Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Florida - Fort Lauderdale Area
© 2002, © 2007 by Paul Freeman. Revised 9/11/07.
Broward Field / Bradley Field (revised 12/18/06) - Davie NOLF / South Florida Airport (added 1/7/05)
Forman NOLF / Ft. Lauderdale-Davie Airport / Davie NOLF (revised 9/11/07)
MacArthur Field / Hollywood Airpark (revised 11/22/04)
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MacArthur Field / Hollywood Airpark, Hollywood, FL
26 North / 80.15 West (South of Fort Lauderdale, FL)
MacArthur Field, as depicted on the August 1943 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This small general aviation airport was Hollywood, Florida - just north of the Dade / Broward county line.
MacArthur Field was evidently established at some point between 1941-43,
as it was not yet listed among active airfields in The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of MacArthur Field which has been located
was on the August 1943 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted MacArthur as a commercial/municipal airport.
The Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described MacArthur as a "class 2" airport, owned & operated by the City of Hollywood.
The field was said to have two turf runways,
and the manager was listed as N. Holzmark.
It was still depicted as "MacArthur" Field on the 1945 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
A July 1, 1946 aerial photo of MacArthur Field (courtesy of The Florida Department of Transportation, via Brian Rehwinkel).
At some point within the past year, the field had apparently gained a paved east/west runway.
The two former grass runways had been abandoned, but were still very much evident.
Brian Rehwinkel pointed out, "One of the most interesting things about this airport was the fact that it was built in the middle of a city.
The airport was actually built with development on all four sides."
A close-up from the July 1, 1946 aerial photo of MacArthur Field (courtesy of The Florida Department of Transportation, via Brian Rehwinkel)
showed a total of at least 26 aircraft visible parked on the field.
The field was evidently was very busy immediately after the end of the Second World War.
At some point between 1945-47, the field was evidently renamed "Hollywood" Airpark,
as that is how it was labeled on the August 1947 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 2,800' hard-surface runway.
A February 26, 1949 aerial photo of Hollywood Airpark,
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Residential development had begun to encroach on the field,
already covering the northwest portion of the former northwest/southeast runway.
A May 7, 1951 USDA aerial photo of Hollywood Airpark (courtesy of The Florida Department of Transportation, via Brian Rehwinkel).
A close-up from the May 7, 1951 USDA aerial photo of Hollywood Airpark showed a total of at least 16 aircraft visible parked on the field.
The 1952 Aviation Week Airport Directory (according to Brian Rehwinkel)
described Hollywood Airpark as having 2,400' paved runway.
MacArthur Field was evidently closed at some point between 1952-53,
as Robert Ochampaugh recalled that "our house was built in 1953
and I am most definitely sure that our house was on the actual airfield
as when I was a kid I used to find old scrap metal buried in the yard & they looked like airplane parts."
By the time of the August 1954 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
the former airfield was no longer depicted at all.
Brian Rehwinkel observed, "Aerial photography from March 1957 shows that housing almost completely covered the airport site.
The former east/west runway looked as if it was being used as a residential street.
Residential development eventually completely covered this site."
A 1960 aerial view looking east at the site of MacArthur Airport (from the FL DOT, via Brian Rehwinkel).
The majority of the site had been built over with houses,
but a portion of the former taxiway was still extant (on the right side of the photo),
along with at least one former hangar.
As seen in the 1999 USGS aerial photo,
the site of the former MacArthur Field has been densely redeveloped with housing,
and no traces of the runways appear to remain.
A 2004 aerial photo of the southeast corner of the former airport site (courtesy of Robert Ochampaugh)
shows the traces of a few foundations of buildings from the site's days as an airport.
The site of MacArthur Field is located on the Northwest side of the intersection of Moffet Street & South Dixie Highway.
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Broward Field / Bradley Field, Fort Lauderdale, FL
26.16 North / 80.16 West (Southeast of Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL)
"Broward" Field, as depicted on the August 1947 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This small general aviation airport was evidently established at some point between 1944-47,
as it was not yet depicted on the 1945 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
The earliest depiction of an airfield at this spot which has been located
was on the August 1947 Miami Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
It depicted a "Broward" Field as having a 3,000' unpaved runway.
