DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Building 100 out at Randolph Field — and friend, this one earns every word. Back in 1928, the San Antonio Airport Company made a move that would shape the sky over South Texas for generations to come. They purchased 2300 acres of land near the city and turned around and donated the whole spread to the United States Army Air Corps — handed it over for the development of a consolidated flight training facility.
Folks took to calling it the West Point of the air. That's the kind of reputation you don't stumble into. Randolph Field was dedicated on June 20, 1930.
One month later — one month, they didn't let the paint dry long — construction began on an administration building. They gave it a plain enough name: Building 100. But plain names don't always stick.
The building was completed in October 1931, and the student flyers who landed there and looked up at that structure — well, they had a gift for naming things. Because of its exotic appearance, they started calling it The Taj Mahal. And that nickname?
It outlasted most of what those young aviators ever flew. Now here's where it gets interesting, because this building wasn't just pretty. It dominated Randolph Field and the surrounding countryside — height and location working together like they were planned that way.
San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres designed it, and he hid a secret inside that soaring 170-foot tower: a 500,000-gallon water storage tank. Half a million gallons, tucked inside what looks like something from another world.
Atop that tower sits a beacon powerful enough to be seen by aircraft up to fifty miles away. And inside the building itself — because apparently Atlee B. Ayres wasn't done — there's an 1100-seat movie theater.
You heard that right. A thousand and one hundred seats, inside a military administration building in the Texas Hill Country. The Taj Mahal turned up in several motion pictures filmed right there on the field.
To many Americans it came to symbolize military aviation at a time when air power was becoming vital to military strength. Not just a building — an idea made of concrete and steel and tower lights cutting through a Texas night sky. By 1975, those administrative offices had passed to the United States Air Force.
The nickname the student flyers gave it in 1931 was still the one everybody used. Some buildings get their names from history books. This one got its name from the people who flew beneath it — and it never needed to change a word.
What the marker says
In 1928 the San Antonio Airport Company purchased 2300 acres of land near the city and donated it to the United States Army Air Corps for development of a consolidated flight training facility. Called "the West Point of the air", Randolph Field was dedicated June 20, 1930. One month later, construction was begun on an administration building, designated as Building 100. Because of the structure's exotic appearance, student flyers nicknamed it "The Taj Mahal" soon after its completion in October 1931. With its height and location, the building dominated Randolph Field and the surrounding countryside. It was also a prominent feature in several motion pictures filmed here. To many Americans, "The Taj Mahal" came to symbolized military aviation at a time when air power was becoming vital to military strength. Building 100 was designed by San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres. Its unusual 170-foot tower conceals a 500,000-gallon water storage tank. A powerful beacon atop the tower can be seen by aircraft up to fifty miles away. The building also contains an 1100-seat movie theater. Its administrative offices now (1975) house the United States Air Force. (1975)