Many of us who were born or lived in Corpus Christi before 1950 remember the original Corpus Christi airport……Cliff Maus Airport on Old Brownsville Road. It was more like a landing field than an airport with none of the amenities that we now expect at every modern airport.
Cliff Maus had served the city since 1929, but by the early 1950’s, it was apparent that the growing city would soon need a much larger and more modern airport.
RELATED STORY:
Corpus Christi’s first airport
In September 1956, the city announced that Cliff Maus would be abandoned and a new airport built off Highway 44 near Clarkwood, just outside the city limits. Under a city agreement with the federal government, each would pay half the cost of a new airport.
The city immediately began purchasing the 1,824 acres needed for construction.
Contributed Photo – Robert Parks Groundbreaking for the $5.8 million airport took place on July 24, 1958. After two years of construction, the new Corpus Christi International Airport opened on August 6, 1960. World War I flying ace, Eddie Rickenbacker was on hand for the ribbon-cutting.