Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Washington: Seattle area
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 5/25/08.
Bellevue Airport (revised 5/25/08) - Cedar Grove Airpark (revised 5/25/08)
Martha Lake Airport (revised 1/26/07) - Seattle NAS / Sand Point (revised 5/25/08)
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Cedar Grove Airpark, Cedar Grove, WA
47.45 North / 122.05 West (Southeast of Seattle, WA)
A 1964 aerial view depicted Cedar Grove Airpark as having a single unpaved northeast/southwest runway.
According to Dan Plute, “The airport was affectionately known as 'The Pig Farm' because of its original history as such.
Lore had it that it was the largest pig farm west of the Mississippi in its heyday.
I’m unsure of its conversion date but the fact that it was indeed an animal ranch
was evident because the hangars were converted pig sheds.”
The date of establishment of the Cedar Grove Airpark has not been determined.
The earliest depiction which has been located of Cedar Grove Airpark was a 1964 aerial view.
It depicted the field as having a single unpaved northeast/southwest runway.
Several shed/hangars were located on the south side of the field.
There were not yet any aircraft visible on the field, so it might still have been under construction at that point.
Cedar Grove Airpark was not yet depicted at all on the 1967 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
A 1968 aerial view showed 6 light aircraft parked at Cedar Grove.
The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Cedar Grove Airpark
was on the December 1968 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Cedar Grove as a public-use airport having a 3,000' unpaved runway.
According to Dan Plute, “I was somewhat familiar with the area in the late 1960s
and believe it primarily served a commercial helicopter operation.”
The January 1977 Seattle Terminal Area Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Cedar Grove as a public-use airport having a 1,900' unpaved runway.
Note that it had lost almost half of its runway length in only 9 years.
The 1980 USGS topo map depicted a single northeast/southwest runway, labeled simply as “Landing Strip”.
It also depicted the adjacent Gravel Pit to the west, which would eventually consume the little airport.
A 1980 aerial view depicted a total of 14 light aircraft parked at Cedar Grove Airpark.
Two circa 1982-83 photos by Dan Plute of an Advanced Aviation Cobra ultralight at Cedar Grove Airpark.
Several hangars are visible in the background.
Dan Plute recalled, “I learned to fly in the early 1980s
and the airport was in poor repair with perhaps 12-15 airplanes hangared or tied down at the time.
There was a fellow with a casting operation in the southern-most portion of the complex
that was making rudder-pedals for experimental [aircraft],
and the northern-most 'hangar' had been rented to Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft (we had been told)
so it may well have been the birth place of the Glasair aircraft.
A fellow by the name of Don Summers & I had that hangar
and operated an ultralight [aircraft] sales operation known as Pacific-Ultracraft for a short time.”
Dan Plute recalled, “Evidently gravel is more valuable than airport revenue
as the area was mined for the gravel to the point where the runway was too short for anything other than ultralight operations.”
A circa 1982-83 photo by Don Summers of Dan Plute in an Advanced Aviation Cobra ultralight at Cedar Grove Airpark,
with a Republic SeaBee visible in the background.
An undated aerial view looking north at Cedar Grove Airpark from the 1983 Washington State Pilots Guide (courtesy of Dan Plute).
It described Cedar Grove as a commercial airport having a 2,500' grass & gravel Runway 6/24 (with a 500' overrun),
and it listed the manager as Paul Hoffman.
According to Dan Plute, “Cedar Grove Airpark was closed sometime around 1985.
Eventually in about 1985 or 1986 the buildings came down.
So many airports have disappeared that I fear for future generations of general aviation pilots.
Soon there will be nothing left!”
In the 1990 USGS aerial photo,
a gravel pit had covered the former airport, with all traces of the former airport having been scraped away.
Dan Plute reported in 2007, “Currently Cedar Grove Composting occupies the site.”
In the 2002 USGS aerial photo,
the composting operation covered the site of the former airport, with not a trace remaining of Cedar Grove Airpark.
The site of Cedar Grove Airpark is located north of the intersection of Cedar Grove Avenue Southeast & 217th Avenue Southeast.
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Martha Lake Airport (S13), Alderwood Manor, WA
47.86 North / 122.24 West (North of Seattle, WA)
Martha Lake Airport, as depicted in the 1963 WA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ron Dupas).
This former general aviation airport was apparently built at some point between 1954-62,
as it was not depicted on the October 1954 Seattle Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to Martha Lake Airport which has been located is the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory,
which described the field as having a single 1,700' sod Runway 16/34.
The 1963 WA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ron Dupas)
described Martha Lake as a private airfield,
with a single 1,700' sod north/south runway.
A row of T-hangars were depicted on the northeast side of the field,
as well as two other buildings (hangars?) east of the runway.
