Holmes Airport facts for kids

Holmes Airport was a busy airport in New York City. It was located in the Jackson Heights area of Queens. This airport was open from 1929 to 1940. People sometimes called it Grand Central Air Terminal or Grand Central Airport.

Building Holmes Airport

A man named E. H. Holmes built this airport. He was a real estate developer. The airport was built on about 220 acres of empty land. Mr. Holmes created a company called Holmes Airport, Inc. He sold parts of the company to others.

In February 1929, work began on the airport. Famous aviator Clarence D. Chamberlin helped start the project. Pilot Viola Gentry and actress Dorothy Stone were also there. The airport had two hangars for planes. It also had an office building. There were two gravel runways. One was 2,800 feet long. The other was 3,000 feet long.

Opening Day and Early Flights

Holmes Airport opened on Saturday, March 16, 1929. It was a big event. On its second day, 100,000 people came to visit!

Later that year, the airport started offering regular flights. Eastern Air Express began flying from Holmes. They offered a two-day service to Miami. These were the first scheduled flights from New York City.

Fun at the Airport

In April 1930, people could pay $1 for an airplane ride. This was a special event. It was to see if people were afraid to fly. Or if it was just too expensive. Thousands of people paid to fly that day.

On November 11, 1934, a fun race took place. Sixty-four airplanes joined in. It was a 30-mile novelty race. It included a treasure hunt and a pie-eating contest! The winner finished in just 28 minutes.

Blimps and Traffic Reports

Big airships called blimps also used Holmes Airport. In 1931, the Goodyear company built a large hangar. It was 220 feet long. Goodyear offered sightseeing flights in their blimps.

In 1936, a Goodyear blimp based at Holmes Airport did something new. It provided the first-ever aerial traffic reports. This helped people know about traffic from above.

The Airport Closes

In 1937, the owners of Holmes Airport tried to stop something. They went to court. They wanted to stop New York City from building a new airport. This new airport was called North Beach Airport. It was only about a mile away. The city planned to spend a lot of money to make it much bigger. This bigger airport would become LaGuardia Airport.

A judge named Ernest E. L. Hammer said no to their request. LaGuardia Airport opened in 1939. Holmes Airport closed the next year, in 1940.

After Holmes Airport closed, the land was used for other things. Part of it became housing for veterans. Another part became the site of the Bulova watch factory.