Merrill C. It was located on Northerly Island , an artificial peninsula in Lake Michigan , and was operational from to Constructed to accommodate demand for general aviation following World War II, Meigs Field also served regional commercial air travel.
With its proximity to downtown Chicago , it quickly became the busiest single-strip airport in the United States, [ 1 ] adding an air traffic tower in , and a terminal in It became widely familiar when it was featured as the default airport in early versions of the Microsoft Flight Simulator software. Seeking to repurpose the land as a park, mayor Richard M. Daley forced its abrupt closure in by ordering the overnight destruction of its runway.
The Plan of Chicago had no provision for air service. The island was to be populated by trees and grass for the public enjoyment by all. Northerly Island was also the site of the Century of Progress β34 in Chicago. Chicago's first airplane flight took place in in Grant Park , adjacent to Northerly Island, with an international aeronautical exhibition at the same location in Then, in , regular air mail service to Grant Park began.
Nonetheless, Grant Park was unsuitable for the city's growing aviation needs. Burnham died in By , Edward H. Bennett , co-author of the Plan of Chicago, wrote that a lakefront location would be most suitable for an airport serving the central business district. In , Chicagoans approved a bond referendum to pay for landfill construction of the peninsula, and in construction began.
A few years later the Chicago South Park Commission voted in agreement. In , the Chicago Association of Commerce, representing the business community, also advocated for the lakefront airport. The Great Depression put numerous civic plans on hold, including the airport. Construction continued on the peninsula itself, with the World's Fair occupying the just-completed peninsula. Almost immediately after World War II, in , airport construction began.
