Woodall Rodgers was mayor of Dallas from 1939 to 1947, with his tenure as mayor being one of the longest in the history of the city. He was mayor during World War II and ran during the rampant manufacturing of aircraft and weapon goods in a rapidly industrializing Dallas, along with the neighboring city of Fort Worth. At the time, Dallas Love Field was used as a joint USAAF base and training ground and saw expansion of its hub and runways at the end of the war to soon become the major jet-age airport of the city. He was also mayor when the Mercantile National Bank Building was constructed, which was the only highrise structure built in the United States during World War II and was the tallest building in the city of Dallas until the completion of Republic Center Tower I in 1954. The economic success contributed by his work in office is commemorated today by several namesakes throughout the city, most notably the Woodall Rodgers Freeway that passes underneath Klyde Warren Park and over the Trinity River along the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.