Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:a
Southwestern Illinois
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 10/31/08.
Lakeview Airport / Lakeside Airport / Nichols Airport (revised 10/14/08) - Parks College Airport (revised 10/31/08)
(Original) Springfield Municipal Airport / Southwest Airport (revised 10/14/08)
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Lakeview Airport / Lakeside Airport / Nichols Airport, Granite City, IL
38.7 North / 90.07 West (East of St. Louis, MO)
This general aviation airport was evidently established at some point in 1941,
as it was not yet depicted at all on the January 1941 Kansas City Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction which has been located of Lakeside Airport
was a a 1941 aerial view (from the Illinois Natural Resources Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Lakeside as having 2 grass runways,
with several small hangars & 10 light aircraft on the west side of the field.
The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Lakeside Airport
was on the October 1942 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Lakeside as a commercial/municipal airport.
The 9/27/05 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an article
entitled “Lakeside Airport has plows instead of planes on its runway” by Rick Pierce.
It said that when Omar Midyett operated the airport following World War II,
as many as 100 aircraft were based there,
according to a study conducted by Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Consulting Engineers.
An undated aerial photo of Lakeside Airport from the 1962 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling).
Lakeside Airport had evidently gained a paved runway at some point between 1941-62,
as the directory depicted the field as having 3 turf runways,
including a 2,600' turf north/south runway within which was inset a 1,700' bituminous strip.
A total of almost 50 light aircraft were visible parked on the west side of the field.
The operator & manager was listed as Omar Midyett.
The airport was listed as “Lakeview Airport” in the 1966 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1966 directory had the same photo of the field as had been used in the 1962 directory.
The operator was listed as J & S Flying Service,
and the managers were listed as William Jennings & Ed Shafer.
Chris Greer remembered the old Lakeside Airport when the Blue Angels performed there,
when he & his father landed a twin-engine Douglas DC-3 on one of the 3 runways
and when dozens of aircraft were based there.
The airport was also known as Nichols Airport after a later owner, Bill Nichols.
The 1985 USGS topo map depicted the “Nickols Landing Field” as having 2 runways: north/south & northwest/southeast.
Bill Nichol's heirs eventually sold the property to the Madison County Transit District.
An article entitled “Madison Transit Agency to Buy Nichols Airport” by Lee Conrad
in the 10/9/95 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal said:
“The Madison County Transit Authority plans to spend $455,000 later this month
to buy Nichols Airport in an unincorporated area between Granite City & Collinsville on the east side of Horseshoe Lake.
The 150-acre airport, formerly known as Lakeside Airport, has only about 6 planes,
a grass runway & dilapidated hangars, said Jerry Kane, managing director of the transit district.
The East-West Gateway Coordinating Council, a regional planning agency,
recommended the acquisition to make Nichols a public airport as part of its master aviation plan.
The Airport Improvement Fund, a federal funding source, can be used for publicly owned airports only, Kane said.
The district plans to improve the facility with a hardtop runway & new hangars, he said.
The airport's proximity to Downtown St. Louis
and the fact that it has clear approaches from all directions led East-West Gateway to its conclusion that the airport
could become a big part of the area's aviation system by handling future demand if it became a publicly owned airport.
It also will help the entire region with development, said local officials.
'The acquisition of Nichols Airport is essential to Madison County's future development,' said County Chairman Nelson Hagnauer.
Granite City Mayor Ron Selph said as development on the Missouri side of the area
extends farther west & away from downtown St. Louis,
the Metro East will become more attractive to developers, he said.
'Maybe they'll start looking east & develop on this side of the river”, he said.”
However, by the time the county bought the site, activity at the airport had already declined.
A November 1995 photo showed just 4 aircraft at the facility & a few buildings.
Jerry Kane, the head of Madison County Transit, which owns the site,
says the push for the airport came from former Madison County Board Chairman Nelson Hagnauer,
who at the time was also the head of the transit district.
However, Morris Chapman, a longtime attorney in Granite City who kept his plane for years at the old Lakeside Airport,
says the death of Hagnauer in 1996 doomed the project.
"Hagnauer was contemplating making a real airport out of it," Chapman said.
"Then he died, and the county lost interest in it."
Two factors grounded the project, according to Jerry Kane.
One was the need to obtain additional property - in addition to the 150-acre airport site - to make longer runways.
The second was a cutback in federal funding for such projects.
In the 1998 USGS aerial photo, a total of only 3 light aircraft were still visible on the field.
Jerry Kane said the transit district tried to sell the airport in about 2000.
