floyd bennett field history

8/4/2019 Floyd Bennett Field History

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NATIONAL PARK SERVICENATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY-NOMINATION FORM

FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES

FOH NPS USE ONLY

f RECEIVEDDATE ENTERED

SEEiNS

HISTOR'Crnvc! Bennett .AHO/OR COMMONfir-vrl Bennett .

jLOCATION

TRUCTIONS IN WO\ATYPE ALL ENTRIES - ' 7'O COMPLETENATIONAL REG- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECT

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NATIONAL P A R K SFRVfcPE L A C E S

STREETS, NUMBER

lOCLASSIFICATION

_NOT F O R PUBLICATIONCITY. TOWNNew YorkSTATENew York

__VICINITY OFCODE36

CONGRESSIGNAI DISTRICT11

COUNTYKings

COOE47

CATEGORYjJOISTRICT_BUILDiNGIS)_S UCTURE_SiTE_Oi3JECT

OWNERSHIP3C.PUBUCPRIVATE_BOTHPUBIICACQUISITION

_IN PHOCESSBEING CONSIDERED

STATUSZLOCCUPIEDUNOCCUPIED_^WORK IN PROGRESS

ACCESSIBLE'I-YES. RESTRICTED_YES. UNRESTRICTEDND

PRESENT USE_AGRICULTURE MUSEUMCOMMERCIAL ZLPARK_EDUCATIONALENTERTAINMENT .-.RELIGIOUS

" JJtGOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC_INDUSTRIAL_MILITARY

PRIVATE RESIDENCE

TRANSPORTATIONOTHER

I AGENCYREGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IIIapplicable).National Park Service, North Atlantic Regional Office

STRUTiUMBER1 5 S t a t e S t r e e t _____________________on TOWN

VICINITV orSTATEMncjLOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION

COL'STMOUSEDEEDS. ETC County


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E3 DESCRIPTIONCONDITION

.-XCFLLENVGOOD

_DETERIORA73D_RUINS_UNEXPOSED

CHECK ONEUNALTEREDFALTERED

CHECK ONEx.ORI3INALSITE-MOVED DATE__

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN! PHYSICAL APPEARANCEFloyd Bennett Field Historic District, located witnin the Jamaica Bay Unit o f GatewayN a t i o n a l Recreation Area, retains t h e _ l a y g _ u t and surface appearance of t h e 1931-1941__airport. The efforts of itsTp1ann erst follow the 1928 D e g a r _ t i n e j i t _ ^ j [ _ ( ^ r n i ^ e j r c e _ _ g u i d e -l i n e s _ _ _ f o r airport constructlgn_are readily apparent. As directed, no t only are thehangars a nd support buildings arranged linearly t o one side of the runways, they arealso easily accessible from a major highway, Flatbush Avenue, which passes directlybehind them.Floyd Be n n e t t Field, the first municipal airport of the City of New York was co nstructedbetween 1928-1931. Following the opening of Idlewild Airport i n 1939, Bennett Field wasclosed t o " commercial use a nd eventually ^conveyed t o the U . S . Navy in 1 9 4 1 . The airportwas renamed the N a v a l Air Station, New York or the Brooklyn Naval Air Station, New Yorkand I t was enlarged from 387 acres t o 1,288 acres. The N a vy continued t o operate thefield for thirty years. In 1971 i t became a N a v a l Air Reserve Training Detachment whereground crews received t e chn i c a l training. With the establishment of Gateway NationalRecreation Area, Floyd Bennett Field was acquired by the N a t i o n a l Park Service./ T h e historic structures dating from the 1928-1931 "period a nd the 1936-1938 period, include[eight hangars with attached service wings, the administration building, the garage, twoj p m s p houses, an electrical vault, a transformer building, a nd a pump station. With theexception of the steel framed hangars, these buildi ngs are all constructed of brick.. - ' T h e r e are a small number of later and less significant buildings, constructed during the

