LINDBERGH'S DEPARTURE POINT IS NOW A SHOPPING MALL

On May 20, 1927, at 7:52AM, Charles Lindbergh departed Roosevelt Field on his way to Paris, France. He arrived the next day after crossing the Atlantic Ocean solo. With that single flight, he changed the science and practice of aviation for the rest of the 20th century through today.

Below, an image shared with us by Tim Kalina. He says about this image, "I thought I’d send along this scan of an old USAAC photo that I recently acquired. The paper caption on the back of the photo reads: ‘General view of Roosevelt Fields, No. 1 and 2, showing planes of the 31st Provisional Transport Group and the 11th Provisional Bombardment Group of the First Air Division, U. S. Army lined up in readiness for the Air Maneuvers in the New York City area. 5-22-31.’ The transport planes nearest are Fokkers and Fords." Thus, the view below shows Roosevelt Field only four years after Lindbergh's departure.

Roosevelt Field, 1931 (Source: Kalina)

At least three pilots of the 11th Bombardment Group, based at Rockwell Field, San Diego, CA, landed at Tucson April 20, 1929 flying Keystone bombers.

Also in the image above, it's interesting to note the buildings along the flight line. At top there are seven hangars. These hangars are visible below (image from the reference cited in the left sidebar) in a 1933 view (from the opposite direction). Note what appear to be barracks near the right center of the image above. There looks like one building at top, followed by three vacant pads, followed by another four barracks. In the image below, taken two years later, you can see (at far left) those three pads have had buildings placed on them.

Below, Roosevelt Field ca. 1933 from the "Airports and Established Landing Fields..." reference in the left sidebar. The location is given as 18 miles east of Manhattan. It had asphalt and sod runways, with ROOSEVELT FIELD painted on top of one of the hangars (not visible in this image or the one above). It had a revolving beacon, boundary lights, flood lights, obstruction lights and an illuminated wind tee. It had a telephone at the field (number "Garden City 8000"), and was served by radio station W2BI. It had a full line of gasoline and oil, with licensed mechanics available 24/7. There was a hotel at the field, with additional housing and eateries in Manhattan.

Roosevelt Field, Ca. 1933

Roosevelt was the premier Golden Age airfield of the eastern U.S., enjoying many on-site operators. Among them were Bird, Lockheed, Monocoupe, Kittyhawk, Stearman, Stinson, Waco, Aeronca, Fairchild, Fleet, Standard, Travel Air, Kellett, Curtiss-Wright and Rearwin aircraft sales and service. It housed service hangars and flight training facilities, as well as repair services including aviation welding, sheet metal, engine and instrument companies.

It hosted aircraft manufacturers including Fleetwings, Loening, and Amphibions, Inc. The Roosevelt Flying Corp provided short haul air transport, and Plane Speaker Corp., Skywriters, Inc. and Air News, Inc. provided aerial advertising services. A branch office of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) was on the field.

Below, from the DOC reference in the left sidebar, is a description of Roosevelt Field from 1937.

Roosevelt Field Data, 1937 (Source: U.S. DOC)

Behind the bar of the pilot’s lounge at Roosevelt Field there was a mural entitled "Toast to Progress" by Eric Sloane (1905-1985). Below, courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation Museum (COAM), is a photograph of the mural, ca. 1940. The mural was most likely lost when they tore down Roosevelt Field before it became a shopping mall.

"Toast to Progress," Mural by Eric Sloane, Roosevelt Field Pilot's Lounge ca. 1940 (Source: COAM)

A business that flourished at Roosevelt Field was the Roosevelt Aviation School. An advertisement Flying and Popular Aviation magazine (FPA) from September, 1940 is below. The school trained both pilots and aircraft mechanics.

Roosevelt Aviation School Advertisement, September, 1940 (Source: FPA)

In 2016, Google Earth pictured Roosevelt Field as below. It is now a shopping center.

Roosevelt Field, 2016 (Source: Google Earth)

The New York Times (NYT), June 1, 1951 (Source:NYT)

As with many Golden Age airfields that flourished as the Age of Flight was born, and survived its teens during WWII, Roosevelt Field suffered from constant encroachment by housing development. This was accompanied in many cases by noise complaints from residents moving into their new homes (they had to know they were moving next to an airfield!).

The article at left, from The New York Times, Jun 1, 1951, documents Roosevelt Field's final day as a landing place for aircraft. The existing buildings were already destined for manufacturing, and the real estate developers were already at work. Except for Byrd, all the pilots named were Register signers.

As an aside, the Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on the track at the periphery of Roosevelt Field from 1904 to 1960 (not inclusive). The link takes you to a page on the site that has photos and analysis of an aerial photograph of the field taken in 1952. This site is worth a look, because there are numerous other aerial photos of field environs to explore from different years.

In the 21st century, a 2018 EPA Super Fund hydrogeologic study of the airfield property detected levels of hydrocarbons in the ground such that, "...contaminated groundwater presents an unacceptable exposure risk." The report at the link, which includes maps, recommends remediation action at a cost of approximately $13MM.

Below is the same view as above, with 2020 imagery, from Google Earth. There are some differences in four years. For example, there are a couple of new structures in the lower lefthand corner. Some of the buildings have been re-roofed (or maybe they were painted).

Roosevelt Field, 2020 (Source: Google Earth)

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 10/22/08 REVISED: 12/31/09, 11/22/16, 11/28/16, 12/22/22