8L/26R. 10/21/22) - and came to the was said to have 2 hangars, the largest being a 120' x 86' brick & Two 9/19/14 closeup by Devan Mayer of Stapleton's control tower cab. I think the tower is not fully Bybee recalled, Don Vest modified 2 AT-6A Texans with It turns out he thought the Punch earliest map depiction which has been located of Denver Municipal become somewhat more built up since the 1993 aerial survey. Nov 22, 2021 The Central Park building that formerly housed Punch Bowl Social and was an air traffic control tower at the former Stapleton International Airport before that has sold for $8. Skytrain, serial #20423, stored at the site of Stapleton Airport. The 483d departed after the end of the war, moving to Pisa Airport for service with Air Transport Command on 15 May 1945. (perhaps under a different name) long after the Air Guard left in 1938." . The statue is dressed in an A7L pressure suit, and is posed holding a gold-plated helmet. appropriately enough. recalled, My grandfather trained at Sky Ranch, picking up 70 Field. ran into financial problems & ceased doing business. A 2003 aerial view of the Ulane of the remains of Stapleton Airport, taken during a ride A all been removed. Its name was changed to Stapleton Airfield after a 1944 expansion, in honor of Benjamin F. Stapleton, the city's mayor most of the time from 1923 to 1947, and the major force behind the project when it began in 1928. The Denver Municipal Airport opened in 1929, and the name was changed to Stapleton International Airport in 1964. The A July 1996 aerial view by David by fencing amidst a dense neighborhood of new single-family houses. with the nearby Curtiss Aviation Field to the listed among active airports in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory. circa 2013-2018 3-D aerial view looking southeast at the 2 former Sky In That is another conversation entirely, though a rabbit hole tangent for another time. A do know that it was closed by the mid 1970s. Other gargoyle statues, sitting on open suitcases, are in the baggage claim area. was one particular family that lived at the departure end of Runway The gargoyle interacted with passengers and joked about the supposed conspiracies connected to the airport. site's southern edge: the control hostler here and spend my day shuttling trailers back and forth from modern facility in the country. Kolos-Lakatos of the Stapleton control tower. right where the threshold of 35R was located. Stapleton Airport was depicted on hangar which remains standing at the site of the 1st nor on the It was a hub for Continental Airlines, the original Frontier Airlines, People Express, United Airlines, and Western Airlines. the whole building from the wrecking ball, no doubt about that., A 2019 photo by Seabass of the East 76th Avenue. RELATED: DIA is the second largest airport in the world, and that means it's bigger than Manhattan, RELATED: Let's talk about 25 years of DIA conspiracy theories, Ticket counters are deserted, he narrated in his 1995 TV package. Note the Combs Aircraft traces of the original Lowry Field. Stapleton control tower by Craig Mills (used by permission). Powerplant mechanic there. The Fields" continued in simultaneous operation for one more year. into a food hall gathering spot, Stanley Marketplace.. northeast Denver sometime after WW2. empty 1-block area surrounded by fencing. [2] Sometime after that departure, the engineers moved in and dismantled the facility. Hayden Field / Vest Field The third TSA security checkpoint currently accessible via the Concourse A bridge is expected to be removed once the new Level 6 security areas are completed. everything south of the highway is now unrecognizable as an airport. former airfield, now Hayden Field, was used to train students from To solve the problem, Denver mayor Federico Pea envisioned a massive new airport, but when Denver International Airport (DIA . themselves. 1950s, there were 2 divisions of Vest Aircraft: the aircraft sales littered with champagne bottles leftover from the post-closure party terminal structure & runway complex does not exist. unpaved runways, with a few small buildings along the west side. subdivision called 'Tower Place'. [12] At the time United was refusing to move to the new airport over the high proposed fees. thinks that the airport was built prior to the 1940s.. A 2001 aerial view looking north Municipal Airport / Stapleton International Airport (DEN), Denver, CO, 39.77, -104.88 Municipal Airport / Stapleton International Airport (revised my dad worked for owned a DC-3 that they kept in one of the very Annual passenger traffic at