November 6, 2024 -- The City Council on Tuesday will be asked to determine if the "Compass Rose" painted adjacent to a runway at Santa Monica airport should be designated as a City landmark.
While the Council's action is routine, the item provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of the century-old airport, which is scheduled to be shut down at the end of 2028.
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The diagram of a "standard circular magnetic compass," which replicates those used as a navigational tool in early aviation, was painted in 1985 and repainted at a different location, according to staff.
In 2019, the Landmarks Commission designated the compass rose a landmark saying it memorializes the National Women’s Air Derby of 1929, which was "the first sanctioned air race for women in the world," staff wrote in a report to the Council.
In making its decision, the Commission found that the painted diagram "exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the City."
On Tuesday, the Council will take up a a five-year old appeal of the Commission's decision, although the appellant, Ben Wang, indicated support for the designation last month.
Still, the Council will address questions submitted by the appellant in a supplemental memo prepared by the City Attorney's office.
In doing so, it will revisit a time when the 225-acre airport was making aviation history, both as the home of the Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II and the site of the "Powder Puff Derby."
The derby, which started at the airport known then as Clover Field, "became the turning point for women in aviation," according to staff.
"This first major transcontinental sanctioned air race for women proved that women pilots were as competent and determined as male pilots, and attracted women pilots locally, nationally, and abroad," staff wrote.
Twenty of the the country's 60 women pilots participated in the event, which "led to the formation of the Ninety-Nines in November 1929, a social and professional organization with goals to encourage and support women in aviation."
The name was suggested by legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who would serve as the group's president from 1931 to 1933, and based on the responses received from charter members by Christmas, according to the 2016 book "Fly Girls."
The site of the original 12-pointed compass rose that would become the symbol of the group is cloaked in mystery, although "there are references of a Compass Rose utilized at the Santa Monica Airport prior to the standardization of air marking during the 1930s and early 1940s," staff said.
The Compass Rose was first painted by members of the local chapter of the Ninety-Nines in 1985 and moved to its current location in 1989, according to staff. It was last repainted in 2010.
"The current location of the Compass Rose is non-original and therefore its location does not appear to be historically significant," staff wrote. "However, the Compass Rose has importance to Santa Monica."
The report notes that the Commission also designated a 3-foot area around the painted Compass Rose as a Landmark Parcel but "noted that it is not a historic location at the airport."
Today, the Ninety-Nines have 155 chapters in 44 countries with more than 6,000 members, including the Los Angeles chapter based at Santa Monica Airport where its members painted the Compass Rose.