford airport was. The runway is still clearly visible under the borders.
By Brian Hews
Not too many know that a small general aviation airport was built at some point in 1945 North of South St and West of Carmenita.
At that time it was called Artesia Airport and was classified as a commercial or municipal field.
The June 1946 Department of Commerce Airman's Guide described “Artesia Airport” as being renamed “Cranford Airport” as of June 18, 1946.
The guide described Cranford Airport as having a 2,700' unpaved runway, LCCN has been told it actually had two 2,300" runways one north/south and the other northwest/southwest. Each runway had a parallel taxiway, and a ramp along the south side of the field had 2 buildings, probably hangars.
Then in 1949, the San Diego Sectional Chart described Cranford Airport as having a 2,700' unpaved runway.
The Alley's, who owned a lumber yard in nearby Downey, purchased the Cranford airport sometime in the years following WW2 as a real estate investment. Cranford Airport evidently gained a paved runway at some point between 1949-51, as the March 1951 San Diego Sectional Chart depicted Cranford as having a 2,200' hard surface runway.
The earliest photo which has been located of Cranford Airport was a 1952 aerial view. It depicted the field as indeed having 2 runways, one oriented north/south & the other northeast/southwest. A dozen light aircraft were parked on the southwest side of the field.
Cranford Airport apparently closed at some point between 1953-54, as it was no longer depicted on the September 1954 San Diego Sectional Chart. It was evidently a very short-lived airfield, only lasting no more than 9 years. A 1972 aerial view showed no trace of the airport, with dense housing having covered the site. In the March 2004 USGS aerial photo of the site of Cranford Airport,
incredibly, even though the area has been densely developed, the former northeast/southwest runway appears to have remained intact.
The former runway is still quite recognizable in the photo -it forms the north edge of the parking lot of the retail shopping complex
which has been built along the southern portion of the former airport site.
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