A jet takes off under a waning moon at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Built on the sand flats of the Potomac River, the riverside runways required 20 million cubic yards (15.3 million cubic meters) of sand and gravel to raise the site 20 feet (6 meters) above the river level. Construction began November 21, 1938, under the watchful eye of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who chose the site and helped lay the cornerstone of the original terminal building.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Coming Revolution in Transportation," September 1969, National Geographic magazine)