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Twenty years ago, Mayor Richard M. Daley shut down Chicago’s third airport — Merrill C. Meigs Field.
A wrecking crew used bulldozers to carve giant X’s into the airstrip late on March 30, 2003. The next day — with the runway rendered useless to aircraft — Daley told reporters he was trying to reduce any airborne threat against downtown buildings “in these very uncertain times” only a year and a half after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
For 55 years the small airport hosted private and regional charter flights, becoming the busiest single-runway airport in the United States in 1955. Dignitaries loved it because it provided easy access to downtown Chicago without the need to travel on the city’s expressways.
But it was well-documented that Daley wanted to close the airport in order to convert Northerly Island to a park. By making that transition, ironically, Daley was fulfilling a major component of Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago from 1909.
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July 4, 1909: Burnham’s Plan of Chicago called for manmade island
Burnham’s masterpiece design called for a narrow strip of land to be constructed just off the lakefront and connected by bridges to each other as well as the mainland. Read more here.
May 10, 1930: Adler Planetarium — first building on Northerly Island — dedicated
After voters passed a $20 million bond issue in 1920 for various park-related improvements, including the creation of Burnham Park, the northernmost island was built and named Northerly Island. The planetarium was its first permanent resident. Read more here.
Flashback: From the seas to the stars, Shedd and Adler brought wonder to Chicago
May 27, 1933: ‘Century of Progress’ World’s Fair began
Connected by a land bridge to the city (later made a roadway), Northerly Island hosted the futuristic exposition. Though there was some sentiment to keep some buildings standing, everything was razed after the fair. A plan to turn it into an airport was floated in 1935, but died for lack of city funding and federal approval. Read more here.
Buy the book: A Photographic Tour of the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair
Dec. 10, 1948: Northerly Island air terminal opened
A small airport was considered a good candidate for the site — even the Tribune supported it. Yet, a terminal and air control tower wouldn’t be added until later.
“This airstrip is closer to more people, hotels, offices, stores, theaters and business establishments than any other airport in the world,” Chicago Mayor Martin H. Kennelly told reporters the day before the grand opening. “Now we want to see it used.” Read more here.
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What was it like to land on Northerly Island? A Tribune-owned aircraft tests it out.
The airport’s namesake: Merrill C. Meigs
The newspaper executive, who had been a member of the University of Chicago’s undefeated championship football team in 1905, also gave flying lessons to President Harry Truman. The air field was renamed Meigs Field in his honor — which was previously suggested by the Tribune — in 1949.
In 1935, as head of the Chicago Aero Commission and a member of a federal committee to select a city site for a central airport, he said: “There is no doubt that Chicago needs an up-to-date field within 10 minutes of the Loop. We are not going to consume a half an hour to get out to Chicago airport (Midway). Those minutes mean too much.” Read more here.
Nov. 12, 1956: Chicago Helicopter Airways connected commuters with Midway and O’Hare airports
Edward Freeman, manager of the post office at Midway Airport, bought the first ticket on Nov. 12, 1956. Runs ended Dec. 31, 1965, after the federal government refused to continue providing a $880,000 subsidy for the service. Read more here.
Sept. 30, 1996: Airport shuttered when lease ran out
Daley, who for years had threatened to close Meigs Field in order to build a park on the site, closed the airport at about 11 p.m. with permission from a federal judge. Shortly after the last plane took off, city workers moved in to paint five large X’s, each 10 feet wide by 60 feet long, on the 4,000-foot runway. Read more here.
The tiny airstrip was reopened in early 1997, when Gov. Jim Edgar and Daley reached a compromise. Edgar arrived on Northerly Island in a state plane on Feb. 9, 1997 — reopening day.
March 30-31, 2003: Daley closed airport and destroyed runway
Still stewing because federal authorities were quicker to restrict airspace over Mickey and Minnie at Disney World and Disneyland than they were for Chicago, Daley said his unilateral closure of Meigs was prompted in part by fears that the nation’s homeland security bureaucracy was moving too slowly to address the city’s needs.
Daley’s late-night strike was one of his boldest acts since winning reelection to a fifth term on Feb. 25, 2003 with nearly 79% of the votes. Read more here.
Edited transcript: Daley’s news conference with reporters on the closure of Meigs Field
Sept. 4, 2015: 40-acre nature preserve opened
The only thing that lands on Northerly Island now are birds and butterflies. Read more here.
Photo gallery: From Northerly Island to Meigs Field and back
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