A modern freeway system surrounds it and shiny jets may sit on the tarmac, but a walk through Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport's terminal building will fly you back in time.

From its marble entrance to the tile walls inside, one can almost hear the Glenn Miller Orchestra strains.

The airport, which sits off Queen City Parkway between Aviation Boulevard and Interstate 985, now serves as a key to the region's economy. Companies fly in and out scouring the area for prospective sites to plant a business.

But its roots are embedded in the nation's World War II efforts.

The U.S. Navy used the airfield to train personnel in ground-controlled approach procedures, with the terminal building's control tower a reminder of that era.

The tower has been out of use since the mid-1940s, but the narrow steps and the wooden hatch leading to the top are still intact.

Fred Henry, owner and president of Champion Aviation, the airport's fixed-base operator, said he occasionally gets visitors who were stationed at the base during the war.

"They remember (the airfield) very well," he said.

Henry recalled chatting with one man who stopped by a couple of summers ago and talked about his experiences at the base.

"He said he saved $3,300 (during his time at the base) and went into the grocery business (after the war) and had done very well," he said.

Visitors from the era hardly react when they look around at their old stomping grounds, Henry has noticed.

"It was like they never really left," he said.

A sort of mini-museum, featuring artifacts from the era, occupies an area inside the terminal building that used to serve as a grill. Photographs from bygone days and paintings of aircraft line the walls throughout the structure.

An aerial photograph shows the Navy base, with the terminal building and a maintenance building that are the only structures remaining from that day. The base also featured long-razed barracks.

Another framed piece of history is a diagram showing the location of Navy structures around the airfield.

"These are the same runways we have (today)," Henry said.

One runway, which started at 4,000 feet long, has been extended twice and is now at 5,500 feet.

As for the terminal building, "everything is pretty much the same," Henry said. "The (red brick exterior) is all the same, and there haven't been any additions."

"If you go down into the basement, you can tell that even in times of war, they really built a nice building. I mean, it is very, very solid. ... They just don't build like that anymore."

These days, the city of Gainesville's Public Works Department owns the airport.

According to its Web site, the airport offers 93 hangars available as lease space for private and corporate aircraft.

Champion provides aircraft fueling, tie-down spaces and shared corporate aircraft storage. Another company at the airport, abAviation, provides aircraft repair services.

Lanier Flight Center provides flight training and self-serve aircraft fueling.

"A lot of industries come in," Henry said of the airport's modern role. "... And that, of course, benefits the community because it creates jobs here."

The airport dates to 1941, when a dirt airstrip occupied the property.

In 1943, the Navy leased the land from Gainesville for $1. The base would function as a satellite of the Naval Air Station at what is now DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

The structures were decommissioned in 1947 and returned to Gainesville.

In 1971, the airport was named in honor of local aviation pioneer Lee Gilmer, who owned and operated Gilmer Flying Services before, during and after World War II. Gilmer died that year.

"We did maintenance and he taught flying, and we sold gas and oil," said his widow, Eloise Gilmer, an administrative aide in the city's public utilities department. "And he did charter trips. ... Toward the end, we had a Cessna dealership."

Gilmer, 83, said she is still enthused about the airport, enjoying the annual Cracker Fly-In in July. The event features area aviators showing off their aging, yet still well-tuned, aircraft.

"I hope it stays there forever," Gilmer said, laughing.