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Chicago's Midway Airport: The First seventy-five Years
by Christopher Lynch
Lake Claremont Press
Phone: 773/583-7800
www.lakeclaremont.com
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Welcome to the official website companion to the book Chicago's Midway Airport:
The First Seventy-five Years written by Christopher Lynch, and
published by Lake Claremont Press. This
website is designed to be a resource for readers of the book,
or anyone interested in Chicago aviation. Chris can be reached at chris@midwayhistory.com.
Topics
Introduction
People
Legends
Crossroads of the World
Tragedy and Triumphs
A Personal Tour of
Midway
Midway in the Media
Chicago Aviation History
The Innovators
Official Chicago Aviation Sites
Midway Airport Resource
Aviation Links
Feedback
Order Your Copy Today
Postcard of Chicago Municipal Airport, late
1920's.
Lynch family collection
Introduction
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A view of the Old Terminal at Chicago Municapal
Airport, 1930's
Lynch family collection
People
Sketches of the people who worked, flew, played, or were influenced by Midway Airport
- Fred Farbin No one
knew more about Midway than Fred Farbin, who worked at the airport for over 40
years.
- Philip Felper With
a career as a pilot from the 1930's to the 1980's, there are not too many
pilots with as many hours in the air as Phil Felper. His stories of the early
days of commerical aviation are an entertaining take of Midway's history.
- Tom Goldthorpe
Click to see Goldthorpe's amazing drawings of aircraft and people.
- Sheila O'Carroll Lynch
When most children played in sandlots, as the daughter of a pilot, Sheila made
Midway airport her playground.
- Christopher Lynch
The grandson of the founder of Monarch Air Service, Lynch is the author of
Midway Airport: The First Seventy-Five Years.
- Pierce "Scotty"
O'Carroll An immigrant from Ireland, O'Carroll would start Monarch Air
Service, one of the oldest Fixed Based operators (FBO) in the U.S.
- James O'Hara As a frequent visitor to the airport, James recalls his first flight in a Staggar Wing Beech in the 1940's.
- Mike Rotunno This legendary photographer snapped pictures of celebrites at Midway Airport for 50 years.
- Bob Soraparu Some people collect baseball cards-Bob Soraparu collects Midway memorobilia.
- David M. Young A former transportation editor for the Chicago Tribune, Young has written extensively about Chicago Aviation
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Legends
A list of some of the famous aviators who were frequent visitors to Midway Airport:
- James H. Doolittle
The legendary air racer and WWII hero often flew into Midway Airport.
- Charles A. Lindbergh "Lucky Lindy" flew the mail for Robertson Aircraft from St. Louis to Chicago before flying the Atlantic and becoming "The Lone Eagle". Lindbergh landed at Chicago Municipal Airport in the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927, on his victory tour of the U.S.
- Roscoe Turner This legendary Air Racer, who flew with his own pet lion, was a frequent visit to Midway.
Midway Airport, in the 1950's
Lynch family
collection
Crossroads of the World
From the late 1940's through the 1950's, Midway airport was called the Crossroads
of the World, and the focus of this activity was the terminal at 5700 S. Cicero Avenue.
The following stories are from that exciting period in the airport's history:
- Tower of Memories During the post-war years,
Midway's control tower became a symbol of the airport's success.
- The Cloudroom Marshall Field's Cloud Room restaurant brought elegance to airport dining.
- Chasing Eva The Blue and Gold Cafe in Midway's terminal, was a sanctuary for Frank Sinatra inbetween flights between the Coasts.
- The Flood of '57 Read about when Midway Airport
became a lake, stranding thousands of passengers.
- Sights and Sounds One observer writes about a visit to Midway's terminal in 1959.
Tragedy and Triumphs
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A Super-Constellation at Chicago Midway Airport,
1950's
Lynch family collection
Midway in the Media
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Chicago Aviation History
Major Events in Chicago Aviation Prior to Chicago Municipal's Founding in 1926
- The Chicago International Aviation Meet of 1911 This airshow, held in Grant Park, was a huge event that introduced much of the Midwest to aviation.
