GLENDALE -- The Tower is at the heart of the Thunderbird campus and its past is integral to Thunderbird’s original “global perspective.” It was built in late 1939 and served as the Air Control Tower and Officers’ quarters during the operation of the Thunderbird 1 Army Air Field, where American, British, Canadian and Chinese pilots trained during WWII. The base was a free-enterprise venture funded by several Hollywood stars including Jimmy Stewart, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Fonda and Cary Grant. It was designed to resemble a Thunderbird, based on the Indian God of Thunder.
