National Register of Historic Places

Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line

Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia
Listed
September 11, 1997
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
97001111

About this property

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (IATA: DCA, ICAO: KDCA, FAA LID: DCA) is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, five miles (eight kilometers; four nautical miles) from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) that serve the Washington metropolitan area; the other is Dulles International Airport (IAD), located about 25 miles (40 km; 22 nmi) to the west in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. The airport opened 85 years ago in 1941 as Washington National Airport. Part of the original terminal is still in use as Terminal 1; the much larger Terminal 2 opened in 1997. In 1998, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed a bill renaming the airport to honor the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, who was in office from 1981 to 1989. Reagan National serves 108 nonstop destinations as of May 2026. It is a hub for American Airlines. The airport hosts international flights, but has no immigration and customs facilities, restricting routes to those with U.S. Customs and Border Protection preclearance facilities, primarily major airports in Canada and the Caribbean. Reagan National is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Washington. The twenty-seventh busiest airport in the U.S., the busiest airport in the Washington metropolitan area, and the second busiest in the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area, the airport served 26.29 million passengers in 2024, an increase of 3.3% over a record set in 2023. The airport's main runway is the busiest in the nation. In 2025, the airport faced controversy over safety concerns following a spate of incidents.

Location

Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia
38.84960, -77.04255

Categories

ARCHITECTURETRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Aurora Highlands Historic District
Listed
1.3 mi
Hume School
Industrial
1.5 mi
Town of Potomac
Industrial
1.6 mi
Pentagon, The (Additional Documentation)
Industrial
1.7 mi
Gray, Harry W., House
Industrial
2 mi

Nearby Battles

September 11 Pentagon Attack
2001Modern
1.7 mi
September 11 Attacks — Pentagon
2001Modern
1.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line listed on the National Register?

Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1997.

What type of historic resource is Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line?

Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line?

The period of significance for Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line?

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