Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazelhurst Field) for the

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1919, it was renamed in honor of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

's son,

Quentin Quentin is a French male given name from the Latin first name ''Quintinus'', diminutive form of '' Quintus'', that means "the fifth".Albert Dauzat, ''Noms et prénoms de France'', Librairie Larousse 1980, édition revue et commentée par Marie-T ...

, who was killed in air combat during

. Roosevelt Field was the takeoff point for many historic flights in the early history of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

, including Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...

. It was also used by other pioneering aviators, including Amelia Earhart and

Wiley Post Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop on ...

History

The Hempstead Plains Aerodrome originally encompassed 900 to east of and abutting Clinton Road, south of and adjacent to Old Country Road, and west of Merrick Avenue. A bluff 15 feet in elevation divided the plain into two large fields. The

U.S. Army Signal Corps ) , colors = Orange and white , colors_label = Corps colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

established the Signal Corps Aviation Station, Mineola, on the west field in July 1916, as a pilot training school for members of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

World War I

When the U.S. entered the war in April 1917, the entire field was taken over and renamed Hazelhurst Field after Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst Jr. Hazelhurst was a native of Georgia and was a graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. He reported for aeronautical duty at the Signal Corps Aviation School, Augusta, Georgia, on 2 March 1912. On 11 June 1912, while making a flight at College Park, Maryland, as a passenger in an airplane undergoing acceptance tests, the plane crashed to the ground and both the pilot and Lt. Hazelhurst were killed. An adjacent tract of land south of the Hempstead branch line of the Long Island Rail Road was acquired for expansion, becoming

Camp Mills Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

along Clinton Road and Hazelhurst Aviation Field No. 2 to the east, part of the massive Air Service Aviation Concentration Center. Hazelhurst Field No. 2 was renamed Mitchel Field on July 16, 1918, to commemorate

John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel (July 19, 1879 – July 6, 1918) was the 95th mayor of New York, from 1914 to 1917. At 34, he was the second-youngest mayor and he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mitchel is remembered for his sho ...

, the former mayor of New York killed in a flying accident on July 6, 1918, while training with the U.S. Air Service in Louisiana. On September 24, 1918, the Army dedicated the eastern portion of Hazelhurst Field No. 1 as Roosevelt Field.National Archives of the United States: Records of the Training and Operations Group (Air Service) and the Training and Operations Division (Air Corps) Records of the Army Air Forces (AAF), (Record Group 18) 1903-64 (bulk 1917-47)
/ref> Air Service units that assigned to Hazelhurst Field were:Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint) ;; Permanently assigned: * 46th Aero Squadron (II), July 1918-January 1919 * 52d Aero Squadron (II), July–November 1918 ;; Assigned to Aviation Concentration Center for deployment to AEF: * 168th Aero Squadron, December 1917-January 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken. NJ (AEF) * 170th Aero Squadron, February–March 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 213th Aero Squadron, December 1917-January 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 220th Aero Squadron, March 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 369th Aero Squadron, January–February 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 370th Aero Squadron, January–February 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 371st Aero Squadron, January–February 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 372d Aero Squadron, January–February 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 374th Aero Squadron, February–March 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Halifax, NS (AEF) * 822d Aero Squadron, March–April 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) * 15th Construction Company, July–August 1918 : Transferred to Port of Entry, Hoboken, NJ (AEF) ;; Returning to United States from Europe: * 141st Aero Squadron, July 1919 (Demobilization) * 497th Aero Squadron, April 1919 (Demobilization) * 505th Aero Squadron, January 1919 (Demobilization) ;; First Atlantic crossing by air in both directions On the morning of 5 July 1919, the British

R34 (airship) The R.33 class of British rigid airships were built for the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, but were not completed until after the end of hostilities, by which time the RNAS had become part of the Royal Air Force. The lead ...

landed after having crossed the Atlantic as the first aircraft to cross in the east–west direction. It later returned to Britain, being the first aircraft to complete an Atlantic crossing in both directions. After the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, the Air Service authorized several companies to operate from the fields but maintained control until July 1, 1920, at which time the government sold its buildings and improvements and relinquished control of the property.

