Bowman Field Historic District

About this property

Bowman Field (IATA: LOU, ICAO: KLOU, FAA LID: LOU) is a public airport five miles (8.0 km) southeast of downtown Louisville, in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The airport covers 426 acres (172 ha) and has two runways. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calls it a reliever airport for nearby Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Established in 1919, Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America. It was founded by Abram H. Bowman, who was drawn to aviation by the interest generated during World War I. Bowman found an outlet for his enthusiasm after meeting and forming a brief partnership with Louisvillian Robert H. Gast, a pilot and World War I veteran of the Royal Flying Corps. Bowman leased a parcel of land east of Louisville from the U.S. Government in 1919 to operate the airfield, which opened in 1921. The first business ventures began with the aerial photography business in 1921, and the 465th Pursuit Squadron (Reserve) began operations at Bowman Field in 1922. Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis at the airport in 1927, viewed by 10,000 spectators. During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment. During the 1930s Eastern Air Lines and Trans World Airlines (TWA) carried passengers and mail in and out of Bowman Field. However, it could not be expanded due to its proximity to downtown. In 1947, the airlines moved to Standiford Field. During World War II, Bowman Field was one of the nation's most important training bases and the nation's busiest airport. The facility became known as "Air Base City" when a bomber squadron moved in and more than 1,600 recruits underwent basic training in a three-month period. The United States Army Air Forces' school for flight surgeons, medical technicians, and flight nurses also called Bowman Field home. Bowman Field was used in the James Bond film Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore's Flying Circus; principal photography of hangars, aircraft, etc., were done there in fall of 1963. In 1988, three adjacent buildings at the airport were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Bowman Field Historic District. They are the airport Administration Building (1929; 1936–37), the Curtiss Flying Service Hangar (1929), and the Army Air Corps Hangar (1931–32). Since many urban airports are located in industrial areas, this verdant setting is unusual and contributes to the ambience of the Bowman Field Historic District.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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