Larry Kohrdt recalled, “I grew up in the area & often walked through the airport property to access Martha Lake.
The runway was paved in 1964.
A mobile home park at the southwest end of the runway was constructed also in the early 1960s that just continued to grow.
Residential homes increased on all sides of the field as well as the outskirts of the lake.”
The Aerodromes table on the 1967 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
described Martha Lake Airport as having a single 1,700' asphalt & concrete runway.
An aerial view looking west at Martha Lake Airport,
from the 1971 WA Airport directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Note that the runway numbers superimposed on the image (“16” & “34”) are actually on the wrong ends of the runway.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)
described Martha Lake Airport as having a single 1,700' asphalt Runway 16/34,
and listed the services available as flight instruction & plane rental.
In the 1990 USGS aerial photo,
the airport appeared to be well-used, with a total of at least 24 aircraft visible parked outside,
in addition to two long rows of T-hangars on the northeast side of the airport.
A 1998 photo (Copyright Jason McMahon, used with permission, via Jason Evart)
of Martha Lake's Runway 16, seen behind a nice Cadillac convertible.
Norman Kellar recalled that "I used to fly in & out of it a lot.
The last time I was in there was 1999 in a Cessna 172."
According to a Puget Sound Regional Council report,
Martha Lake Airport was closed in 2000,
after its owners sold the property to Snohomish County,
which intends to remove the airport & use the property as a park.
In the June 2002 USGS aerial photo (taken shortly after the field's closure),
all of the airport infrastructure was still present,
with closed-runway "X" markings painted liberally along the runway & even the taxiways.
A sad sight for a nice little airport.
However, note that one single-engine aircraft still remained on the field (just south of the hangars) – apparently “stranded”.
The "Preferred Alternative" of what is planned for the site of Martha Lake Airport,
from the Snohomish County Government.
Unfortunately, this isn't what we pilots would "prefer" for the site, is it?
A 2006 photo by Ron Smith, looking along the remains of the Martha Lake runway.
Ron reported, “Except for the hangars that have been removed, the rest of it is still intact though in sad condition.
Along the west edge of the field there is a mobile home park where the back yards open directly onto the property.”
A circa 2005-2006 aerial view looking north at the north end of the former Martha Lake Airport.
The hangars on the northeast side were evidently removed at some point after 2002.
Note the airplane-shaped wind indicator still remaining, just south of the hangar foundations.
The airport site is located northwest of the intersection of Lakeview Road & 2nd Avenue West.
Thanks to Norman Kellman & David White for pointing out the closure of Martha Lake Airport.
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Bellevue Airfield (BVU), Bellevue, WA
47.58 North / 122.13 West (Northeast of Renton, WA)
Bellevue Airport, as depicted on the October 1948 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to the Seattle times, Arthur Nordoff founded the Bellevue Airfield in 1941,
but because of the war it didn't open until 1945.
Nordoff had been an Army aviator during WW1,
and his daughter, Nancy Dunnam, flew in the Women's Air Corps during WW2.
Bellevue Airfield was a 160 acre property.
Its neighbors included a gun club, a turkey ranch, a mink farm,
and a garbage dump at the north end of the field.
The earliest depiction which has been located of Bellevue Airport
was on the October 1948 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having a 2,300' hard-surface runway.
Bellevue Airport was depicted by the October 12, 1959 FAA Inspection Report (courtesy of David Field)
as having a single 2,256' asphalt northeast/southwest runway
with a parallel taxiway on the northwest side.
An office building & several hangars were depicted on the southeast side of the field.
The operator was listed as Puget Sound Air Service, and the managers were listed as J.J. Dunnam & A.E. Nordhoff.
A total of 82 aircraft were said to be based at the field.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described the field as having a single 2,250' asphalt Runway 1/19,
and listed the operator as Sound Air Service, Inc.
The 1963 WA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ron Dupas)
depicted Bellevue Airport as having a single 2,256' blacktop northeast/southwest runway
with a parallel taxiway on the northwest side.
An office & several hangars were depicted on the south side of the field.
An undated aerial view looking east at Bellevue Airport
from an airport brochure received in 1963 by Martin Snyder.
The brochure described the field as having a single 2,250' asphalt Runway 2/20,
and the photo depicted a large number of T-hangars on the southeast side of the field,
along with a colorful assortment of 17 light aircraft.
Martin recalled, “In July 1963 I flew a Cessna 182 from the Van Nuys (California) to Bellevue to visit with my daughter.
I had all of 164.6 hours flying time so this long cross country trip was a big thrill.”
The 1967 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
depicted Bellevue as having a 2,200' unpaved runway.