A 1949 USDA aerial photo of Broward Field
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Bradley Field as a simple rectangular grass field,
with a cluster of a few small buildings & hangars on the southeast corner of the field.
A close-up from the 1949 USDA aerial photo of Broward Field
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
showing at least four planes parked on the field.
The field was apparently renamed "Bradley" Field at some point between 1947-54,
as that is how it was labeled on the August 1954 Miami USAF Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It had also gained a paved runway,
as the Aerodromes table described the field as having three runways, with the longest being a 2,600' asphalt strip.
A September 20, 1960 aerial photo of Bradley Field (from the FL DOT, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
The single paved runway was evident, as well as the two grass runways.
A close-up from the September 20, 1960 aerial photo of Bradley Field (from the FL DOT, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel),
showing two hangars as well as a total of at least 14 light aircraft on the field.
Bradley Field was still depicted as an active airport
on the September 1964 Miami USAF Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Bradley Field was evidently still open on June 26, 1965,
when NTSB records indicated a "Watts Knight Twister" aircraft suffered a ground loop accident at the field,
in which a contributing factor was noted to be the "weeds along runway 3-4' high."
Bradley Field was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point within the next year,
as it was labeled "Abandoned airport" on the March 1966 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
A contributing factor for the closure of the airport may have been the construction of Interstate 95,
which was built along the western side of the airport property.
The 1999 USGS aerial photo showed that the site of the former Bradley Field had been reused as Mills Pond Park,
with a pond having been built along the northwestern side of the former former airfield.
Not a trace of the former airport appeared to remain.
A 2006 aerial photo annotated by Chris Kennedy to show the outline of the runways of the former Bradley Field.
Not a trace of the former airport appears to remain.
The site of Bradley Field is located northeast of the intersection of Interstate 95 & Northwest 19th Street.
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Davie NOLF / South Florida Airport, Davie, FL
26.04 North / 80.23 West (Southwest of Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL)
"Davie Field" (along with nearby Forman Field & North Perry Field),
as depicted on a 1942 Navy map for NAS Miami (from the National Archives, via Brian Rehwinkel).
According to Navy documents (from The National Archives, via Brian Rehwinkel),
Davie Field was acquired in April 1941 as an outlying "emergency field"
to be used in conjunction with Forman & North Perry Fields (part of the NAS Miami Complex).
Davie Field was located between Forman Field & North Perry Field,
and consisted of sod runways.
The earliest depiction of Davie NOLF which has been located
was on a 1942 Navy map for NAS Miami (from the National Archives, via Brian Rehwinkel).
The August 1943 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted "Davie (Navy)" as an auxiliary airfield.
Davie Field may have been closed by the Navy at an earlier point than other nearby Navy auxiliary fields,
as it was no longer listed among active airfields in the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer),
even though Forman & North Perry were still listed.
Davie NOLF had apparently been relinquished by the Navy at some point between 1944-47 & reused as a civilian airport,
as that is how "South Florida" was depicted on the August 1947 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 4,500' unpaved runway.
A March 26, 1947 USDA aerial photo of South Florida Airport,
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
The field was apparently still being used as a civilian airport at this point.
A close-up from the March 26, 1947 USDA aerial photo of South Florida Airport,
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel),
showing at least 8 light aircraft clustered around a few small buildings on the northeast corner of the field.
South Florida Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1947-53,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the January 1953 FL Aeronautical Chart (according to Brian Rehwinkel)
or the August 1954 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
By 1957, an aerial photograph (according to Brian Rehwinkel) showed that housing developments
had taken over the location of the former airfield.
The boundaries of Davie Field, as superimposed by Dynamac Corporation
on a 1983 Army Corps of Engineers map (courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
As seen in the 1999 USGS aerial photo, not a trace appears to remain of the former Davie Field.
In 2004, Brian Rehwinkel reported that "the site is part of Pembroke Pines,
and is covered by residential development & a school."
The site of Davie Field is located southeast of the intersection of Davie Road & Stirling Road.
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Forman NOLF / Ft. Lauderdale-Davie Airport / Davie NOLF, Davie, FL
26.08 North / 80.24 West (West of Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL)
"Forman Field" (along with nearby Davie Field & North Perry Field),
as depicted on a 1942 Navy map for NAS Miami (from the National Archives, via Brian Rehwinkel).
