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Morris Park Aerodrome

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Morris Park Aerodrome
Summary
OperatorAeronautical Society of New York
LocationBronx, New York
Opened1907
Closed1910
Map
Location of the aerodrome (labeled Morris Park Racetrack), dark green, center
Location of the aerodrome (labeled Morris Park Racetrack), dark green, center

The Morris Park Aerodrome (also known as the Morris Park Volery)[1] was a short-lived airfield in what is now the Morris Park section of the Bronx. The aerodrome occupied the grounds of the former Morris Park Racecourse which had closed in 1904. The space was used for automobile racing for a few years, then sold to real-estate developers who encountered financial difficulties and the land reverted to the City of New York in 1907.[2] The newly-formed Aeronautical Society of New York leased the land in 1908 and used it as an aerodrome for two years until it was developed for residential use.

Aeronautical Society of New York

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The Aeronautic Society of New York (later known as the Aeronautical Society) was formed on June 10, 1908, splitting off from the Aero Club of America.[3] Lee S. Burridge, president of the society,[4] spoke of plans to acquire an airfield:[3]

this society is going to stand for something tangible, practical, and it proposes to secure experimental grounds as soon as possible where men who have been working on problems of aeronautics will be enabled to try out their machines.

That summer, the society leased the 372-acre (151 ha) grounds of the old race track from city. The grounds provided open spaces on a level elevation, several existing buildings which could be repurposed as workshops, and a larger building for a clubhouse complete with "a neatly trimmed lawn and flower beds". It was also convenient to the recently opened West Farms Square subway station and a trolley stop, as well as a range of cafes and residences which could be had for inexpensive rents.[5]

According to Air Power Historian, the first airplane flights over New York City were taken in a Curtiss airplane from the Morris Park Aerodrome during a meet on June 26, 1909.[6]

The first exhibition

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Lesh in the air at the 1908 exhibition

An exhibition, the first such event by the Society, was put on at the aerodrome on November 3, with attendance of 10-20,000 spectators.[7][8] The event had been announced on October 18 to coincide with election day, with plans for two airplanes (the June Bug and the Silver Dart) to compete, a five-mile dirigible race, kites, and gliders. There were also plans for a wind-wagon contest, these being wheeled ground vehicles driven by propeller thrust.[9]

On the day of the exhibition, a glider piloted by sixteen-year old Laurence J. Lesh crashed during its third flight after reaching a maximum altitude of 70 feet (21 m) and travelling a total of about 200 feet (61 m).[8] The glider had been launched by rope tow behind a 1907 Thomas Flyer which had earlier in 1908 won the New York to Paris Race.[8][10] Previous launch attempts had used a tow horse; out of six tries, only two got off the ground, reaching an altitude of about 20 feet (6.1 m).[11]

The Fledglings

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In attendance at the 1908 exhibition was painter Rudolph Dirks, more commonly known as the cartoonist who drew The Katzenjammer Kids. Based on his experiences at the show, Dirks created an oil-on-linen painting titled The Fledglings. After the show, Dirks hurried back to his studio in Manhattan to begin work with "only a few rough pencil sketches as notes". Not having any prepared canvas on hand and wishing to begin work quickly so as not to let his memories of the event fade, Dirks repurposed a linen window shade to use as a canvas.[7][12] The painting is considered by aviation historian Tom Crouch to be the first serious artistic work to depict flight by aircraft[7][13][14] and is now in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.[12]

Other activities

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Device for laying out a propeller

The March 1909 issue of Aeronautics included a paper by R. W. Jamieson describing a device used to lay out a screw propeller for an airplane, taking into account the diameter and pitch. The device itself was presented to the society and installed at the Morris Park Aerodrome for use by the society's members.[15]

Anna Held christening an airplane at Morris Park

A report in the April 1909 issue of Aeronautics Magazine described new aircraft (referred to as "machines") that were being planned or under construction by at least twenty members of the Society and would be exhibited at Morris Park in the spring of that year. The report noted that Anna Held christened the first aeroplane constructed entirely at Morris Park.[16] The magazine had previously observed that Americans often named their aircraft, contrary to the European habit of numbering them: "Flying machines have a something that is akin to a personality, and giving them names, even if it does not help us to realize their individuality, and perhaps it may, at least it helps in a curiously subtle way to popularize them." The craft christened on March 14 by Held was Wilbur R. Kimball's "N. Y. No 1" and the ceremony was believed to be the first time a aeroplane had ever been christened.[1]