Civil use

Once in civilian hands, the owners sold portions along the southern edge of the field and split the remainder of the property into two separate areas. Curtiss Field, a 300-acre airport on the original site of Hazelhurst Field, occupied half of the western portion along Clinton Road. Roosevelt Field occupied the remainder, consisting of seven hangars and a large parking ramp adjacent to Curtiss Field, and an east–west packed clay runway 5000 feet in length on the bluff. The area between Curtiss Field and the Long Island Motor Parkway, which ran north of and parallel to Stewart Avenue, became the Old Westbury Golf Course, while the area to the east of the golf course was used as the Meadow Brook Polo Field. Both areas are now completely developed. In pursuit of the

Orteig Prize The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29. Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the rel ...

René Fonck Colonel René Paul Fonck (27 March 1894 – 18 June 1953) was a French aviator who ended the First World War as the top Entente fighter ace and, when all succeeding aerial conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries are also considered, Fonc ...

attempted to take off the

Sikorsky S-35 The Sikorsky S-35 was an American triple-engined sesquiplane transport later modified to use three-engines. It was designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company for an attempt by René Fonck on a non-stop Atlantic crossing for the Ort ...

from Roosevelt Field's long runway on September 21, 1926, but the aircraft was severely overweight and stressed the auxiliary landing gear mounted to help support the load, losing a wheel. Unable to gain lift speed, the plane cartwheeled off the end of the bluff and burst into flames, killing two of its crew. The following May, operating from a hangar at Curtiss Field, Charles Lindbergh used the Roosevelt Field runway for the takeoff of the ''

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...

'' on his flight to Paris. Both fields were bought in 1929 by Roosevelt Field, Inc. The western field, called "Unit 2", and the runway atop the bluff, called "Unit 1", were connected by a broad earthen taxi ramp and the consolidated property was named Roosevelt Field. Unit 1 was sold in 1936 and became the

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...

, while Unit 2 continued to operate as an aviation center under the name Roosevelt Field. At its peak in the 1930s, it was America's busiest civilian airfield.

Closure

Roosevelt Field was used by the Navy and Army during World War II. After the war, Roosevelt Field reverted to operation as a commercial airport until it was acquired by real estate developers in 1950. The field closed on May 31, 1951. The eastern field first became an industrial park but is now largely retail shopping, including the

Mall at The Source Lesso Home New York is a planned mixed-use development center located in Westbury, New York, on Old Country Road and Merchants Concourse (Ellison Avenue), currently owned by Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. The center is being built inside ...

on the site of the former runway, and townhouses, while the site of the original flying field in 1911–1916 has become a shopping mall.

Fresco

Aline Rhonie Hofheimer Aline "Pat" Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks (August 16, 1909 – January 7, 1963) was an American aviator. Rhonie had several firsts as a pilot and was one of the pioneering women aviation pilots in World War II. She became one of the first members of th ...

(1909–1963), painted a 126-foot fresco representing aviation history in Roosevelt Field, Long Island. It has since been relocated to the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, NY.

Mall

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

-based real estate company

Webb and Knapp Webb and Knapp was a real estate development firm. The company is most famous for developing the Roosevelt Airfield, which was the launching site of the transatlantic flights of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. It was also the firm at which ...

gained a controlling interest in the airfield in 1950 and later built light factories on the former Unit 2. Currently its site is occupied by

Roosevelt Field Mall Roosevelt Field is a shopping mall in East Garden City, New York and Uniondale, New York. It was designed by I. M. Pei and is the largest shopping mall on Long Island, in the state of New York, and the eighth largest shopping mall in the United ...

and

Garden City Plaza A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

In popular culture

* Arthur J. Burks, "Haunted Hangars" (two-part serial), ''Flyers'', January & February, 1930. Referred to as "Mineola field."

References

External links

UNH: 1918 USGS map of Hazelhurst/Roosevelt Field and environs

{{Authority control Airports established in 1916 Airports in Nassau County, New York Closed installations of the United States Army Defunct airports in New York (state) World War I airfields in the United States World War I sites in the United States