Some stories of Chicago’s history aren’t widely known, while others you may have heard before – like what happened to the former Merril C. Meigs Field. NBC Chicago’s Lexi Sutter shares what the site has become in the 21 years since it was destroyed.
NBC 5 is taking a look back at some of Chicago’s most notable moments in time with "Only in Chicago," a five-part series airing each day this week on the NBC 5 News at 5 p.m.
Some stories of Chicago's history aren't widely known, while others you may have heard before - like what happened to the former Merril C. Meigs Field.
It's a moment in time the aviation industry still remembers.
In the overnight hours of March 31, 2003, Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered the lakefront airport to be destroyed.
Bulldozers carved large “Xs” in its runway, making it unusable.
No one knew - not even the Federal Aviation Administration.
The move was not only surprising but controversial.
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"There were a couple dozen aircraft stranded at the airport. They were parked, they were there for business meetings, personal reasons, and with no notice the bulldozers came and really eliminated their ability to depart," said Doug Carr, senior vice president of the National Business Aviation Association.
Carr talked to NBC Chicago on behalf of the association, which was heavily impacted by Meigs' closure.
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The airport was largely used for commuters and for business given its close proximity to downtown.
Meigs Field was built after World War II, ready for takeoff in 1948.
By 1955, it was the busiest single-runway airport in the U.S. Daley previously said security was the big concern, and that’s what prompted its demolition.
"There was genuine concern after Sept. 11 that there would be a terrorist attack in Chicago," said former Chicago Ald. Dick Simpson. "However, that was a totally fake issue in terms of Mayor Daley’s excuse for getting rid of Meigs."
The move is still considered one of Daley’s career missteps. In the years following, those in the aviation industry pushed to preserve Meigs Field with no luck.
"We found the energy of the city combined with the support from Congress and FAA just wasn’t sufficient to overcome the trenches in the runway," Carr said.
If you weren’t around during this controversy, you may never know an airstrip existed. Two buildings still stand related to Meigs Field - the terminal building and the air traffic control tower.
The land where the airstrip once lay is now a lakefront park with a nearby concert venue.
That was the intended use all along, according to architecture plans from 1909. But will it stay that way?
"It’s just to convenient not to use to its maximum effect, and I think there will be developments over the next few decades," Simpson said.
