The constructing contractors arrived on site in 1930 and commenced work as soon as the state of the filled land allowed. The four original enlisted men's barracks (Buildings 800, 802, 803, 804) began construction in 1930, and were completed by 1932 (Figure 10). Buildings 800 and 803 were constructed according to Standard Plan 3301-1, for 110-Man Air Corps Barracks. Buildings 802 and 804 were constructed from Standard Plan 3302-1, 200-Man Air Corps Barracks. All were three stories, and featured rectangular floor plans on concrete pier foundations, concrete stucco walls, and gable-on-hip tile roofs. ⁹²

The married Officers Quarters also began construction in 1930, and were completed by 1932 (Figure 11). There were four Field Officers Quarters constructed according to Standard Plan 3214-1 (Buildings 2-5), and 32 Company Officers' Quarters (Standard Plan 3215-1, Buildings 7-12, 15-18, 20, 22, 24-43). The Officers Quarters maintained the installation's predominant structural elements and architectural style. All 31 of the married NCO Quarters (Standard Plan 3216-1, Buildings 200-230) were finished in 1932, on schedule with the rest of the housing units, and featured structural elements and architectural style similar to the Officers Quarters (Figure 12). The primary difference was that they were intended to house two NCO families in a duplex layout, whereas Officer Quarters housed only a single family.⁹³

The Open Mess (Building 13, now the Bachelor Officers' Quarters (BOQ)) was also completed in 1932. This two-story structure featured structural elements and architectural style similar to the Officer and NCO housing units (Figure 13). It included 16 two-room quarters on the second floor, along with a common dining room, library, and billiard room. Servants rooms and a garage originally occupied the first floor. ⁹⁴ The machine shop and warehouse (Buildings 401 and 402) were constructed according to the Quartermaster Corps Construction Division's Standard Plan 695-250 (Figure 14).⁹⁵

Only three of the four planned hangars were actually constructed, due to funding shortages. Contracts were not let for Hangars No. 2 and 3 (Buildings 445 and 446) until early 1931, as additional filling work had to be completed before construction could begin, and extra time allowed for settling. Hangar No. 1 (Building 444) began even later in 1931, because special drainage facilities had to be completed to allow for the diversion of the Maria Sala River which ran directly behind its proposed site (Figure 15). 

Nevertheless, all three hangars were completed by the end of 1932 (Figure 16). These double hangars were constructed according to an Air Corps standard plan (1930-B Design) that found wide-spread use in the continental U.S. in other expansion projects associated with the Five-Year Program. The hangars were fronted by large concrete warm-up aprons that measured 400 x 150 feet. These aprons were constructed to allow for the simultaneous preparation of an entire squadron of pursuit aircraft, but were also designed to support the weight of a loaded bomber of the type employed by the Air Corps at that time. Wheel loadings of the design also called for the aprons to be able to support the weight of a fully-loaded fuel truck, at 7.5 tons. Shortly after their completion in 1932, the two aprons were connected by a 50-foot wide concrete strip, providing an emergency landing area that measured 950 x 50 feet which would remain clear and dry even in adverse weather (Figure 17).⁹⁶

By April 1932, this original construction program was complete. All the necessary housing facilities were ready to accept personnel, and the flightline had received the hangars necessary to support regular flying operations. The field itself still needed a good deal of drainage work to allow for all weather flying, and the new Bermuda grass surface had yet to be completed in order to keep down the native grasses. Nevertheless, in April 1932, Albrook field was surveyed, its boundaries were marked off as an official Field Reservation, and it was commissioned as an active air field. Active units at this time were the 44th Observation Squadron, the 7th Squadron, and the 25th Bombardment 97 Squadron.⁹⁷

Early Improvements

Before other operational units could arrive, more work had to be done to the flying field to allow its use during rainy weather. Besides this field work, little other new construction was accomplished before the build-up prior to World War II. Throughout the mid-1930s, very little funding support was available for expansion of base facilities, and the Air Corps had to make do with what it had. New construction was limited to seven buildings that had been left out of the original construction program. In addition, a good deal of landscaping had yet to be completed, and this apparently posed some real problems. The original personnel at Albrook were having trouble keeping the landscape vegetation alive, as the soil that had been used for fill was infertile. Major E. A. Lohman assigned a set group of numbered palm trees to each officer on base. He told them that they were to guard and tend the trees, and that if any of their trees died, they would be summarily court-martialed. The presence of the thriving palms at Albrook today speaks volumes for the officers' dedication, and perhaps their fear that Major Lohman meant what he said.⁹⁸

Improvements to the flying field itself were needed as soon as Albrook was commissioned. As early as 1931, the Departmental Commander, General Preston Brown had stated that concrete runways situated in the direction of the prevailing winds would be absolutely necessary in order to render Albrook Field safe for all-weather flying operations. This request was echoed on a yearly basis by the a succession of Albrook's base commanders, beginning with Major Lohman. These requests met with repeated rebuttals from the Air Corps and the War Department, on the basis that funds were simply not available for the improvement of a newly commissioned airfield. More time was to be given to see if the sod field might possibly be improved enough to allow for efficient flying operations. Some additional improvements were made to the drainage system during the period, but they never successfully corrected the essential flaws in the field that resulted from the constant uneven settling and slow drainage during rainy weather. In the end, it was not until 1938 that Congress approved funding for the construction of a paved runway at Albrook, which was finally completed only in April 1939.⁹⁹

^{(Footnotes and bibliography are at the end of this section)}