' Navy occupation of the field, in this area. These later buildings are concrete block,I wood frame or concrete a nd corrugated metal structures. (see enclosed Site plans). The

;'most significant structures are the hangars, the administration building, the taxiway,Vand the runwaysc^reS ilbsWoJUJ bAcLf l S - pr)VGG\Orlu CL&nun Wc .1 . Hangar Complex ( N o . HS 3,4,5,6)The first an d most important buildings t o be erected at the field were the complex o ffour pairs o f hangars built between 1929 and 1931. The basically identical hangars areof steel frame construction with steel trussed arched roofs with wooden decks. Eachhangar has a concrete slab floor and i s supported by forty-five foot long precast con


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SIGNIFICANCE

OD_ PREHISTORIC_140O 1499

150O 1599_1600 1699_700-1 .'93_. 'bC(5 1899'900-

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW_ARCHEOLOGY PREHISTORICARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC_ AGRICULTURE_ARCHITECTURE_ ARTCOMMERCECOMMUNICATIONS

_COMMUNITY PLANNING_CONSERVATIONECONOMICS_EDUCATIOM ENGINEERING EXPLORATION-SETTLEMENT_INDUSTRYINVENTION

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE__LAW_LITERATURE.XMILITARY_MUSIC.PHILOSOPHY_POLITICS-'GOVERNMENT

RELIGION

SCULPTURE_OCIAL- HUMANITARIANTHEATERXTRANSPQHTA (IONOTHE

SPECiFIC DATES BUILDER'ARCHITECT H e x - r York.Cltv Department of Doc'"'STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEFloyd Be n n e t t Fie ld o n Barren Island, J a m a i c a Bay, is sign ifi c a n t in the e v o lut i o n ofa v i a t i o n his t ory a nd mun i c i p a l airport construction. The Field was the first mun i c ip a lairportjln N e w York City. Constructed between 1928 and 1931 by t he Ci t y Department ofDocks, t he a irp or t w a s . , designed to a t t r a c t t he increasingvoluir.e of air^ traf_f_ic_d^rectlyto - N e w _ _ Y o r J L _ C i t y . , ra th er th a n to N e w a r k Airport where the v ast~ major i ty~ of N ew Yorkbound flights terminated. In 1933, Floyd Be n n e t t rield___was__the_second_busiest airport inthe country, wi t h 51,8 2 8 l a nd i ngs and takeoffs, but only a mi n or perce n t age of thisactivity" c o nsisted o f t he ma i l , fre igh t a n d c ommerc i a l passengers which ge n er a t edrevenue. Fo l l ow i n g the o p e n i n g o f Idlewild Airport i n 1939, Be n n e t t Fie ld was closed tocommercial use and c o n v eyed to t he U.S. N a v y i n 1941. Although the N a vy e n l arged t heField after c o n v ey a n c e i n 1941, the or igi n a l c omp lex o f steel frame_and brick h a ngars andsuppgr_t_buildings ha s n ot be e n subst a n t i a l l y altered. The layout and c o nstruct i o nfollowed th e~ guid e l i n es i n di c a t e d i n t he C o nstruct i o n o f Airports by the U .S. D ep ar tme n tc Commerce. Fl oyd B e n n e t t Fie ld thus ret a i ns ar ch i t e c t ur a l d esign_and h ist or ic cohesiono f a n early mun i c i p a l aiYpoftlloyd Bennett Fie ld is his t or i c a l l y sign ifi c a n t also for its asso c i a t i o n with_iii.dividual^

t in e a r l y _ _ a v i a , t i o i L . Duo to i ts unusually l o n g runways a nd fair wea th erBa n n e t t Fie ld be c a me n o t e d as a prime a i i p o r - t for t he e xper ime n t a l fliers vho

