Summary

• Meigs Field Airport in downtown Chicago was a popular regional and general aviation airport, known for its prime location near the Central Business District.
• The airport became the busiest single-strip airport in the United States, serving general aviation aircraft, corporate jets, and some passenger services.
• Despite attempts to reopen the airport, it was abruptly closed in 2003 when Mayor Richard Daley ordered the runway to be bulldozed, ending operations and converting the airport into a park.

When thinking of airports in Chicago, O’Hare and Midway are likely the ones that come to mind. But there was once a regional and general aviation airport in downtown Chicago, only minutes away from the Central Business District.

The airport was loved by aviation enthusiasts, business travelers, and presidents alike. But one fine day in 2003, the airport came to an abrupt closure. Here’s the story of Chicago’s Meigs Field Airport.

Location, location, location

Meigs Field first began operation in September 1948, following two years of construction after World War 2. The airport is named after Merill Church Meigs, a noted aviation advocate and the publisher of the Chicago Herald and Examiner.

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Soon after its opening, the airport became popular thanks to its prime location on Northerly Island, just adjacent to downtown Chicago. Meigs Field was home to dozens of general aviation aircraft, corporate jets, and some passenger services. Travelers could move from the city center to the airport in well under an hour, beating out the distance to O’Hare and Midway. Within a decade, Meigs Field became the busiest single-strip airport in the United States.

By the 1980s, the airport opened to commercial passenger flights as well. The expanded single runway at the airport was 3,900 feet, easily allowing regional aircraft like the de Havilland Canada DHC-6, Beechcraft 1900C, Model 99, and others. Airlines operating in Meigs Field included Air Illinois, United Express, Trans State Airlines (a subsidiary of Trans World Airlines), and other regional carriers.

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The airport was also the home of scheduled passenger helicopter services to Chicago's larger airports, Midway and O'Hare Airports. The location was also popular for visiting dignitaries. President John F. Kennedy would fly into O’Hare in Air Force One before stepping onto Marine One and landing in Meigs Field, allowing less highway disruption due to the Presidential motorcade.

Considering the airport’s popularity, it would make sense to keep it open as a secondary hub closer to the city (such as DCA in Washington). However, the 1990s saw the beginning of an abrupt end for the airport.

Lease over

In 1994, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced that Meigs Field would shut down operations and make way for a new park on Northerly Island. In 1996, the Chicago Park District, which owned the land, refused to renew the lease for Meigs Fields and threw the airport into crisis over its future.

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Following closure from October 1996 to February 1997, pressure from the state legislature forced the airport to reopen, and in 2001, a deal was reached to renew the airport for 25 years.

However, the deal reached complications and never passed the US Senate, once again throwing the airport’s future into jeopardy.

A groundbreaking maneuver

The airport continued operating after 2001, but on March 30th, 2003, Mayor Richard Daley took a shocking decision. Overnight, he ordered crews to bulldoze Meigs Field's runway and make X-shaped gouges on the tarmac to ensure no flights could operate.

The decision left dozens of aircraft stranded at the airport since it was still in operation the day before. It took several weeks before the FAA authorized the taxiway to be used as a runway, allowing aircraft to depart.

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Mayor Daley was rebuked by the FAA and ordered to pay a fine of $33,000, the maximum penalty at the time, for failing to give a 30-day notice before shutting down the airport.

The dramatic demolition ensured that Meigs Field would end operations for good and was subsequently converted into a park.

The future of Northerly Island

Since then, there have been attempts to reopen the airport, but for the most part, it seems to be destined to remain a park. The airport lived on for many years as the default airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator, while the park now hosts events and concerts.

Converting former airports into public spaces and wildlife sanctuaries has been popular in other locations. In Germany, the site of the beloved Tempelhof Airport is now a large park. In Mexico, the site of an incomplete airport was designated a national park and flooded to form a lake.

Did you ever have the chance to see this unique airport? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!