Hoover Field was the first major terminal in the Washington area. It was near where the Pentagon is now. It opened in 1926. The airport had one runway. It crossed a local street. People were needed to stop automobile traffic during take-offs and landings. The next year, Washington Airport was opened next to it. It was another privately operated field. In 1930, the economics of the Great Depression caused the two terminals to join to form Washington-Hoover Airport. The field was not very good. On one side of it was U.S. Route 1. This was a large highway which had electrical wires along it. There was also a smokestack that was in the way to one of the runways. A dump was also very close to the airport.