The Nassau Boulevard Airfield, or the Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome, was a short-lived airfield located at Garden City, Long Island, New York, in operation from 1910 to 1913.

History

Due to the restricted space available at nearby Mineola Airport, a new 350-acre flying facility was created in Garden City, New York, in 1910. It was considered one of the finest flying facilities of its era, with 31 wooden hangars, 5 grandstands, workshops, a refreshment stand, and a headquarters. "Nassau Blvd. Airfield was large, stretching from Stratford to the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

’s Main Line and from Roxbury to Clinch. It had 30 hangars, a 3,000 person grandstand and other facilities. It was surrounded by a 15-foot tall board fence." In September 1911, the

Aero Club of America The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Jasper Glidden and Augustus Post, among others, to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New E ...

sponsored the Second International Aero Meet at the facility. The first airmail flight in America originated here when pilot Earle L. Ovington flew to Mineola on September 23, 1911, carrying 640 letters and 1,280 postcards. Following the meet, producer

William J. Humphrey William Jonathan Humphrey (January 2, 1875 – October 4, 1942) was an American actor and film director. Born in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, William Humphrey was a well-known member of the early stock company of Vitagraph Studios. Without th ...

filmed the first aviation film, ''

The Military Air-Scout ''The Military Air-Scout'' (1911) is considered by some aviation film historians as one of the first aviation films recorded worldwide. William J. Humphrey directed the two-reeler in 1911, with the cooperation of the U.S. Army authorities who a ...

'', at the aerodrome, with

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

flier Lt. Henry Arnold as the stunt pilot. By 1913, however, the facility was seen as too small, and the land too valuable, so it was closed and all flying operations moved to the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome. "Stratford School sits epicenter on what was that airfield."http://www.gcnews.com/news/2011-09-30/Front_Page/Philatelic_Buffs_Celebrate_Centennial.html

References

{{reflist Defunct airports in New York (state) Airports in Nassau County, New York Garden City, New York