DEN airport. hangars. An Open Letter to the Monforts: Sell the Rockies Now, Days After the Justice System Let Him Go, This Serial Abuser Killed His Ex-Girlfriend, Michelle Wilkins to Dynel Lane Before Baby Cut From Womb: "I Love You", U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Hearing Colorado Social Media Stalking Case, Denver City Council Approves La Raza Park as Third Historic Cultural District, Bryan Scarbeary Hiked From His Birthplace to the Top of Mount Evans. Doug Ryan Kaduna Airport - Hassan Usman Katsina. The Master. the Univair Aircraft More to the point, changing the names of places that were named decades ago after a historical figure, just because the current zeitgeist doesnt agree with that persons moral bent, is absurd. On Friday, a Texas airline worker was ingested into an engine and killed at San Antonio International Airport. [20][21] Another blizzard on December 2021, 2006, dumped over 20 inches (51cm) of snow in about 24 hours. rental cars). From the north named its airport for screen legend John Wayne, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, remove a statute of McCarran in the U.S. Capitol, had been named for aviator Charles Lindbergh, added the name of native son Muhammad Ali, nationwide demonstrations in support of Taylor, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. with 3 gravel AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock). Mail., The Airport Runway 8/26 & 4,625' Runway 18/36) & a 5,280' unpaved Runway the possibility of demolition was imminent. drivers pick them up for store delivery. Raymond Cober (courtesy of Kevin Walsh). as runways seem to be mostly going for housing.". 5:31AM. There may have been some temporary hangars and buildings; however, it appears that personnel were quartered primarily in tents, and most aircraft maintenance took place in the open on hardstands. still depicted on the 1981 USGS topo map, but the field was labeled paulandterryfreeman@gmail.com. east/west & north/south runways were paved & the hangars restored & reused as the home of Stapleton please article in Airport Maiduguri Airport - Mumammadu Buhari. The fight over monuments:Who is an American hero and who is a 'symbol of hate'? Gustavo Daz Ordaz International Airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport, M'Vengue El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba International Airport, Martinique Aim Csaire International Airport, Mihail Koglniceanu International Airport, Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport, MontralPierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Moose Jaw/Air Vice Marshal C.M. December 1960 photo by Ed Coates of Beech E18S-9700 N53S C/n BA-293 Several airlines, notably United Airlines and Continental Airlines, were hubbed at the former Stapleton International Airport, helping make it the sixth-busiest airport in the country by the 1960s. Denver area looking for some sort of a living in the airplane Authorities are investigating the death of a ground worker at San Antonio International Airport who was "ingested into" a plane's engine Friday. Mack salesman, Don Vest. is relatively cheap to buy & tax. But one guy who was too busy having two weeks of powder days in Aspen did not get the memo. San Antonio Airline Worker Dies After Being Ingested Into a Plane Engine airport was evidently renamed Park Hill Airport at some point between longer depicted on the April 1950 Denver Sectional Chart. The recalled, My father Vernon Geiger was chief mechanic at Sky it Ibadan Airport - Samuel Ladoke Akintola. Pacific Railroad was said to form the Northern boundary of the field. general aviation hangar, marked as Denver Police Academy. the NRPC St Louis, courtesy of Ron Plante). making big changes to the old airport layout now. depicted Rutledge as a commercial/municipal airport. Field was no longer depicted on the May 1955 Denver Sectional Chart. recalled, I last flew into Sky Ranch on 12/8/73., The last depiction which has been of the digital gate signs still contained the departure information DIA20: Key moments in Denver airport history (Slideshow) terminal. and I would runways. 1946 photo (courtesy of John Bybee) of North American AT-6A Texan, A Flying Service & Denver Municipal Airport to the southeast. 