MANAGEMENT IN AVIATION HISTORY BENCH MARKS AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN DAY – MAY 24 REVISITING THE PORTAL BY GIACINTA BRADLEY KOONTZ
Above: Members of the Charles Taylor family (front row) and relatives of the aviation pioneers buried at the Portal attended the re-dedication of the Portal on Memorial Day, 1998. Right: Charles E. Taylor. Photo: Courtesy of the late Howard DuFour.
ONCE AGAIN, I AM PROUD TO HONOR MECHANICS IN AVIATION ON MAY 24THE, THE BIRTHDAY OF CHARLES EDWARD TAYLOR. IN TAYLOR’S NAME WE CREATE PROFESSIONAL AWARDS, PLACE COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES AND STATUES; AND WRITE ABOUT HIS LIFE. MY OWN CONTRIBUTION IN TAYLOR’S MEMORY BEGAN ALMOST TWENTY- FIVE YEARS AGO, ALSO IN THE MONTH OF MAY, WHEN I MET SOME OF TAYLOR’S DESCENDANTS. IT IS A STORY WORTH REMEMBERING AND SHARING.
The burial place of Charles Taylor lies under the dome of a building which was so beautiful that it earned extensive rescue from a devastating earthquake and so unique that it drew the attention of historians around the globe.
National Register of Historic Places — 1998
The Portal of the Folded Wings
Department of the Interior -Number #98000246
In 1924, architect Kenneth MacDonald, Jr. and sculptor Federico Giorgi built the Valhalla Memorial Rotunda, a structure on the eastern edge of Pierce Brothers Valhalla Cemetery near the junction of Burbank and North Hollywood, CA. As the only entrance, visitors drove through the building’s arches. The Rotunda, with its graceful garden walls and three reflection pools became a tourist attraction, and was used for musical concerts, radio broadcasts and other public events
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during the 1920’s and 1930’s. In 1930, Union Airport (now Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank) was opened and aircraft noise over the Rotunda prompted cemetery management to close the entrance and cease vehicle traffic. A new main entrance from the opposite end of the 84-acre cemetery was opened. The floor area beneath the dome was eventually enclosed with an iron fence, and the three reflection pools were filled in. Cemetery employee and aviation enthusiast James Gillette
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