The December 1968 Seattle Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Bellevue as having a 2,100' unpaved runway.
Arthur Nordoff (son of the founder of Bellevue Airport) recalled,
"We never had a control tower, but we had runway lights that operated until 11 at night."
Business often picked up during winter months when fog socked in Renton & Boeing Fields, he said.
"Once when The Beatles were coming to town,
teenagers heard a rumor they weren't going to land at Sea-Tac or Boeing," Nordoff said.
"So for an afternoon we had a bunch of giggling teenagers around.
Of course The Beatles didn't come to Bellevue."
Through the 1960's and '70's, flight training was conducted at Bellevue Airfield by Seattle Flight,
which also had facilities at Boeing Field, Everett-Paine Field, and Auburn Airport.
Seattle Flight eventually grew to become the largest flight school in the Pacific Northwest, with a fleet of over 40 Piper aircraft.
Ken Walker recalled, “As a teenager I went past the airport once & there had just been an accident.
There is a grocery store about a ¼ mile west of the end of Runway 2 and somehow, either a power failure or weather,
someone in a Cessna had managed to pilot his plane right through the front door of the store.
I don’t remember if there were any injuries
but it sure looked funny seeing the back end of a Cessna sticking out the doorway of the store.”
An aerial view looking north at Bellevue Airport,
from the 1971 WA Airport directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
By the early 1970s, Bellvue was a very busy little airport,
with a total of 51,000 takeoffs & landings per year.
An undated photo (courtesy of David Field) looking northeast along Bellevue's Runway 2.
According to David Field, “In approximately 1979,
the property was acquired by Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, a property development company.
They left the airport open for a few years but cut back the service until eventually there was no service or fuel available.”
As seen in a 1980 aerial view, Bellevue was a very well-used airport right up to the very end,
with a total of over 75 light aircraft visible parked on the field.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)
described Bellevue as having a single 2,325' asphalt Runway 20/20,
and listed the operators as Bellevue Aviation & Eagle Aircraft Service.
Unfortunately, the rapid development of the surrounding Bellevue area meant that the end was in sight for this little field.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory included the note, "Possibility for airport closing spring of '82."
Bellevue Airfield was still shown on the 1983 USGS topo map,
which depicted the runway as having a parallel taxiway,
and at least two hangars situated southeast of the runway.
Bellevue Airport was closed in 1983.
According to David Field, “Cabot, Cabot & Forbes developed the site with office buildings & hotels.
Some of the property was acquired by the Boeing Company.
For several years they had their computer facilities headquartered there.”
By the time of the 1990 USGS aerial photo,
the airfield was long gone, as a complex of several office buildings had been built on the site.
However, several lengths of the former runway & its parallel taxiway were still plainly recognizable,
just north of the new parking lots.
A circa 2002-2005 aerial view looking west at the northern end of the former Bellevue Airport property
shows that a small segment of the northern end of the runway pavement remains intact.
Ironically, some aviation use of the site lives on,
as a new heliport sits just north of the end of the former runway.
It is listed as of 2006 as the “Bellevue Business Park Boeing Company Services Headquarters Heliport” (71WA).
The site of the former Bellevue Airfield is located
north of the intersection of Southeast Eastgate Way & 158th Avenue Southeast,
just north of Interstate 90.
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Seattle Naval Air Station / Sand Point, Seattle, WA
47.68 North / 122.25 West (North of Seattle Tacoma International Airport, WA)
A circa late-1920s/early-1930s aerial view looking south at the Naval Air Station runway & seaplane base,
showing a dozen aircraft.
In the late 1910s, the King County commissioners began acquiring small farms
on this peninsula along western shore of Lake Washington,
according to the website of Seattle Parks & Recreation.
In June 19, 1920, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for King County's first airfield
that included a symbolic tree cutting & the first aircraft landing on the site.
Purportedly, Bill Boeing flew his first airplane from the field.
In 1923, the U.S. Army leased the field from the Navy
and shipped a sheet-iron hangar (which eventually became known as Building 1)
from California & errected it at Sand Point.
In 1924, aircraft squadrons of the "Battle Fleet" established a camp at Sand Point.
From April-September 1924, four Army Air Corps planes began & ended a "round-the-world flight" from Sand Point.
On September 28, 1924, a World Flight reception was held at Sand Point,
with an estimated public attendance of 40,000.
In September 1925, King County Commissioners authorized clearing of a 2,640' landing strip
followed by grading, leveling and sowing in grass.
Pilots seeded the runway to give it a more reliable turf surface,
which nevertheless turned to mud in the winter & dust in the summer.
Clarence Blethen of The Seattle Times paid for piping to be laid & for ditches to be dug divert water runoff.