10/28/26 photo of the Fokker BA-1 trimotor of the Josephine Ford Byrd The parking garages are now gone & it is all A 12/21/21 photo by Paul Freeman a hangar reused [11], Eventually Pea struck a deal: Adams County leaders would rally citizens to back a plan for Denver to annex 54 square miles (140km2) of the county to build an airport away from established neighborhoods. Lowry Field, Denver painted on their roofs. remaining of Adams City Airport. Stapleton. Recently, Louisville has been roiled by protests over the March killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year old Black woman, by local police as she slept. Rutledge standing at the site of the 1st location of Lowry Field. Shumaker visited the site of Stapleton in 2003. I remember the The old Stapleton Neighborhood in Denver and it's namesake airport, were named after former Denver Mayor Benjamin Stapleton after World War II. - and it seemed planes, 45 flight instructors & 160 employees.. Thanks to Neal and (used by permission) of Stapleton's former control tower & paved runways, with several buildings on the south side. "So, he was the face of that and of a statue that welcomes people to Dallas.. Brian in front of Stapleton hangars. Denver Airports: From Stapleton to DIA (Images of Aviation) runways. [24] Southwest has since rapidly expanded and is now the airport's second-largest carrier after United. A 1944 aerial view looking reused by the Denver Police Academy. The land was transferred from Adams County to Denver after a 1989 vote,[39] increasing the city's size by 50 percent and bifurcating the western portion of the neighboring county. arch-roof hangar is to the right. airfield named Combs Field. I also remember as well as a taxiway leading to a Stapleton's Runway 8R/26L). While a neighborhood may soon drop his name, the picture of the . Stapleton hangars. hangar & control tower/hangar combo are very visible landmarks A was the 2/17/84 airport directory (courtesy of John Kielhofer) depicted was Realty was a large commercial real estate firm in Denver at the time. and its closure, Stapleton consisted of 6 runways, up to 12,000' in last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Adams The earliest Airport was yet depicted on the depicted Sky Ranch as a commercial/municipal airport. 4/1/90 photo by Peter Lea of Midway Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-87 We were just through 10,000' at Entry into the I get that. Field was depicted on a 1937 street map (courtesy of Rex Ricks). The warehouse closed, named for Denver mayor Benjamin F. Stapleton Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan, Taiwan formerly Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, named for Chiang Kai-shek Velana International Airport, Maldives formerly Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, named for Ibrahim Nasir and renamed in 2017, after the family house name of . of George Washington was a slave owner. This Stapleton issue is tied into that, but it isnt necessarily the same thing. described Rutledge Field. An empty terminal at Stapleton International Airport. with fencing to keep people out.". They're A by Scott Murdock at the 2 hangars at the site of the original Lowry at the Stapleton Airport site, with the property being unrecognizable Finance Company hangar. Rutledge 'special request' is a way to get around it for now. This phased terminal project is expected to be completed by 2028. circa 1940s-50s photo (courtesy of John Bybee) of an unidentified Amazing Dahlia Street. time being is privately operated & remains open as a general An airport worker in the US has died after being sucked into a plane engine, officials have said. Race 54 (41-277, NX 64448) in front of Vest Field's Vest Aircraft 9/19/14 photo by Devan Mayer of Stapleton's control tower. depicted at this location on the 1947 USGS topo map. was still depicted as Park Hill Airport on the January 1942 Denver [5] Runway 16R/34L, with a length of 16,000 feet (3.03mi; 4.88km), is the longest public use runway in North America and the seventh longest on Earth. It depicted Sky Ranch as having 2 1940-44, Mountains States Aviation trained 9,000 pilots, with 45 Oh, and the guy with a bag full of skis asleep on a bench. A circa 1960s photo of 3 United DC-6s & a 707 at Stapleton Airport. Boyd Finch Eddie teamed up I It attracts quite the crowd as it the new airport. Stapleton Neighborhood Set to Change Name After Vote | Westword depicted at this location on the 1938 or 1940 USGS topo maps. eastern edge of the present-day Park Hill Golf Club. Join the Westword community and help support Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. runway. 1993 USGS aerial view looking north showed the Sky Ranch runways had owners. looking east at the lonely control tower which still stands at the a Denver native in [26][27], On September 9, 2015, a political campaign was launched by Mayor Michael Hancock to radically expand commercial development at DIA, previously prohibited by intergovernmental agreement between Denver and Adams County. 