![]() They originated at Mills Field in San Francisco (the former name of what is now San Francisco International Airport) and at Oakland Airport. Two airmail routes intersected at the Walnut Creek arrow. RELATED: SkyStar Observation Wheel in SF's Golden Gate Park reopens On May 15, 1920, the third leg of the transcontinental route, Chicago, Illinois, to Omaha, Nebraska, via Iowa City, Iowa, was established. "They'd have crude maps," Brian Smith said. By the 1930s, radio technology had improved but many aspects of the old visual system remained in use. The arrows helped pilots navigate transcontinental air mail routes in an era when there were no official aeronautical maps, radar, or GPS. Another arrow is located at the Oakland city stables but is not publicly accessible. The beacons were the remnants of a transcontinental air route system that had guided commercial and private pilots across the United States since 1935. A few remain, including one at the ridgeline of Acalanes Ridge in Walnut Creek. Pilots searched for the arrows from the air and pointed their airplanes in the direction where the visual guides pointed. The US Postal service sold airmail specific stamps until 1975, by which time most first-class mail was going by airplane anyway. Still, the service grew over time, expanding to more and more cities. More than 90 years ago, those markers guided the first pilots across the United States to get mail from one coast to the other. Obviously, the Transcontinental Airmail Service catered to the wealthy, and after the start of the Great Depression, that became even more the case. ![]() RELATED: Presidio Tunnel Tops, SF's newest park space, starting to take shape The Sacramento-area husband and wife team are behind the website Arrows Across America which tracks a network of century-old big concrete arrows that can be seen from the air. ![]() history most Americans know nothing about. They are on a mission to document and preserve a part of U.S. WALNUT CREEK (KGO) - Brian and Charlotte Smith are as busy as ever these days. Have you ever wondered why there are big concrete arrows on the top of a Walnut Creek hill? Its purpose may surprise you. ![]()
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