Source: pinterest.com
Provided below is information on those airports which were owned and/or operated by Curtiss Aviation, later Curtiss-Wright Aviation prior to and just after the onset of the Great Depression. These airports were the earliest attempt at privatized airport ownership in the United States, something that remains a rarity here compared to Europe, Asia, and Australia. New information on Raleigh provided below.
Baltimore: Curtiss-Wright/Pimlico Airport – 260 acres – formerly at the SW corner of Green Spring and Smith Roads.
Chicago (Glenview) – Curtiss-Reynolds Field – 130 acres – opened October 20, 1929, just nine days prior to the Wall Street Crash – became Glenview Naval Air Station in 1940.
Cleveland: Curtiss-Wright Airport – 660 acres (originally 271 acres) in Richmond Heights – still in operation as Cuyahoga County Airport.
Dallas- Fort Worth (Grand Prairie): Curtiss-Wright Airport – 275 acres at Jefferson Street and Carrier Parkway. The site was acquired by the Navy in 1942 and has since been developed.
Denver: Curtiss Aviation Field – 330 acres – later Park Hill Airport, then Hayden Airport, and now the site has been developed – the field was situated on Colorado Boulevard in the NE section of the city
Houston: could not locate information other than an advertisement which indicated they had an airport here.
Los Angeles (Glendale): Grand Central Air Terminal – purchased by Curtiss-Wright in 1929. The buildings still remain and are owned by Disney, but the runway is now Grand Central Avenue.
Louisville: other than a Curtiss-Wright Flying Service facility at Bowman Field, no other information has been found.
Milwaukee: Curtiss-Wright Field – opened in 1930 on 131 acres and sold in 1945 – now known as Timmerman Airport – still in operation as a general aviation facility.
Minneapolis-St. Paul (Falcon Heights): Curtiss Northwest Airport or Curtiss Twin City Airport – established in 1919 and closed in 1930 – the site is now developed, though a portion of it is occupied by Curtiss Field Park. This was Minnesota’s first full-service airport.
- Glen H. Curtiss/North Beach Airport – now La Guardia Airport
- Valley Stream, NY – Curtiss Airfield – 270 acres- purchased in 1929 and closed in 1933 due to the depression. Site is now occupied by shopping centers.
- Caldwell, NJ – Curtiss-Wright Airport – shut down operations in 1933 – became Caldwell Airport shortly afterwards – now known as the Essex County airport.
- South Plainfield, NJ – Hadley Airport
Oakland (Alameda): Alameda Airport – opened in 1927 and included a seaplane base – operated by Curtiss, but not owned by them. Converted to Alameda Naval Air Station in 1940.
Oklahoma City (The Village): Curtiss-Wright Field – 160 acres – later Wiley Post Airport, but now the site has been built over with subdivisions.
Curtiss-Bettis Field south of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh (West Mifflin): Curtiss-Bettis Field – 144 acres – sold in 1949 and replaced by Allegheny County Airport – redeveloped as the site of the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory.
Raleigh: Curtiss Field – opened in 1929 and later became Raleigh Municipal Airport – closed in 1973.
St. Louis (Cahokia, IL): Curtiss-Steinberg Airport – opened in 1929 – now Downtown Airport – located across the river in Illinois and is still in operation.
San Francisco (Belmont): Curtiss-Wright Airport – 114 acres – the airport closed in the early-mid 1950s and the site is now developed.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES:
- http://www.gphistorical.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:north-american&catid=44:showcase-rnp-4
- http://www.gptx.org/home/showdocument?id=1984
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Glenview
- http://gplgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-curtiss-reynolds-airport.html
- http://chicagoan.lib.uchicago.edu/xtf/view?docId=bookreader/mvol-0010-v007-i13/mvol-0010-v007-i13.xml#page/11/mode/1up
- https://www.toh.li/landmarks-preservation/curtiss-airfield
- http://www.vsvny.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B17E2184D-D1F2-402C-8953-35B0520559EA%7D&DE=%7B87E7EFF1-CB1D-4180-9915-35563AD90F0E%7D
- http://liherald.com/valleystream/stories/Airport-site-gets-historical-status,939?page=2&content_source=
- http://discussions.flightaware.com/post73120.html
- http://www.stlouisdowntownairport.com/about/airport-history/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Downtown_Airport
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_J._Timmerman_Airport
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Northwest_Airport_(Minnesota)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Municipal_Airport
problogic
Panethos 
Houston’s C-W Field was located near where OST and Main St currently intersect. Nearby was Main St. Airport and Wells Field. However, I can’t find any information that the C-W was ever little more than a name – it didn’t last. I’d like to see your advertisement!
LikeLike
Hello there! I lived on the site formerly occupied by Curtiss-Wright field. Address was Greenspring Road and Smith Avenue. Today it is housing, a mall, and schools.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a 1930 map that shows the Houston CW Field with runways and several buildings. However – it is the ONLY indication I have found showing the airport. Otherwise, Houston is just a listing in period advertisements. Hmm…don’t see how I can post a pic here. Find me on FB at Houston’s Aviation History.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Michael. I’ll check it out.
Rick
LikeLike