Syracuse Municipal Airport was an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located in

Camillus, NY Camillus is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 24,167 at the 2010 census. The Town of Camillus is west of Syracuse. There is also a village named Camillus in the town. Much of the town is a western suburb of ...

Origins

The first plane landed at the site of the airport in 1912 and was flown by Harry Atwood, establishing a long-distance flight record from

Chicago, Il (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to Camillus. The airport expanded over the next few years and by 1925 became known as the Amboy Airport.

Municipal Airport

By 1926, Syracuse Mayor

Charles Hanna Charles George Hanna (1889–1942) was a politician from the United States. He was the forty-first mayor of Syracuse, New York (Republican, 1926–1929) and largely responsible for bringing air travel to the Syracuse Area. He acquired an airfiel ...

felt that the city needed an airport to enhance its economic future. The city scouted a number of small airports in the area, including Bethka Field (near the intersection of Thompson Rd. and James St. in the city proper) and Nedrow Field in nearby Nedrow, NY. The city finally decided upon the Amboy Airport and purchased it from Camillus for $50,000. After its official opening in 1927, Mayor Hanna put the airfield under the direction of the City Parks Department. After being purchased by the city, the airport gained popularity. The first airmail was delivered in 1929. In the following years before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the airport featured appearances by many world-famous pilots including

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

and his

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 ...

airplane in 1927,

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

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 one ...

in 1931,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Jimmy Doolittle in 1932,

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

in 1936, Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan in 1938; as well as celebrities

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...

and

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen ...

World War II

After the war broke out, local flight instructors were pressed into military service and the airport turned into a flight training center. Shortly thereafter, the demands of the military quickly outgrew the capabilities of the current airport and the Office of the Chief of the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

allocated funds and authorized the construction of Hancock Field. However, the Municipal Airport still played a vital role in the war effort, serving as a training facility for civilians moving supplies and equipment and pilots patrolling the east coast for German ships and

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

Closure

After the war, the city took over operations of Hancock Field, converting it to a commercial airfield in 1948. The smaller Municipal Airport couldn't compete with the larger and more centrally located Syracuse Hancock International Airport and closed in 1949. After its closure, most of the land the airport was located on was acquired by

Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and transformed into chemical waste beds by 1951.

Notes

{{Reflist Transportation in Syracuse, New York Defunct airports in New York (state)