Holmes Airport

{{Short description|Airport in Queens, New York}}

{{Infobox airport

| name = Holmes Airport

| image =

| image-width =

| caption =

| owner =

| mapframe = yes

| coordinates = {{coord|40|45|46|N|073|53|37|W|type:airport_region:US|display=title, inline}}

| opened = {{start date|1929|03|16}}

| closed = {{end date|1940}}

| city-served = New York City, U.S.

| location = Jackson Heights, Queens

}}

Holmes Airport (occasionally known as Grand Central Air Terminal and Grand Central Airport"[https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/NY/Airfields_NY_NY_Queens.htm Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: New York City, Queens]". www.airfields-freeman.com. Retrieved June 12, 2017.) was an airport in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens in New York City that operated from 1929 to 1940.

Real estate developer E. H. Holmes built the airport on approximately {{convert|220|acre|0}} of undeveloped land. He organized and sold stock in Holmes Airport, Inc., but claimed that some wanted to see him fail. In February, 1929, Clarence D. Chamberlin, the aviator Viola Gentry, and Dorothy Stone, actress and daughter of Fred Stone, broke ground for the new airport."[https://web.archive.org/web/20121103000912/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,880507-2,00.html Airports]". Time. February 25, 1929. Retrieved March 29, 2009. According to a contemporary street map, it extended as far as 79th Street to the east, 68th Street and St. Michael's Cemetery to the west, Astoria Boulevard to the north, and 31st Avenue to the south. The airport had two hangars, an office, and two gravel runways, of {{convert|2800|ft|0}} and {{convert|3000|ft|0}} in length, respectively.{{cite book|last=Stoff|first=Joshua|title=Long Island Airports|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7385-3676-8|pages=85–86}}

The new airport opened on Saturday, March 16, 1929, attracting 100,000 visitors on its second day of operation."[https://www.nytimes.com/1929/03/18/archives/sunday-throngs-pack-new-holmes-airport-crowd-put-at-100000-views.html Sunday Throngs Pack New Holmes Airport]". The New York Times. March 18, 1929. Retrieved March 29, 2009. Later that year, the first scheduled flights from New York City began when Eastern Air Express started a two-day service to Miami from Holmes.

In April 1930, thousands of people paid $1 each ({{inflation|US|1|1930|fmt=eq}}) for a ride in an airplane. It was promoted as an experiment to ascertain whether it was fear or the expense that kept the public from flying."[https://www.nytimes.com/1930/04/21/archives/thousands-take-1-plane-rides-in-test-to-learn-if-fear-or-expense.html Thousands Take $1 Plane Rides in Test To Learn if Fear or Expense Defers Flying]". The New York Times. April 21, 1930. Retrieved March 29, 2009.

On Sunday, November 11, 1934, sixty-four airplanes took part in a {{convert|30|mi|0|adj=on}} novelty race involving a treasure hunt and pie-eating contest, the winner returning in 28 minutes."[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0812FD3E59107A93C0A8178AD95F408385F9 64 Airplanes Race To Pie-Eating Line]". The New York Times. November 12, 1934. Retrieved March 29, 2009.

Blimps also used the airport. Goodyear erected a {{Convert|220|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} hangar in 1931 and conducted sightseeing flights."[http://www.blimpport.com/reprint.htm The College Point Airship Park]". Airship, The Journal of The Airship Association. No. 126. September 1999. Retrieved March 29, 2009. In 1936, a Goodyear blimp based at Holmes Airport provided the first aerial traffic reports."[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/nyregion/some-notable-firsts-firsts-by-air.html Some Notable 'Firsts'; Firsts by Air]". The New York Times. November 15, 1998. Retrieved March 29, 2009.

In 1937, the airport's owners sought a court injunction to stop New York City from spending $8,444,300 ({{inflation|US|8444300|1937|r=-6|fmt=eq}}) to develop the smaller North Beach Airport, only a mile or so to the northeast, into the much larger LaGuardia Airport. Supreme Court Justice Ernest E. L. Hammer denied the request."[https://www.nytimes.com/1937/04/07/archives/fight-on-queens-airport-fails.html Fight on Queens Airport Fails]". The New York Times. April 7, 1937. Retrieved March 29, 2009. LaGuardia Airport opened in 1939 and Holmes Airport closed the following year.

The northern portion of Holmes Airport's land was later developed into veteran housing and the Bulova watch factory site.