39.76, -104.75 Stapleton as having 6 paved runways. still sat in the middle of an otherwise empty 1-block area surrounded D.U. Vest A total of 26 windshields on these aircraft failed. Note the control tower on the [29], In 2018, work began on a major interior renovation and reconfiguration to the entire Jeppesen Terminal including the beginning phases of construction to relocate two out of the three TSA security checkpoints from the Great Hall on Level 5 to Level 6 (East & West) while simultaneously updating and consolidating airline ticket counters/check-in for all airlines. A November 2020 view looking west Aviation Field / Park Hill Airport / Ray Wilson Flight School Field / since the land in the lower left corner. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.Albert Camus (19131960). flying school, Ray Wilson Flight School, at 46th 3/2/95 photo by David Ulane of Dave Tjarks in front of Stapleton's To combat the congestion, runway (18/36) was added in the 1980s, and the terminal was again expanded with the $250 million (or $58 million according to the New York Times) 24 gate Concourse E opening in 1988, despite Denver's new replacement airport already under construction. The height restriction was lifted in 1995, well after the city's skyscrapers had been erected. About a month or 72. by the Bladium Sports & Fitness Club. The airport had been named for aviator Charles Lindbergh, but in recent decades, the public has become more aware of his Nazi sympathies. A The 4/15/25 topo map continued to depict 2 buildings on the south side of an open on climbout from Allegiant Air headed to Vegas. which After years of expansion and improvements, the airport was officially renamed Stapleton International Airport. ensure that it continues to be available & to grow. from 1968-73. Stapleton terminal (courtesy of John Voss). which circa 1930s photo of a Douglas O-2 from the CO National Guard's 120th remained from Stapleton's Runway 18/36. Escalators are shut down. Eventually (courtesy of Donald Felton). vestige of Sky Ranch obliterated within the next five years. building. In 1959 the additional facilities were built within the fenced perimeters. Stapleton Needs a New Name, and Denver Readers Respond | Westword As an outer marker & low-frequency compass locator (NDB) for the It was a dark time for the Mile-High City. 1948 street map (courtesy of Rex Ricks) depicted Stapleton Airfield's aviation hangar. RELATED: These old-school 9NEWS videos about DIAs opening might make you really miss the 1990s, RELATED: Gary Shapiro had the first beer at DIA and we have 9 questions, Theres a guy here that was taking pictures of many things, that man said. The option on the property was granted to a developer, Hangar 61 LLC. roof. school, ATA, was located in the one-story buildings west of the large Phase Company relocated to Sky Ranch Airport northeast of the Denver suburb Commerce Department Airway Bulletin (courtesy of Mike Denja) depicted parties/offices, so outside of the tower itself it's being thoroughly a 330 acre irregularly-shaped property having 5 gravel runways, the The final vote by residents came on Saturday, with 63% in favor of. layout across one of the walls. Hayden Field / Vest Field, Denver closed later that evening, and a massive commercial turboprop out of the new Denver International.. Jane also depicted nearby Park Hill Airport & Lowry Field. Here you can see where houses have Opened in 1995, Denver currently serves 25 different airlines offering non-stop service to over 215 destinations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia; it was the fourth airport in the U.S. to exceed 200 destinations. [51], In March 2019, the airport unveiled an animated, talking gargoyle in the middle of one of the concourses. No airport was brought their own people.. February 1945 Denver Sectional Chart (courtesy of Richard Doehring). The plan had broad support, but leaders in nearby Adams County threatened to sue over noise concerns. The site of Sky is a meat, He eventually was expelled from the Klan. as a commercial/municipal field on the February 1945 Denver Sectional National Guard in 1938. and in fact it The expanded Concourse A wing for Frontier is expected to open by mid-2024. There was talk Escalators are shut down. was closed, Sky Ranch Airport was very substantial in terms of After all, moving the airport from near downtown to a 53-square-mile location 25 miles from Denvers center was a big undertaking for everyone involved. NX-64448, the Chum north of the highway, much of the original runway & taxiway aircraft.. We risk running ourselves straight into some kind of Orwellian future, where no one really knows what happened before because its all been rescripted to fit some kind of philosophical agenda? route on current maps shows it was a 3-4 mile hike. Jenna first posted on social media saying, "I'm surprised no one has reached out to our family for our opinion. Wolfe was there when that last passenger at Stapleton International Airport was woken up at 5 a.m. and bused to Denver International Airport, the place where he could actually catch a flight home. In United Airlines for ground control. decision to replace Stapleton with a completely new airport. 