- Cicero Field An important center of flying in the Chicago area before World War I, Cicero Flying Field was a field frequented by flyers like Lincoln Beachey and Katherine Stinson.
- The 1911 Wingfoot Blimp Disaster When a blimp caught fire and plummeted to the city streets at Jackson and LaSalle,
it became the worst aviation disaster of the time.
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The Innovators
A list of dreamers, aviators and benefactors who helped shape and influence aviation in the Chicago area:
- Octave Chanute Author of the 1894 book Progress in Flying Machines this French engineer and Chicago resident's aeronautical experiments would influence the Wright Brothers.
- Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas These Lithuanian flyers from Chicago flew the Atlantic, and into legend on their ill-fated flight. Click here to read about their courage and heroism.
- Charles Dickenson "Pop" Dickenson, a president of the Aeroclub of Illinois, was the father of Chicago Aviation.
- Emil "Matty" Laird Laird, a pioneering airplane designer built many of his aircraft in Chicago
- Edward "Butch" O'Hare A short biography of this naval war hero whose heroism was honored by renaming Orchard Field in 1949 to O'Hare International Airport.
- Katherine Stinson The Fourth woman to learn how to fly, Stinson learned how to fly at Cicero Field in 1915.
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Official Chicago Aviation Sites
Midway Airport Resource
City of Chicago's Midway
Airport site The official City of Chicago, Dept. of Aviation website for
Midway Airport.
A Short History of
Midway This history is found on the National Air Traffic Controller's
website.
Midway
Community Noise Resource Center Nice graphics of the Runway configerations,and analysis of blastwalls as part of the Fly Quiet Program.
Midway Airport Map This impressive drawing is hosted by the Midway Community
Noise Resource Center.
Chicago Midway Airport Group: Hosted by Yahoo, this group is the place to get the latest news on Midway Airport by aviation enthusiasts.
Midway Photos Check
out local photographer Don Gallian's digital photos of jets at Midway.
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A view of Midway Airport from the skydeck,
1950's.
Lynch family collection
Aviation Links
Chasing the
Sun, the best program ever on commercial aviation, ran on PBS in 2001.
The program has a fantastic resource with many links to aviation websites.
- Aviation History On-Line Museum A collection of aircraft images and text of some of the worlds most famous and historic aircraft. The early years of aviation, construction technology, aircraft engines, the theory of flight and more.
- Short History of Ballooning A timeline of ballooning from the Bristol University Hot Air Ballooning Society.
- Pioneer Aviators A comprehensive website devoted to those who flew before the first World War.
- The National Aviation Hall of Fame This site honors individuals in the U.S. who have made significant contributions to aviation and the aviation industry.
- Smithsonian Air and Space Museum With the Wright Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis hanging above the entrance, it is little wonder that this is the most visited museum in Washington D.C.
- United Airlines A history of this airline, which was headquartered at Chicago Municipal Airport for over three decades.
- The Wrights and the History of the Aerofoil This website charts the Wright Brothers' achievement with interactive simulations of the first flight and their experiments and those of their predecessors.
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Feedback
I can be reached via e-mail at chris@midwayhistory.com, or by mail at
Christopher Lynch
P.O. Box 642922
Chicago, IL
60664-2922.
Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you!
Christopher Lynch
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Ordering a copy of Chicago's Midway Airport: The First Seventy-Five Years is just a click away at Amazon.com.
In Association with Amazon.com
Web Resource
Most of the material or photographs on this web site have not been published in my book, Chicago's Midway Airport: The First Seventy-Five Years. My hope is that this site can be an introduction to the facinating story of flight at Midway, as well as a resource for readers of the book.
Books have deadlines, but a website is fluid. Since the book has gone to
print, I continue to hear from people with connections to Midway, and who have
offered me photos or stories from their lives. I value these contributions
tremendously, and plan to use the web site as an ongoing archive on this topic.
I invite anyone who is interested in Chicago Aviation to send me their stories
or photos about Midway Airport, and I will post them so everyone may enjoy
them.