Original site

Prior to human development, the coastlines of Bowery Bay and Flushing Bay converged at a natural point that comprised the eventual northern shoreline of Newtown, Queens. By 1858, the area was partially contained by the estate of Benjamin Pike Jr. based around what is today known as the Steinway Mansion, which was soon purchased and consolidated with other property by William Steinway. In June 1886, Steinway opened a summer resort development known as Bowery Bay Beach on the peninsula. Originally featuring a bathing pavilion, beach, lawns, and boathouse, the resort was renamed North Beach and later expanded with the addition of Gala Amusement Park. By the turn of the century, North Beach's German-influenced development drew comparisons to Brooklyn's Coney Island. Its fortunes soon turned, however, as Prohibition in the United States and war-related anti-German sentiment presented significant challenges to the resort's profitability. These factors, combined with increased industrialization and pollution of the Queens waterfront, made the area untenable as a leisure destination, and it was abandoned at some point in the 1920s.

North Beach Airport

In April 1929, New York Air Terminals, Inc., announced plans to open a private seaplane base at North Beach later that summer. The 200-acre (81 ha) facility was christened on June 15 and initially featured a 2-acre (0.81 ha) concrete plateau connected to the water by a 400 ft (120 m) amphibious aircraft ramp, with the former resort converted to a passenger terminal. Opening-day festivities for the new airport were attended by a crowd of 5,000, and included air races with Curtiss Seagulls and Sikorsky flying boats, a dedication address by Borough President George U. Harvey, and the commencement of airline service to Albany and Atlantic City by Coastal Airways and Curtiss Flying Service. One month later, service to Boston was launched using Savoia-Marchetti S.55 aircraft operated by Airvia.

Glenn H. Curtiss Airport

By 1930, the airport had been improved with hangars and night-illuminated runways, and it housed seaplanes of the recently reorganized New York City Police Department Aviation Unit. On September 23, the site was renamed Glenn H. Curtiss Airport in honor of the New York aviation pioneer who had died one month earlier (not to be confused with the pre-existing Curtiss Field in nearby Garden City, nor a similarly renamed airport in Valley Stream). In a ceremony that same day, representatives from the forerunner to Trans World Airlines announced their bid to establish the nation's first transcontinental airmail route to the airport using Ford Trimotors; in attendance were Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh.

On August 27, 1931, the airport welcomed the arrival of the world's then-largest airplane, the Dornier Do X, after a 10-month transatlantic journey. Over 18,000 people visited the huge flying boat on its first day of static display, and it remained in the city for nine months. While the Do X was ultimately a commercial failure, its presence demonstrated the viability of long-distance air travel terminating a mere 20-minute drive from Manhattan. Likewise, this centralized location also enabled the airport to host hourly air taxi services between Newark and Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field that September.

While Curtiss Field was quickly becoming a magnet of aviation, Newark Airport remained the primary terminal for New York City-bound passengers and mail. The city's lack of its own central airport lingered as the 1930s wore on, especially as discussion grew regarding the commercial viability of privately operated fields.

Municipal Airport 2

The 1934 election of mayor Fiorello La Guardia ushered in a new era of public investment in New York City's airports. LaGuardia had been a long-time aviation advocate; in a 1927 editorial penned while serving as a U.S. representative of New York, he criticized both the federal and state governments' slow progress in establishing municipal airports in the city. Although several potential sites had been identified, LaGuardia mainly pushed for the transformation of Governors Island into a combined airport and seaplane base. "No greater monument to the life and activity of the Republic can be imagined," he wrote, painting it as a teeming transportation hub at the extreme center of the city. Military and shipping concerns eventually shut down the proposal, but LaGuardia and industry leaders maintained consensus that New York City needed a central "express" airport to complement the farther-flung Floyd Bennett Field, which it completed in 1930.

While the Governors Island proposal was being litigated, LaGuardia also saw development potential in Curtiss Airport. Under his administration, the city entered a five-year contract with its owners, agreeing to lease the field for $1 per year, with an option to purchase the property for $1,500,000 (equivalent to $34,802,158 in 2025). The airport was officially dedicated Municipal Airport 2 on January 5, 1935.