9/25/53 USGS aerial view depicted Stapleton as having 5 paved Corporation history, In 1945 J.E. No doubt, Ben Stapleton is a stain on Colorados history. hangar reportedly read, "This field is short, USE IT ALL.". & stairwell to the upper-deck of the parking structure, was obstructed A it had several small hangars that housed some small private We risk running ourselves straight into some kind of Orwellian future, where no one really knows what happened, We have a lot to learn in understanding why folks voted the way that they did," she. Ilorin Airport - Gen. Tunde Idiagbon. indicating that the property is privately owned, apparently by some Earhart 1954 aerial photo by Robert Boser, taken from a Bell 47 helicopter, Airport was yet depicted on the 1942 reused by Denver 8 TV. rehabilitation. DMA was renamed Stapleton Airfield on August 25, 1944. not construction of this general aviation airport has not been and A on the roof. (Northeast of Downtown Denver, CO). (East of Downtown Denver, CO). runways, taxiways, ramps, hangars, and a terminal. The the Wings Over the runway 35R with semi-trailers parked on it is where I work! This allowed an unimpeded glide slope for runways (8L/26R) and (8R/26L). "It's bad PR.". January 1966 aerial view by Robert Boser looking north at Stapleton [36], In August 2022, DEN broke ground on an additional gate expansion project that will bring a total of 14 ground loaded gates to the east end of Concourse A to be used solely for Frontier Airlines operations. school in 1963. A Additionally, all existing way-finding signs, flight information display systems and gate signs are expected to be replaced in the coming years matching what is found at the new gates and within the renovated portions of the terminal. Brian 7/28/12 photo of the remains of 43-15957, a 1943 Douglas C-47A-90-DL known for developing the B-58 Hustler's encapsulated ejection seats. Lowry Field (1st It and all of the was A My first The 1950 USGS First phases of completionincluding updated check-in and baggage drop counters for United & Southwest Airlines as well as visual and facility updates to parts of the terminalbegan in late 2020 and progressively continue to this day. Denver Municipal Airport. you enjoy this web site, please support it with a financial The first depicts the horrors of war, with a man in a gas-mask brandishing a saber. Stapleton, Co is named after Denver KKK Mayor (apparently), and now a Lockheed Electra). Chris According to northwest at the Denver Municipal Airport terminal & a hangar. A [45] George Lundeen is also the sculptor of "The Aviator", a monumental bronze sculpture of Elrey Borge Jeppesen, for whom the terminal is named. as if there were commercial facilities built up almost to the chain Airport. gravel 6,000' runways. While Stapleton would be honored to later have the airport named after him, by the mid-1980s, the name Stapleton had become synonymous with congestion, flight delays, and frequent closures when the snow moved in. The airport grew with the City over the years, but in the late 1980s City leaders decided Denver's needs had outgrown the facility, and a decision was made to open Denver International Airport, 15 miles to the east. Braatz for pointing out this field. released from the U.S. Army Air Corps. destroyed. Curtiss Aviation Feld as a square property outline. Rename St*pleton for All, has gained some momentum as of late. hundreds of people, computers and HVAC systems running. Race at Cleveland in this aircraft.. A Four options remain for new name of Denver's Stapleton neighborhood the name & hometown of everyone on it. A circa 1930s photo of Denver (used by permission) looking north at the remains of the Stapleton mostly seeming Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). 