This former airfield has gone through a series of confusing name changes & changes of use.
Farmers Hamilton & Blanche Forman ran the 1,000 acre Forman Dairy.
During WW2, they sold 545 acres of their property to the federal government for $25/acre.
The property was to be used to construct Forman Field,
one of four satellite airfields used by NAS Fort Lauderdale.
The field had a "wagon wheel" configuration of four 3,000' paved runways,
oriented along the cardinal directions of the compass,
along with a circular taxiway running along the periphery of the runways.
This airfield layout was perfect for training brand-new pilots,
as it precluded ever having to make a crosswind landing.
Although this airfield layout is quite rare today,
it was actually quite common among WW2 training airfields.
The date of construction of Forman NOLF has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on a 1942 Navy map for NAS Miami (from the National Archives, via Brian Rehwinkel).
The August 1943 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted "Forman (Navy)" as an auxiliary airfield.
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer).
described "Forman OLF, Navy" as having a 3,000' hard-surfaced runway.
According to Mel Shettle's "U.S. Naval Air Stations of WW2",
Forman had a ramp area for aircraft, as well as an operations building, barracks, and a garage.
Forman NOLF was apparently relinquished by the Navy at some point between 1944-47 & reused as a civilian airport,
as that is how it was depicted (as "Ft. Lauderdale-Davie") on the August 1947 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 3,000' hard surface runway.
A very sharp December 31 1948 USDA aerial photo of the former Forman NOLF,
from the Digital Library Center / University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries (courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
In spite of its depiction as a civilian airport on the previous year's Sectional Chart,
there were no signs of any active use of the airfield at this point.
In addition to its unusual wagon-wheel runway layout,
Forman NOLF had two asphalt taxiways leading to the southeast
to what appeared to be an asphalt ramp (with some kind of concrete portion in the center?).
This was a feature that most other WW2-era outlying fields lacked.
The airfield was apparently taken back by the military at some point between 1947-54,
as it was depicted as "Davie OLF (Navy)" on the August 1954 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The use of the name "Davie" is quite strange, considering it was the same name as had been used for the nearby Davie NOLF.
It was depicted as having a 3,000' hard surface runway.
As seen in the March 27 1957 USDA aerial photo (courtesy of the FL DOT, via Brian Rehwinkel)
the Forman/Davie airfield was still completely intact,
but the pavement of the runways & taxiways was somewhat decayed.
There were no aircraft on the field, or any other indication of any active use of the airfield.
The runways of the former airfield were reused for drag racing,
as described in the June 1960 issue of Hot Rod Magazine (courtesy of Marty Lineen).
After WW2, the government had made a commitment to the Formans (the original land owners)
that the land would never be reused for anything other than education.
That promise was eventually kept in 1962,
when construction was started on the property for Nova Junior High School & Nova Senior High School.
These two schools opened in 1963, becoming the first of several schools to occupy
The site of Forman NOLF was still depicted as an abandoned airfield
on the September 1964 Miami Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The site of Forman NOLF eventually included Nova University, Broward Community College, the University of Florida,
Florida International University, and Florida Atlantic University.
Collectively, it became known as the South Florida Education Center.
The site of Forman Field in 1982.
As seen in the circa 2001 aerial photo, remnants of the Forman airfield are still quite evident.
Most of the western half of the perimeter taxiway still exists,
as well as portions of several runways.
A 2003 photo by Robert Ochampaugh of the "Closed" lettering
which is still visible on the former runway pavement of Forman NOLF.
A 2003 photo by Robert Ochampaugh of remains of one of the former runways of Forman NOLF,
looking toward the center of the "wagon wheel".
An August 2007 photo by Marty Lineen looking southeast along the remains of Forman's Runway 13,
showing the word “Closed” still visible.
Marty reported that “You can see the top half of the '3' in the number 13.
I can see just a little of the number '1' under the letter L.”
An August 2007 photo by Marty Lineen looking at the remains of Forman's Runway 18.
Marty reported that “I was able to see a little yellow paint but it does not show in the picture.
You can see 2 black marks running beside each other.
I can not see any yellow paint under the marks.”
The site of Forman Field is located at the present-day intersection of College Avenue & Southwest 30th Street.
Thanks to Frank Cruz & Mike Cooper for pointing out Forman Field.
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