Ford Airport (Dearborn)

Ford Airport
Summary
ServesDearborn, Michigan, United States
LocationDearborn, Michigan, United States
Built1924
Coordinates42°18′N 83°13′W / 42.300°N 83.217°W / 42.300; -83.217

Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, was one of the first modern airports in the world. It operated from 1924 to 1947. The site is now part of Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Proving Ground.[1] The airport was about 360 acres (150 ha) in size.[2]

This airport saw many world and U.S. "firsts": the first U.S. airport hotel, the first concrete runways, the first U.S. scheduled passenger service, the first contracted airmail service, the first radio control for a commercial flight, and the first U.S. passenger terminal.[3] The buildings were designed by architect Albert Kahn and are considered to have greatly influenced the design of airports throughout the U.S.[4]

The original aircraft facilities were in use as part of the Ford testing facilities at the proving ground. However, the original (greatly modified) passenger terminal was demolished in 1961, and the remaining hangar, used as an experimental engine test facility since the late 1940s, was demolished in 2018. Only The Dearborn Inn, a hotel that was built across the road to serve the airport, remains.

  1. ^ "Local Attractions". Dearborn Area Living. Heritage Newspapers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  2. ^ Freeman, Paul (November 2, 2018) [2002]. "Michigan, Northwest Detroit area". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. Retrieved January 27, 2019. [unreliable source?]
  3. ^ "Ford Airport / Ford Tri-Motor Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  4. ^ Gordon, Alastair (2008). Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World's Most Revolutionary Structure. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-226-30456-4.