- u ? . ' . \ t to o.atablish speed and d ist a n c e records.. Fo r example, in 1933, Wiley Poslfbrokehi? previous record for a n ar ound t he world flight l a n d i n g a t Floyd Be n n e t t seve n cays,c i - i ' . i i e c n hours and for ty- n i n e m i nu t es a f t e r he t o o k o ff fr om there on July 1 5 . Several - . . - : ; ; - n ' ^ t r a n s c o n t i n e n t a l speed records began or e n d e d at B e n n e t t Field. In 1938, Howard

v . : h ' . : 3 with a crew of four mad e a n nr ound - th e wor ld fl igh t st ar t i ng a n d fi n ish i ng aty - r - v . i i c C C . Field. This flight, which c o v ered 14,791 mi l es in three days, n i n e t e e n hours,c i . i ' . x t minutes and ten seconds, was made t o c o l l e c t n a v i g a t i o n a l data.


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t~* o*i OR BIBLIOGRAPHICALREFEriEX*hy, C a r l e s , Flml T^ nort nf the T - 7 o r ! : s Progress Administratio n fcr chc City of

NewjTk. (New York, W.P.A., 1943).Department oi Commerce, Construction, or Airports (Washington, GPO, 1923).N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c a l C h a mb e r of Commerce, Aircraft Yearbook for 1932 (n.p., 1932).N e w York City, Department of Docks, S i : - : t y First A r . r v . n l r . ^ - c r t ( " . : ^ : : York, 1932).Wrenn, Tony, f>r--nl I T i ^ r o r - of the . T : - . - . u i i c a u . i y , T ' r o c z y P o ' - l n t a r . c i Statcn Island U nits3GEOGRAPHICAL DATA

ACREAGE O e NOMINATED PROPERTY .UTM REfEfiENCES

,_328. S ac.r&s_

Z O N E E A \ S T I N G N O R T H I N G! si Q I 3 J 6 ! Q . r| I A ./(h.ilB11,8.1 LaLSijJ 7.? sQJ U,Al 9i3J 2, fiOZONE EASTING NORTHING

)5l9i2l6i 20 1 14,419,410, 60 _VERBAL BCGNDAHY DESCRIPTION

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIESSTATE COD? COUNTY CODE

STATE CODE COUNTY CODE

E3 FORM PREPARED BYNAME/TITLE

.Richard Greenwood, Survey Historian; Mcardo Torres,. ORGANIZATION

SIKtU*NUMBER_ _ 15 State Street

C I T V O P TOWN- *- T-!

DATE6/30/7 . 4/7S

TELEPHONE617-223-3778

STATEMA

CERTIFICATION OFNOMINATIONSTATE H!5YES

'" I'lnlunuc with ExL'^i.ti'.o O:or 1 1 L/u3. I nuieuy nominate this nropoity tu tile Njuoii.il Heoibiot. certil\mvj trul the State


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jrm No 10-300lev 10-74)

UNITED STATES DLPARl MLNT Oi ; THL INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

RECEIVEDNA HONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY -NOMINATION FORM