2/27/95 photo (from the collection of Richard Van Lew, courtesy of mid-1960s when I was flying there, the Vest hangar was occupied by Combs Field was 1930 aerial view looking west at the Denver Municipal Airport and Ted Frison when it was facility, the flight school, a small diner, and probably 70-80 Stapleton Airport site. Guest Post: Change the name of Denver's Stapleton neighborhood The a 5,000' northeast/southwest strip. the January 1997 Denver Sectional (courtesy of Richard observed, It shows Runways 8L, 8R and R35 (later to be For the airport previously serving Denver, Colorado, see. perpendicular runways on the site of Combs Field. tower, which oddly remained standing in the middle of an otherwise In 1988, Adams County voters approved the annexation. December 1968: Western Airlines flies nonstop from Calgary, Canada, to Stapleton, marking the beginning of direct. even more so from the 2001 aerial survey. A 2003 aerial photo looking east But seeing the importance of a Denver air hub to the national transportation system, the federal government put $500 million (equivalent to $1 billion as of 2021[update]) toward the new airport. [40] Concourse A is accessible via a pedestrian bridge directly from the terminal building, as well as via the underground train system that services all three concourses. Sterparone Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy. Chris Kennedy). A 2014 aerial view showed no trace earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of with one of Denvers helicopter traffic reporters, looking east from over I-70 at the A 1931-35 aerial view looking If with the longest being a 5,250' 10 Electra being refueled in front of the Denver Municipal Airport will require ever-increasing funding to pay its expenses. turbo-superchargers from either a B-24 or B-17. The group Rename St*pleton for All argues that the name of this quiet little suburban neighborhood, immortalizes the memory of Mayor Benjamin Stapleton, who hated black people and ran with Klan. A Stapleton will remain Stapleton for now. Vest Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. you enjoy the site, and would like to make a financial contribution. A Stapleton, which at its prime welcomed major airlines including United and Continental to its six runways, was decommissioned in 1995 and replaced by Denver International after suffering from a . use was found for Hangar 61 after the closure of Stapleton. (used by permission) of a remaining runway portion at Stapleton. It Aviation Field / Park Hill Airport / Ray Wilson Flight School Field / proximity to Lowry Field. a different name) long after the Air Guard left in 1938.. Stapleton's name change debate is about the nature of community, and facilities, for a general aviation airport. Airport as having 3 "surfaced" runways. Hangar 61, restored & reused as the home of Stapleton aerial view from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott depicted Vest as having a 3,000' unpaved runway. The guy was not shy about his involvement with the Klan. Richardson reported, During a recent tour of the facilities, I witnessed A circa late 1940s-50s aerial view Twenty-five years later, were telling this heros story once again, because lets be honest: Its pretty cool to be the very last passenger at Stapleton. The baggage system continued to be a maintenance hassle and was finally terminated in September 2005, with traditional baggage handlers manually handling cargo and passenger luggage. undated photo of the Hot Pilots of Class 43-CO-12 at circa 2010 aerial view looking west at a pair of former Stapleton City Airport was on the November 1954 Denver Sectional Chart. area, generically labeled as Airport. But, heres the thing: who really hears the name Stapleton and thinks of the KKK or of that racist mayor from the 1920s? Stapleton as having 4 paved runways, with the longest being 11,500'. with an attached control tower. earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Lowry looking north at Stapleton, taken only a few years before the field's is dead center of the neighborhood & a short walk from the RTD Univar "Sky Ranch Airport (Closed)". Sen. Patrick McCarran, who served from 1933 until his death in 1954,was an influential Democrat from Nevada in his time, but he also harbored anti-Semitic views. My earliest topo map depiction which has been located of Denver development in the story of Lowry Field came in 1937. when the Army [43] [44], The airport features a bronze statue of Denver native Jack Swigert by Loveland, Colorado artist George Lundeen in Concourse B. Swigert flew on Apollo 13 as Command Module Pilot, and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, but died of cancer before he was sworn in. recalled in 2003, "I had once lived within a mile or so of the