Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
California: Central Riverside County
© 2002, © 2005 by Paul Freeman. Revised 5/18/05.
North Shore Airport (revised 9/17/03) - (Original) Palm Springs Municipal Airport (revised 5/18/05)
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(Original) Palm Springs Municipal Airport, Palm Springs, CA
33.82 North / 116.53 West (East of Los Angeles, CA)
The original Palm Springs Airport,
as depicted on the 1929 "Rand McNally Standard Map of CA With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The date of construction for the original Municipal Airport for the town of Palm Springs has not been determined.
According to Cameron Shepherd, the airport was laid out "apparently in the 1920s."
The earliest depiction of the Palm Springs Airport which has been located
was on the 1929 "Rand McNally Standard Map of CA With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described the Palm Springs "Stevens Airport" as being operated by W. Seaton,
and measuring 2,500' x 300' in size.
The 1934 San Diego Airway Chart depicted "Palm Sprs" as an auxiliary airfield.
An aerial photo looking southwest at the original Palm Springs Municipal Airport,
from The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The directory described Palm Springs as a commercial airport having 3 sandy runways,
with the longest being the 3,400' northwest/southeast strip.
A hangar was said to have been marked with "Palm Springs" on the roof.
A circa 1930s-1940s aerial view looking east at the original Palm Springs Airport, courtesy of Cameron Shepherd.
In the above circa 1930s-40s aerial view of the original airport,
a collection of shadows (just to the left of the group of trees & buildings on the right)
could be interpreted as a taildragger aircraft in profile view.
In Cameron Shepherd's words, "You can see how the northeast-southwest runway surface has deteriorated.
It's sharpest in the earliest shots from the 1920s."
In 1939, with military preparations under way for the coming World War,
the Army started to lay out a much larger airfield just to the east of the original Palm Springs Airport.
This was eventually opened as the Palm Springs Army Airfield
(and this is the field which remains open today, as Palm Springs International Airport).
The original Palm Springs Airport remained open during WW2 as a civilian airport.
The original Palm Springs Municipal Airport was depicted as a commercial airport on the 1944 Sectional Chart,
which also depicted the newer Palm Springs AAF.
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described the original Palm Springs Airport as having a 3,200' unpaved runway.
A pre-1946 image from a postcard (courtesy of Cameron Shepherd) looking west toward the mountains,
which shows the runway layout of the original Palm Springs Airport (at the bottom-left).
By the time of the 1945 Mojave AAF Chart,
the original Palm Springs Municipal Airport was depicted with the symbol of an auxiliary airfield,
adjacent to the newer Palm Springs Airport.
A circa 1940s aerial view looking west at the original Palm Springs Airport (courtesy of Bill Wright).
The original “Palm Springs Airport” was abandoned as of May 23, 1946,
according to a June 1946 Department of Commerce Airman's Guide (according to Chris Kennedy).
By the time of the 1949 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
the original Palm Springs Airport was no longer depicted at all.
A 1952 street map, on which Cameron Shepherd has superimposed
the presumed runway layout of the original Palm Springs Airport (on the left side),
and showing its location relative to the new Palm Springs Airport (on the right side).
"Note that East Andreas Road is the same as the old access road."
An August 1953 aerial photo (courtesy of Bob Anderson),
showing the relationship between the original Palm Springs Airport (on the left side)
with the new Palm Springs Airport (on the right side).
East Amado Road was built right across the old runways in the 1950s.
A circa-1950s postcard image looking east at the original Palm Springs Airport (courtesy of Cameron Shepherd).
A close-up of the buildings from the circa-1950s postcard image of the original Palm Springs Airport (courtesy of Cameron Shepherd).
"The possible terminal building has a red roof & white walls.
This shows in other photos, and is consistent with municipal/commercial design in Palm Springs in the 1930s -
red tile roofs & whitewashed stucco.
Is that a WW2-style control tower peeking over the trees? It's not in the older shot."
A circa mid 1950s - mid 1960s aerial view (courtesy of Cameron Shepherd) looking west,
at the new Palm Springs Airport in the foreground
and the original Palm Springs Airport, whose pattern of runways was still visible in the background.
As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,
the former terminal area on what is now the northeast corner of Thaquitz & Avenida Caballeros has been developed.
It has not been determined if any of the buildings still at the site date from its airport days.
However, by closely examining the northeast corner of the above image,
what appears to be traces of the northwest/southeast runway are still visible
in the sand of the few undeveloped portions of the site.
A 2005 photo by Cameron Shepherd, looking along a berm on the northwest side of the site of the former runway.
Cameron Shepherd visited the site of the original Palm Spring Airport in 2005.
He reported, “Most of the southern half of the site is still undeveloped.
The airfield is quite a lot bigger 'in person' than it appears in the aerial photos.
I think it would have been no problem to get in and out in the biggest 4-engine ships.
No buildings [are] left - most of the old trees by the terminal site survived,
and part of the foundation of the large shed north of the terminal.
There is a very clear indication of the northwest edge of the main runway near the south threshold,
in the form of a large straight earth berm clearly dividing the big old bushes that date to the airport's time
from the small stunted bushes trying to grow since then on the runway surface,
which is still hard-packed & discolored by oil if you dig down about six inches.
The berm is sharply visible as a line with very high albedo in the current aerial photo of the spot.
I guess the earthen berms were supposed to catch wandering taildraggers?”
The Palm Springs Municipal Airport site is about to be built over,
so I've been trying to get all I can from it.”
The old Palm Springs Airport was bounded by present-day Thaquitz Canyon Way, North Sunrise Way,
East Alejo Road, and North Avenida Caballeros (which is quite possibly the old field's western perimeter road).
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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North Shore Airport, Mortmar, CA
33.52 North / 115.94 West (East of Los Angeles, CA)
North Shore Airport, as depicted on the 1966 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
In a similar manner to what has happened to the former Navy Salton Sea seaplane base,
the rising waters of this inland sea have also swallowed up a small former general aviation airport,
the North Shore airport.
It may have been associated with the Salton Sea Air Service,
which still provides seaplane flight instruction in the town of North Shore.
The date of construction of North Shore are unknown.
It was apparently built at some point between 1962-66,
as it was not yet depicted at all on the September 1962 San Diego Local Aeronautical Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of North Shore Airport which has been located
was on the 1966 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which listed it as "North Shore (Beach Estates)".
According to K.O. Eckland, North Shore Airport was described
in the 1968 Jeppesen Airport Directory as having a 2,250' paved runway.
Beach Estates Airport, as depicted in the 1974 Flight Guide (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling).
Bob Cannon recalled, "North Shore… I landed there a few times.
The last time I had to use the road because the strip was under water.
In fact the road disappeared under water.
That was a failed venture for someone."
"North Shore" Airport was described in the 1977 Pilot's Guide to CA Airports (according to Chris Kennedy)
as having a single 2,065' unpaved Runway 10/28.
It was apparently closed at some point between 1977-82,
as North Shore was not listed among active airports in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory.
The runway was still depicted on the 1986 USGS topo map, but it was labeled simply "Landing Field",
which most likely indicates that the airport was closed by that point.
North Shore was still depicted as an abandoned airfield on the 1987 CA Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
and the 1989 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
As can be seen in the 1995 USGS aerial photo,
by that point the rising water level had moved the shore of the Sea to roughly over the center of the former airport.
A portion of the runway was still evident along the western edge,
and the ramp area was still perceptible as well.
It was no longer depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on 1998 aeronautical charts,
which most likely indicates that the location of the former airport was under water by that point.
The site of the former North Shore Airport is located west of the intersection of Route 111 & Vander Veer Road.
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