FOR NFS USE ONLY

D ATE E NTERED

CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE

out of two hangars. These two story wings were built to house m a c h i n e shops and othern a i n t e n a n c e facilit ies. The four hangar pairs have some Art Deco o r n a m e n t a t i o n in concre t e p a n e ls on the c e n t r a l w i n g s a nd i n stamped m e t a l on the h a ngar gables. The h a ngargables bear winged m e d a l l i o n s with the i n i t i a l s "NYC". The c e n t ra l wings have v aryi ngo r n a m e n t a t i o n ; some h ave ge ome tr ic a l ly d ec or a t ed c o n cr e t e panels, as x c e l i as wingede t a b l e n i s wi t h crossed propellers, while others have no d ec or a t i o n wh a tsoev er . Wi t h thee x c ep t i o n of some m i n o r a l t er a t i o ns, such as bricked i n windows an d removed hoods, theh a ngars a re basi c a l l y unchanged. Only Hanga rs 3 and 4 are presen t ly occupied. Thesetwo-are i n use by t he N e w York C i ty P o l i c e Department.2 . Adm i n is tr a t i o n Bu i l di n g ( N o . HS 1 )The a dm i n is tr a t i o n building, constructed i n 1931, is a red a nd black brick building,two stories high and c o nstructed in a n e o G e o r g i a n style. It has white stone quoins,w a t e r table a nd e n t abl a ture. The structure, wh ich also rests o n sunken c o n cr e t e p i l i ng^h a s ' a p ar t i a l l y raised basement. The eastern facade, wh ich faces the runway, is d omi n ated by a s e mi - o c t a g o n a l p ro j e c t i n g bay, three stories t a l l and topped with t he steelframed an d glass enc l osed c o n tr o l booth. There is a small deck, e n c l osed wi t h a lumi numrailing surrounding the c o n t r o l booth. On e i t he r side of the p r o j e c t i n g bay, at thefirst story level, there is a n observ a t i o n deck, e n c l osed by balustrades an d reached bya g r a n i t e stairway. Outside entryways t o the basement pass bel ow these decks. " N a v a lA ir S t a t i o n " a n d "Fl oyd Be n n e t t Fie ld " are spelled out in bronze letters across thee n t ab l a tur e on the east facade. The west facade, wh ich faces the or igi n a l e n tr a n c e tot he field from Flatbush Avenue, is composed of a c e n t ra l pro j e c t i o n , f l a n ke d bysymmetrical sections. Th is ce n tr a l pr ojec t i o n houses a recessed full portico supportedby Ionic columns. There are three doorways under the portico, an d over the c e n t ra l d o o ris t he N a v a l A ir S t a t i o n clock. In the c e n t er of t he c o rn i c e of the por t i c o is a polychrome wi n g e d globe. As o r i g i n a l l y designed, the ad mi n istr a t i o n bui ld i ng h oused arestaurant, cafeteria, a post office, dormitories, lounge, wea th er bureau an d a Departme n t of C ommerce office. The building underwent repairs a nd a l t er a t i o ns duri ng the WTAwork a n d was then ad ap ted for use by the Navy. Tod ay the building is unoccupied a n d inn e ed of general r eh abi l i t a t i o n . The i n t er i or is ge n er a l ly plain, with o c c asi o n a l


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N o 10-300810-74!

UNITED STATLS DEPARTMENT Oh THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

RECEIVED

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY-NOMINATION FORM I P A T E E N T E R E D

FOR NPS USE ONLY

CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE 3 ___

A c o n cr e t e t a x i v ay was also c o nstructed at this time. It was par a l l e l t o the shorterof t he runways and l o c a t e d t o the west of it and east of t h e hangars. Two more runwayswere constructed by the WPA i n 1937 to 1933. The shorter of these runways was laid onan a ppr o x i m a t e l y n o r t h - south axis, e x t e n d i n g 4000' feet n or th fr om i ts i n t e r s e c t i o nv i th the southern en d of t he earli er, 3,110' runway. The lon ger of the n ew runwaysex t e nd ed southeast for 5,500* fr o m the n o r t her n terminus of the 3,100' runway. Therest of the a irfie ld was pl a n t ed wi t h grass, t o preve n t drifting. With the e xp a nsi o nof t h e . a irfie ld and its c o n t i nui ng m a i n t e n a n c e by the Navy, t he original runways havebeen extended, wid e n ed an d presumably resurfaced. E x c ep t for the n ewer n or th er n-mostrunway presently a t Be n n e t t Field, wh ich runs from east to west, the~modern runways havefollowed the general layout of t he original s. The best preserved runway, in terms ofscale, is the l o n g e r of t he first two runways (labelled as "f" o n t he enclosed site plan)hence the h ist or ic runway pa t t er n is a n integral, part of the current runway system.There a re additional historic structures of less imp or t a n c e that rel a t e to the use cfFloyd Bennett Field during the h ist or ic p er i od (1931-1941):

