Every few years, the new mayor of St. Petersburg looks sideways at Albert Whitted Airport, wondering if somethingmore open to the public should take up 119 acres of downtown waterfront.

And every time, the airport’s supporters rally in defense. They’re undefeated.

Albert Whitted was the first thing Mayor Ken Welch went after upon taking office in 2022. Friends of Albert Whitted Airport formed in response to Welch’s conversation starter to educate the communityabout the airport’s value and give out scholarships to aspiring pilots.

Three years later, Welch has backed off the airport.Now he is featured in a new documentary, “Our City, Our Airport,” which debuted last month and is screening at the St. Petersburg Museum of History on Saturday.

In the film, he spoke about the “lifetime opportunity” to ride in Marine One with President Joe Biden to survey damage around Pinellas Countyafter Hurricane Milton and land back in St. Petersburg.

“That’s kind of proof of concept if we were to lose two bridges and not have any access to our city, that that could be a vital resource,” Welch saidof the airport.

Friends of Albert Whitted Airport said it found that many didn’t know the role of the airport and St. Petersburg’s history as the birthplace of commercial aviation. The group commissioned Roundhouse Creative Studio, which earlier this year made “Razed,“ a documentary about what life was like in the Gas Plant neighborhood that became the site of Tropicana Field.

Walt Driggers, president of Friends of Albert Whitted Airport and an executive producer of the documentary, said the group wanted to show what the airport does for the community so no one will propose getting rid of it again.

“Our City, Our Airport” is a feature-length documentary that celebrates the airportand its role in St. Petersburg.

The world’s first passengerflight took off from where the downtown marina’s central yacht basin is today to Tampa, showing the world that aviation was more than a curiosity and could be used as a real mode of transportation. The airport also would be a training place for World War II pilots who returned to live here after the war and were offered high-paying jobs.

Today, Albert Whitted provides a place to drop off resourcesafter a devastating storm and to monitor access to the port, which takes in 40% of all fuel for Florida.And its long runway serves as the start and finish line of the Firestone Grand Prixof St. Petersburg.

The film features footage from inside planes and from drones, detailing what pilots see upon takeoff and landing on the waterfront. Pilots, flight instructors, small business owners, advocates, City Council members past and present and a full suite of past mayors — Bob Ulrich, the late David Fischer, Rick Baker, Bill Foster and Rick Kriseman — are featured in the film. Like Welch, Baker and Kriseman also had other ideas for Albert Whitted.

The documentary follows a similar format to “Razed,” taking viewers through a timeline peppered with news archives and historians — including a mention about how the then-St. Petersburg Times editorial board waged a campaign against the airport in the 1980s.

Director Andrew Lee said the film was not a marketing piece for the airport, but rather a historical and current-day documentary. He said he found himself falling in love with the airport after understanding all the unexpected ways Albert Whitted affects St. Petersburg.

“I think for viewers, even skeptics that might come in and watch this film, if they come in with an open mind, I think they’re going to be surprised in many ways, and I think they’ll learn a lot of things that they might not have realized,” he said.

“Our City, Our Airport” is screening at5:30 p.m. Saturday at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335Second Ave. NE in St. Petersburg

Get $5 tickets, which include a drink, here: https://spmoh.com/event/our-city-our-airport-albert-whitted-documentary-showing/