However, the buyer could not obtain the necessary financing & the deal collapsed, he said.
Unfortunately the 2003 USGS aerial photo showed that the airfield had been closed at some point between 1998-2003,
with all of the former airport buildings on the west side of the field having been removed as well.
According to the article in the 9/27/05 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
“Today, all that remains is a lone grass runway & patches of pavement punched through with weeds.
Chris Greer says his father has tried for years to revive interest in the facility
and even had fliers and signs printed up that read 'Save Lakeside Airport'.
Meanwhile, the transit district continues to hold on to the property.
Kane said the land continues to appreciate in value -
and will be worth more to the transit district than if the money spent on the land had been invested.
A man farms the property and, in return, keeps the front of the property & the old runway mowed.
Dan Corbett, a longtime member of the transit district's governing board,
says the board has no plan to turn the site back into an airport or to sell it in the immediate future.”
A circa 2007 aerial view looking north, showing a car parked over the foundation of the former hangar at the site of Lakeside Airport.
The site of Lakeside Airport is located southeast of the intersection of Horseshoe Lake Road & Route 111.
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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(Original) Springfield Municipal Airport / Southwest Airport, Springfield, IL
39.75 North / 89.69 West (Southwest of Chicago, IL)
A 1939 aerial photo of the original Springfield Municipal Airport (from the Access IL Historical Aerial Photography collection, via Chris Kennedy).
Springfield's original municipal airport was located on the southwest side of the town.
The date of construction of the original Springfield Municipal Airport has not been determined.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Springfield as a commercial airport, located 3.5 miles southwest of the town.
The field was said to consist of a rectangular 2,500' x 2,600' sod landing area.
The earliest depiction which has been located of the original Springfield Municipal Airport
was a 1939 aerial photo of the (from the Access IL Historical Aerial Photography collection, via Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having 2 runways in an X-shape,
with a ramp with several buildings on the east side of the field.
An undated aerial view looking northeast at the original Springfield Municipal Airport,
from The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The airport had been improved somewhat with shale runways,
as the directory described Springfield Municipal as having two shale runways: 3,080' northwest/southeast & 2,850' northeast/southwest.
Two other unpaved runways were also visible in the aerial photo,
and several hangars were depicted on the east side of the field.
Springfield Airport was depicted as a commercial or municipal airport
on the April 1943 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1945 Haire Publishing Company Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy)
said the field was owned & operated by the Springfield Aviation Company,
and the airport managers were Graig (sic) Isbell & Gelder Lockwood.
It was still labeled "Springfield" on the October 1946 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
However, the airport was apparently renamed "Southwest" at some point in the next two years,
as that is how it was labeled on the September 1948 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The airport's name was probably changed to differentiate it from the larger former military airport to the north of Springfield,
which had become available for civilian use.
Southwest Airport was depicted as having a 3,000' unpaved runway.
The 1956 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Southwest Airport as having two 2,430' turf runways, oriented northwest/southeast & northeast/southwest.
Several hangars were depicted on a ramp on the east side of the field,
along with several light aircraft parked on the ramp.
The operator was listed as listed as Springfield Aircraft Sales & Service,
and the manager was listed as John Brandis.
The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Southwest Airport as having a 3,190' turf Runway 4/22 & a 3,180' turf Runway 11/29.
Several hangars were depicted along the ramp on the east side of the field.
The December 1961 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Southwest Airport as having a 3,000' unpaved runway.
An undated aerial view in the 1962 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling)
depicted Southwest Airport as having two 2,470' turf & shale runways, oriented northwest/southeast & northeast/southwest.
Several hangars were depicted on a ramp on the east side of the field,
along with 8 light aircraft parked on the ramp.
The operator was listed as listed as Springfield Aviation Company,
and the manager was listed as Gelder Lockwood.
Southwest Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1962-64,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the February 1964 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
Springfield Airport was still depicted on the 1969 USGS topo map,
even though it had not been operational already for several years at that point.
Although the 1998 USGS aerial photo shows that the majority of the former airport property has been covered by housing,
surprisingly some of the former airport buildings remain standing on the east side of the site,
including one large hangar that was visible on both the 1941 & 1956 aerial photos.
The site of Southwest Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Chatham Road & Westchester Boulevard.
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Parks College Airport (H72), East St. Louis, IL
38.57 North / 90.18 West (East of St. Louis, MO)
An advertisement for Parks Air College from the 8/25/28 issue of Aviation Magazine (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Parks College was founded by Oliver L. Parks in 1927, just two months after Charles Lindbergh's historic flight,
and was the first certified aviation school in the US.