The garage and m a i n t e n a n c e shop (#26), c o nstructed circa 1931, is a o ne story, rectangul;;-buff brick building similar i n silh oue t t e to the h a n g a r complexes. It consists of acentral core of offices flanked on e i th er side by shops, which are reached through overhead m e t a l doors. There is a small, stucc o ed a t t a chme n t on the southwest corner of thegarage. The building has a flat, steel rei nfor ced roof and c o n cr e t e flooring. It i r infair c o nd i t i o n a nd is n o t presently occupied. It is located in the southwest cornerof the airport, be l ow the hangars, just east of Flatbush Avenue.To t he east of the garage a n d shops are two o th er small buff brick buildings, one storytall a nd rec t a ngul ar in shape. The western structure is a pump house (#30) a nd c o n t a i n ?op er a t i ng pumping m a c hi n ery an d tanks. The other, smaller building houses electricalequipment (?57). Its brickwork is n o t in good c o n d i t i o n and requires some patching.The fire pump house ( ? 2 9 ) . ' a r i d the gaso l i n e pump s t a t i o n ( f ' 1 7 6 ) , a re l o c a t ed to the vest


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: orm Nc, 10-300aRe v 10-74!UNIThDSTATLSDLPARTMLNTCrt TH H INTERIOR

NATIONAL PARK SERVICERECEIVED

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESDATE ENTEREDINVENTORY -- NOMINATION FOP.M

FOR NPS USE O NL Y

CONTINUATION S H E E T ITEM NUMBER ' PAGE HWi t hi n the original boundaries of the mun i c i p a l airport there are several structuresbuilt after 1941 wh ich a re intrusions. Some of these were c o nstructed i n the m a i nc omp lex of buildings, wh i l e o th er more rece n t o n es a re l o c a t e d on the eastern side o fthe field o n what was open flying f i e l d during the 1931-1941 period. N o n e of thesea o r e recent buildings contribute to the h ist or ic sign ifi c a n c e of t he district. Theintrusive buildings within the m a i n building c o mp l e x include: H a ngars 9 a nd 10 . woodframe a t t a ch ed h a ngars built by the N a vy c ir c a 1942; Structures 44, 4 5 , 266, 238,small singl e -st ory c o n cr e t e bl o ck build i ngs used as storehouses; Structure 265, theBlue Nose hangar, a large, steel frame building w i t h c o n cr e t e found a t i o ns a nd corrug a t e d siding; Structure 265A, a small shed: Structure 171, the wood f r a r a e a d d i t i o nto the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n building; Structures 48 a nd 50, singl e -st ory wood f r a r a e buildingswhi c h formerly housed the N a vy tr a i n i ng fa c i l i t i es aud a gar age a nd shop, respectively;Structures 126 and 236, small single-story sheds used for storage.The above intrusions are i nd i c a t ed unsh ad ed on the enclo sed sketch map o f "FloydB e n n e t t Field H ist or ic D istr ic t " .As ca n be seen in a comparison between the 1940 site plan and the current map, them a j or i ty of formerly unsurfaced l a n d around the runways has been surfaced wi th runways,taxiways, aprons an d roads. However, this land has remained open, otherwise, an d thepost 1941 d eve l opme n ts do n ot c o nst i tute a m a j o r intrusion.A por t i o n o f the runway, shown with d o t t ed lines on the sketch i r . a p of Floyd EennettField Historic District, is under the jurisd ic t i o n of the U.S. Coast Guard and has beenexcluded from the n o m i n a t i o n acreage, a l th ough h ist or ic a l ly it is part of the proposedh ist or ic district. The Coa st Guard runway tract is used as a l a n d i n g strip and doesn o t intrude into the historic district.The lower part of Floyd Be n n e t t Fie ld c o v ers a land area prevously known as BarrenIsland wh ich has ha d a n ample his t ory of o c cupa t i o n by preh ist or ic and historic settlers.It is bel i e v ed that a C a n arsie I nd i a n V i l l age , E nque nd i t o , once wa s l o c a t e d in closeprox imi ty t o the present Park Headquarters. During the n i n e t e e n t h century, a small


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floyd bennett field history

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