Floyd Bennett Field
After we scavenged for treasures on the beaches of Dead Horse Bay, Trent and I weren't ready to call it a day yet, so we headed over to Floyd Bennett Field, which is basically across the street from the bay. FBF was New York City's first municipal airport. It opened in 1931 and was host to many record-breaking flights, including ones by Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes.
Post-WWII until the 70s it was mostly used as a support base for the Navy and since 1972 it has been part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and managed by the National Park Service. The area is used for a variety of things today, including many campsites, athletic complexes and the NYPD.
There are many original buildings and hangars still standing, including the original Administration building which is used as a visitors center. It was open when we were there, and we were very thankful for their large, immaculate bathrooms and helpful park rangers. It's almost impossible to imagine that Floyd Bennett was the LaGuardia or JFK of its time, especially when you're used to the hell that is current-day airports.
The Administration building is beautiful, inside and out, and I love all of the golden-age-of-flight details that are totally just for fancy but really make all the difference. We were told by a park ranger that Hangar B — home to the Historic Aircraft Restoration Project — was open until 3pm, so we headed down an old runway about a quarter of a mile. We were literally the only people we ever saw walking down the runway — there were a lot of people that sped past us in cars, apparently delighting in a straight stretch of un-policed road and we thought were going to get to witness at least one drag race, but for the most part it was a nice walk.
You can even see the Empire State Building and the World Trade Tower off in the distance, peeking out over the protected wildlife refuge — so protected, in fact, that we saw an enormous snake laying by the side of the runway which was less than ideal for two city kids that had just spent the morning spraying themselves with tick spray because they read one Yelp review that mentioned ticks on the (not-at-all-wild) trail to Dead Horse Bay.
Hangar B looks like all the other abandoned hangars on the outside, but once you get inside you are surrounded by dozens of vintage aircrafts in various stages of restoration. It was an incredible space and we were welcomed by a super nice man who informed us that he was about to close up, but that we were free to wander around, take photos and stay as long as we liked.
I'm not very knowledgable about airplanes, but I've always loved vintage graphics, propeller stripes and military symbols. The painted on sharp teeth are my absolute favorite, followed closely by the beautiful pin-up girls and hand painted typography.
We pretty much saw all that Floyd Bennett Field had to offer in a few hours, minus the camp grounds which I really don't have much interest in since I didn't move to New York City to go camping, but I'd imagine it's super convenient if you're into that. Once again, I find myself marveling at the fact that I can have such varied adventures all within city limits and if I ever do find the urge to camp, I can do so without ever leaving Brooklyn.