In the mid-20th century, New York was rapidly developing across many sectors: infrastructure, finance, and culture. The city’s architects constantly generated new ideas, competing to build the next best skyscraper. Some of these projects were truly wild, even absurd. One such idea was to build an airport on the rooftops of Manhattan, with a runway that would cover all of West Midtown. At the time, this project wasn’t considered strange at all. Read more at new-york-future.
The Big Story of the “Dream Airport’s” Failure
The incredible idea to build an airport on a Manhattan rooftop came from New York entrepreneur and real estate magnate William Zeckendorf. He named his ambitious project the “dream airport,” and in 1946, Life magazine supported him, writing that with air travel in the heart of NYC, residents could save hours of travel time by avoiding the long commute to existing airports. This would have placed many of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods right at the “dream airport’s” doorstep. Zeckendorf’s plan was for the airport to span 144 city blocks, from Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River, with a total area of 990 acres. You could say the entrepreneur planned to create a city within a city, as below the runways, just like in a standard airport, there were to be restaurants, shops, ticket counters, waiting lounges, and staff facilities. But that’s not all. The businessman also wanted it to function as a seaport, accommodating vessels coming into the city via the Hudson River.
William consulted with experts who were confident that the “dream airport” could effectively compete with New York’s other airports. It was projected to handle 68 takeoffs per hour, compared to LaGuardia’s 71 and Newark’s 81. The founder’s main focus was on improving convenience for New Yorkers. However, the project’s price tag was astronomical for the 20th century: it would have cost William Zeckendorf $3 billion. This was just one of many reasons why the plan ultimately failed.
Another major reason the “dream airport” was never built was the lack of safety. It became clear that placing runways directly over skyscrapers was simply too dangerous.
The “Dream Airport’s” Story Continues in Central Park
Zeckendorf’s airport even had a fellow failed rival: in 1934, there was a similar plan to build an airport over London’s rooftops with a runway leading directly to the Palace of Westminster. Both projects, however, met the same fate and were never built.
William Zeckendorf’s ambitious plan didn’t die with him. In 2009, the “Manhattan Airport Foundation” revived the idea as a joke. The company proposed a project to build an airport right in the famous Central Park and even encouraged residents to sign a petition for its immediate construction. The petition claimed that it would be a vital and centralized international transportation hub in Manhattan that would improve life for all New Yorkers. Amazingly, 85,000 people in the city signed the satirical petition, and this event became a part of the city’s history forever.
Even though such projects were doomed to fail, they still hold special significance for New York and perfectly demonstrate just how ambitious its residents have always been.