The main hangar of the Beckley-Mount Hope Airport stood here from 1937 to 1952. It was built by Herbert L. Sessler to house the short-lived Beckley Air Transport Corporation. Sessler, a leading aviation advocate, served as airport manager, and his flight school trained some 650 pilots. The airport was later replaced by Raleigh County Memorial Airport, and the old site was repurposed as Beckley's first shopping center.