Kimballs's design was a 42-foot (13 m) wingspan biplane with eight 4-bladed low-pitch propellers on ball-bearing mounts driven by a 50 horsepower (37 kW) four cylinder two-stroke engine. In addition to this airplane, Kimball was also working on another design for William H. Butler which would utilize a 100 horsepower (75 kW) engine.[17]

A new machine arrives

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In December, 1908, a new airplane arrived at Morris Park: a biplane under construction by Fred Shneider, who had begun construction at his home in Brooklyn, disassembled it there, and reassembled it at Morris Park on the 29th of the month. The plane had a 30-foot (9.1 m) wingspan and with a pilot aboard weighed 630 pounds (290 kg) with a main wing loading of 1.7 pounds per square foot (8.3 kg/m2). A 36 horsepower (27 kW) five-cylinder engine drove three adjustable-pitch propellers.[17]

Post-aerodrome era

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By 1910, the property was already being subdivided into building lots when a fire destroyed many of the remaining buildings.[18]

In the 1920s, there were efforts to create a new airport about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the northeast, in a marshy area near the Hutchinson River which was later the site of Freedomland U.S.A. and, still later, of Co-op City. Bronx Chamber of Commerce president Logan Billingsley made one failed attempt in 1927. Another attempt in 1929 by Curtiss-Wright also failed.[19][20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "At Morris Park: The Aeronautic Society Buys Curtiss Flyer". Aeronautics. 4 (3): 104–107. March 1909 – via Hathi Trust.
  2. ^ Kochman, Ben (June 10, 2014). "Archivist hopes Morris Park will Honor its Aviation History". Bronx Times.
  3. ^ a b "New Aeronautical Society". The New York Times. June 11, 1908. p. 8. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "Aeronautical Notes". Scientific American. 100 (11): 203. March 13, 1909. JSTOR 26034548.
  5. ^ Crouch, Tom D. (Fall 2011). "The Aeronautic Society of New York and the Birth of American Aviation, 1908—1918". New York History. 92 (4): 268–289. JSTOR 23645508.
  6. ^ "Half a Century Ago". Air Power Historian. 6 (2): 137. April 1959. JSTOR 44513573.
  7. ^ a b c Crouch, Tom (May 2012). "The Katzenjammer Kids Take to the Air". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Man-Bird Falls and Breaks Ankle". The New York Times. November 4, 1908. p. 9. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  9. ^ "Aeronauts to Compete; Contests at Morris Park for Aeroplanes, Dirigible Balloons, and Wind Wagons". The New York Times. October 18, 1908. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  10. ^ Garrett, Jerry (February 10, 2008). "New York to Paris the Hard Way". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  11. ^ "Morris Park Aeronauts". The New York Times. November 3, 1908. p. 9. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Rudolph Dirks and The Fledglings". National Air and Space Museum. October 25, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  13. ^ "Rudolph Dirks". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  14. ^ "Early Painting of Aviation Shows Flying Machines Not Yet Able to Take Off". American Heritage. Vol. 62, no. 1. Spring 2012. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020.
  15. ^ Jamieson, R. W. (March 1919). "How to Lay Out a Propeller". Aeronautics. 4 (3): 97–99 – via Hathi Trust.
  16. ^ "At Morris Park: Many Members of Aeronautic Society Building Machines". Aeronautics. 4 (4): 145–149. April 1909 – via Hathi Trust.
  17. ^ a b "Flying Machines at the Morris Park Volery". Aeronautics. 4 (1): 7–9. January 1909 – via Hathi Trust.
  18. ^ "Flames Sweep Old Morris Park". The New York Times. April 11, 1910. p. 18. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  19. ^ Stone, Andrea (August 2017). "Bronx Airport? Denied!". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  20. ^ Williams, Keith (September 28, 2017). "The Bronx Airport That Never Was". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  21. ^ Stone, Andrea. Why the Bronx Never Got an Airport (Report). Bronx Historical Society – via Ebsco.

Additional reading

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