Depression Era: 1930s: Amelia Earhart, Local / National Heroine
Photo of aviator Amelia Earhart speaking to the press. ca. 1935. Herbert Mitchell, photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Mrs. Amy Mitchell.
In this 1935 photograph, legendary American aviator Amelia Earhart speaks to the press in Oakland at the conclusion of yet another of her record-setting flights. Earhart had just finished flying between Honolulu and Oakland, California, in the first solo flight by any person (male or female) across the Pacific Ocean. She told reporters that she expected tourism between the West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands to flourish within 10 years as a result of her flight.