Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

James A. Wilding Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority notebooks, C0532, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated by Marcella Wilding in April 2024.

Processing Information

Processing and finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in April 2025.

Biographical Information

James Anthony Wilding was born in Washington, D.C. on December 22, 1937. Wilding trained as a civil engineer at The Catholic University of America, graduating in 1959. This same year he was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and participated in the planning and development of Washington Dulles International Airport. He would go on to become chief of the engineering staff at both Dulles and National (now known as Reagan National) airports and was named director of the FAA authority overseeing both airports in 1979. Starting in 1984, Wilding worked alongside Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole to support the recommendation that the federal government hand over control of both Dulles and National airports to an independent public authority. The proposal was successful and in 1987 the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) was formed.

From 1987 until his retirement in 2003, Wilding worked closely with the MWAA as the first President and Chief Executive. This included leading the organization through construction of a new terminal and runway expansion at National Airport, terminal and concourse expansions at Dulles Airport, and the implementation of new security measures at both airports following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. On February 26, 2016 the Arrivals Hall inside the International Arrivals Building at Dulles Airport was named the "James A. Wilding International Arrivals Hall" in his honor. Wilding passed away on February 24, 2023 at the age of 85.

Scope and Content

A collection of 36 spiral-bound notebooks containing handwritten notes created by Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia airport executive James A. Wilding. All but three notebooks have a date range written on the cover and contain notes on daily activities during that time frame, such as meetings and projects. The notebooks cover 30 years of Wilding's career, including his work with the Federal Aviation Administration and as President and Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The collection contains one gap in coverage between October 25, 1975 – August 8, 1976, with no notebooks included for these dates. Dates for the three notebooks missing date range identification on the front cover were determined based on interior date identifications.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in chronological order.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other collections related to transportation planning, including the Virginians for Dulles records and Charles Lietwiler transportation collection .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Dulles International Airport
• International airports
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
• Northern Virginia
• Transportation
• Transportation -- Planning
• Transportation -- United States
• Transportation -- United States -- Planning
• Transportation -- Virginia, Northern -- Planning -- History -- 20th century
• Transportation -- Washington Metropolitan Area -- Planning
• United States. Federal Aviation Administration
• Virginia, Northern
• Washington National Airport