Mr. Parks believed, prophetically, that aviation had a great future
& very early he saw the need for instruction in aircraft design, maintenance & flight safety.
The fledgling College was determined to raise the standards of aviation education.
In pursuing this end, Parks College became the first federally approved school of aeronautics
& today still holds FAA Certificate #1.
In the late 1920's Mr. Parks operated an aircraft factory in conjunction with the school,
where Parks' P-1s, P-2s & P-3s were built.
A 1929 aerial view looking southeast at the Parks Airport, taken during the Gardner Cup Races.
The airplanes lined up on the right flew in a round trip race to Indianapolis.
The race was won by "Speed" Holman in a Whirlwind-Laird.
Photo is courtesy of Shaun Braley.
Students in front of the Parks Air College Administration building, circa 1920s.
During those early years, the College was an official stop in the famous coast-to-coast air races.
Among the aviation greats who visited the campus were Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart,
Howard Hughes, Jimmy Doolittle, and Eddie Rickenbacker.
Parks Airport, as depicted on the 1935 9M Night Flying Chart.
In 1939 Parks was one of the air schools contracted by the Army Air Corps to give elementary flight training to cadets.
A 1940 aerial photo of the Parks College Airfield (from the Access Illinois Historical Aerial Photography collection, via Chris Kennedy).
The airfield had 2 runways within a large grass airfield area.
There were a dozen aircraft visible on the field, including 2 which appear to be getting ready for takeoff (at the north end).
An aerial view looking southeast at Parks from the Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The field was described as a 2,600' x 1,700' sod rectangular landing area,
with two cinder runways measuring 2,200' & 1,150'.
Army Air Corps Cadets in front of biplane trainers at the Parks Air College, circa 1940s.
During the WW2 era, Parks College & its subsidiaries were responsible
for training 1 out of every 10 Army Air Corps pilots, plus thousands of aircraft mechanics.
Calvin Casteel recalled, “During WW2 I attended Parks Air College
for my Army Air Corps primary flight training in the PT-19 Fairchild trainer.
Our barracks & ground school classes were at Parks Air College
and our flight training was at Curtiss Steinberg Air Field just up the road a short piece.”
Parks was described in the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 2,600' runway.
Parks College became part of Saint Louis University in 1946,
and is still open today, known as the St Louis University Parks College of Engineering & Aviation.
Hans Friedebach recalled, “I went to schools at Parks in 1957 & lived in the Portview Arms dormitory.
While attending Parks I worked part-time for Walston Aviation
at Parks Metropolitan Airport [located just to the east of Parks College Airport].
I owned a Fairchild PT-26 which I kept at Parks Metropolitan.
Father Choppesky, Parks College Dean, was surprised one day to see me land at the College
to fetch my sandwich lunch at the Cafeteria before hopping into the PT-26 to fly back over to my part-time job.”
The 1958 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of George Miner) depicted Park's College Airport
as having 2 "cinders" runways: a 2,500' north/south strip & a 2,400' east/west strip.
The manager was listed as the Rev. J.C. Choppesky, Regent & Acting Dean.
A closeup from a 1960 aerial view looking east at a group of aircraft parked on the north end of the Parks College Airfield (courtesy of Robin Sova).
An undated aerial photo of Parks College Airport from the 1962 IL Airport Directory (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling).
It depicted the field as having 2 "cinders" runways: a 2,500' north/south strip & a 2,400' east/west strip.
The manager was listed as the Rev. J.C. Choppesky, Regent & Acting Dean.
A Fairchild PT-26 which was permitted to fly into the airfield at Parks College for an open house in 1970,
after the field had been closed to most flight operations.
The Parks College Airport was still listed as an active private airfield
in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),
which described the field as consisting of a single 1,670' turf Runway 18/36.
John McGowan reported that he attended Parks Air College in 1993.
"I have a picture somewhere of an Air Force C-9 [a military version of the DC-9]
doing a slow pass along the runway that was left after they built the dorms.
It was during an open house, where many Parks alumni had flown in to display their airplanes.
I'm pretty sure that the pilots of the C-9 were former Parks students,
and from what I was told, they were definitely exceeding some safety limitations whey they did their fly-by."
The Parks airfield was finally closed at some point prior to 1998.
As seen in the 1999 USGS aerial photo, the north/south grass runway at the Parks College Airfield remains completely intact,
although several classroom buildings had been built over the western edge of the field.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking north at a former hangar which remains on the western corner of the Parks College Airfield site.
This same hangar was visible in the 1929 aerial photo.
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