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O'Hare Airport Question
Posted by:
chicagotransitfan
()
Date: April 29, 2015 10:35PM
Prior to O'Hare Airport being built, how was the original air field accessed? Was it like Midway Airport where you accessed the airport from the street (Cicero Ave.)?
Re: O'Hare Airport Question
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
()
Date: April 29, 2015 10:46PM
I believe the original Orchard Field was just a grass strip so there probably wasn't much of an official entrance. During the war, the main gate to the Douglas factory was on Mannheim Rd. (now called Old Mannheim), and there was a secondary gate on the Higgins Rd. side. Those gates remained in use as gates to the Air Force facility pretty much up until the base closure in the '90s.
There is a two-story tan building off that's now occupied by the city which is the last remnant of the Douglas plant, and the cul-de-sac driveway at the front of the building dates from then too.
At one point, between the new Mannheim and Old Mannheim roads, there were a number of barracks, and there was a small trailer court near the corner of Higgins and Mannheim, between the Air Force facility and the Army Reserve center that stood on the corner.
The streets that cut through the base were renamed in honor of the crew of a crashed KC-135 attached to the 126th out of O'Hare. Only a few are left, such as Zemke, Johnson and Schlitz.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 11:14PM by WayOutWardell.
There is a two-story tan building off that's now occupied by the city which is the last remnant of the Douglas plant, and the cul-de-sac driveway at the front of the building dates from then too.
At one point, between the new Mannheim and Old Mannheim roads, there were a number of barracks, and there was a small trailer court near the corner of Higgins and Mannheim, between the Air Force facility and the Army Reserve center that stood on the corner.
The streets that cut through the base were renamed in honor of the crew of a crashed KC-135 attached to the 126th out of O'Hare. Only a few are left, such as Zemke, Johnson and Schlitz.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2015 11:14PM by WayOutWardell.
Re: O'Hare Airport Question
Posted by:
tomcat630
()
Date: May 01, 2015 03:11AM
The first version of Orchard Place was at Higgins and Mannheim, then Douglas Field was built kitty corner and merged into it. The first terminal was Bryn Mawr and Mannheim, after WW2.
Then the current foot print was built in stages from 1952-62. Historic Aerials shows winding roads from Mannheim to the Terminals, until NW/Kennedy Xway is built.
Then the current foot print was built in stages from 1952-62. Historic Aerials shows winding roads from Mannheim to the Terminals, until NW/Kennedy Xway is built.
