Baton Rouge's first Municipal Airport was located at Government St. and Lobdell Rd., and this beacon identified the field and served as a primary local navigation aid for piloting to the city and a critical checkpoint for flyers traveling across the Gulf Coast. It was used during the Golden Age of Aviation that followed Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight and helped foster modern commercial and general aviation until that era ended at the beginning of World War II. By the light of this beacon, the original airport opened to the public on June 20, 1931, followed by the first scheduled U.S. Postal Service Air Mail Contract, CAM 29, and passenger airline service to Baton Rouge operated by American Airways on that original airfield. The beacon continued serving the city's general aviation community from the opening of the airport until the original airfield closed in the mid-1970s. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Planning and the Louisiana State Police Headquarters now occupy the original airport site.