They also bought Palmdale Airport in 1952 and established an aerospace development and testing facility called United States Air Force Plant 42. One year later, in 1953, Lockheed established a facility at the airport. After this point in time, the aerospace industry took over as the primary local source of employment. The city has been referred to as the "Aerospace Capital of America" because of its rich heritage in being the home of many of the aircraft used in the United States military. In August 1956, an unpiloted out-of-control Navy drone flew over Palmdale while Air Force Interceptor aircraft tried to shoot it down with unguided rockets. Many rockets landed in and around the city, starting fires and damaging property. In 1957, Palmdale's first high school, Palmdale High School, was established, making it easier for youths to not have to travel to Antelope Valley High School in nearby Lancaster. In August 1962, the township of Palmdale officially became the "city" of Palmdale with the incorporation of of land around the present day civic center. In 1964, the Antelope Valley Freeway, or State Highway 14, was completed as a link between Palmdale and Los Angeles. The freeway at this time ran all the way to present-day Technology Drive. It was at this time that talk about the future "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" was seen as the way of the future. By 1965, the new city had annexed an additional of land and industry was thriving. Talk of the future commercial airport had many investors buying up large quantities of land. By 1974, the Antelope Valley Freeway construction ended at the southern border of Mojave in Kern County. In 1977, Palmdale built its first municipal building, the Palmdale City Library. This was the same year that its northern neighbor Lancaster incorporated as a city. Since the 1920s, Lancaster had been the much larger and principal community of the Antelope Valley, as well as the rest of California's Mojave Desert. The 1980s and 1990s were the decades that really started to define the two Antelope Valley cities. Affordable housing in the area caused a dramatic spike in the population. The city, like its northern neighbor Lancaster, became a bedroom community for those employed in Los Angeles. In 1980, Palmdale's population was 12,227. By 1990, it had grown to 68,842. During that same year, the Antelope Valley Mall opened at Avenue P (present day Rancho Vista Boulevard) and 10th Street West.