SFO Museum

Maxine Crookston (1915–2016) was known as “The Voice of San Francisco Airport” from the late 1940s through the 1950s. Born in Salt Lake City, Crookston dreamed of flying as a child and recalled jumping as far as possible from her parents’ porch while flapping her arms as wings. Her life's ambition was to fly as a commercial pilot.

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Mar 30 at 11:20pmWeb
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Although Crookston served with the Civil Air Patrol as a survey pilot and with the Army Air Corps as a flight instructor, she was excluded from civilian work as an airline pilot due to her gender. Crookston switched gears and was hired by the Civil Aeronautics Authority in 1942 as an air traffic controller in Salt Lake City. She transferred to San Francisco in 1946 and became the first female air traffic control watch supervisor in the country.

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Learn more about Maxine Crookston Schmidt in our exhibition, “Mills Field and the San Francisco Airport” on display in the SkyTerrace and online at: https://bit.ly/MillsFieldSFO

The SkyTerrace, located pre-security in Terminal 2, is open Friday-Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and it is free!
Mills Field and the San Francisco Airport | SFO Museum

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📸:
photograph: San Francisco Airport, air traffic control tower; late 1940s
In memory of Maxine Crookston Schmidt
2016.067.016

photograph: Maxine Crookston (Schmidt), air traffic controller;
In memory of Maxine Crookston Schmidt
2016.067.027

photograph: San Francisco Airport, air traffic controller Maxine Crookston; late 1940s
In memory of Maxine Crookston Schmidt
2016.067.014