In 1926, Sand Point was still no more than a series of farms, a field served as a runway,
the station commander worked out of a farm house (Imbree residence),
and Naval Aviation Cadets were billeted in a chicken house.
In mid-1926, King County jail inmates were used to clear trees & undergrowth to expand the airstrip.
In October 1926, the Carkeek family sold Carkeek Park to King County,
which in turn deeded the entire peninsula (approximately 411 acres) to the U.S. Navy for developing a Naval Air Station.
On September 13, 1927, a visit by Charles Lindbergh & his aircraft, the “Spirit of St. Louis”,
drews an estimated public attendance of 50,000 to Sand Point.
The earliest depiction of the Sand Point airfield which has been located
was a circa late-1920s/early-1930s aerial view looking south at the Naval Air Station runway & seaplane base,
showing a dozen aircraft parked alongside the runway.
Buildings 2, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 9, and 20 were constructed in 1928-29.
In 1929 a seaplane runway was constructed near the shore of Pontiac Bay.
A 1930 aerial view looking south at Buildings 1, 2, and 9, the seaplane base at Pontiac Bay.
The earliest chart depiction which has been located of NAS Seattle
was on the 1933 Seattle Airways Chart.
It depicted the “U.S. Naval Air Station” as having an airfield & seaplane base.
In the early to mid-1930s, coordinating with the Works Progress Administration,
the Navy trucked in hundreds of loads of fill to develop expanded landing facilities.
Hundreds of WPA workers covered most of the point's "gently rolling land",
buried what remained of Mud Lake & the marsh, and eliminated Pontiac Bay.
This fill material was graded & much of it covered with a slab of concrete for landing strips.
Buildings 6, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 41, 330, 331, and 332 were constructed in 1936-39.
In 1937 Pontiac Bay (approximately 2.7 acres) was filled in to construct Building/Hangar 27 & its adjacent tarmac.
In 1939 Commander A. W. Radford noted in a memo that grading of the airfield involved more than 1,500,000 cubic yards.
From August 1940 - September 1941, a total of 5 runways were paved with asphalt
(the longest being 3,700', the other four being 3,000').
A 1941 aerial view looking north at the Sand Point runways while under construction,
with the existing hangars visible at the top-left.
By November 1941, the area of the station measured 460 acres.
In 1941 many new barracks were constructed,
"the product of months in which tractors & bulldozers moved earth night & day."
By 1941 the urban development of surrounding Seattle had come close enough to the base
that aircraft were no longer permitted to carry live bombs.
By 1942 the size of the station had increased to 471 acres.
The base turned into an air transport & ship staging area for Western Pacific operations during WW2.
It also continued to be used for training, with schools for aviation metalsmiths, machinists & radiomen.
At times, Boeing used the field, as did Pan American Airlines.
Sand Point also had an outlying field during WW2:
Kitsap County Airport (7.5 miles southwest of Bremerton), later to become Bremerton National Airport.
In 1943 the main runway was lengthened to 5,050'.
During World War II, NAS Seattle's peak work force encompassed 7,400 military & civilian personnel.
A 1946 aerial view looking south at NAS Seattle (National Archives photo).
By 1946, 4,600 Navy, Marine Corps, and civilian personnel called Sand Point home or worked on the base.
In 1947 rumors spread that NAS Seattle was to be closed due to the impending creation of the independent U.S. Air Force.
During the years following WW2, the Navy was choosing its permanent post-war bases.
Many closed because they couldn't meet the requirements of the jet age:
6,000' runways were now the minimum standard.
Approach paths had to be suitable for radar-controlled approaches in any weather.
In 1949, the Navy decided that NAS Seattle, the pre-war major naval installation in the Northwest,
was suitable to train Reserve forces and support a moderate number of aircraft,
but could not be expanded as a major fleet support station.
The location of the base, with the length of the runways constrained by Lake Washington, sealed its fate.
It was thus designated a Naval Reserve Air Station.
In 1950, the Korean conflict renewed base activity.
In 1952, the Navy closed the base except for Naval Reserve activities.
The 1953 Master Shore Development Plan for NAS Seattle
estimated the physical plant value at $70 million, and estimated the station size at 450 acres.
A 1953 aerial view looking west at NAS Seattle.
In 1957 Seattle's Comprehensive Plan identified Sand Point Station as a site for a major public park.
The request to create such a park from surplus air base lands was forwarded to the General Service Administration.
The city stated that a general aviation airstrip was totally incompatible with Seattle's plan.
In the late 1950s, rumors spread that jet aircraft might be stationed at NAS Seattle,
which would have required the extension of runways & construction of jet fuel storage.
The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Seattle NAS as having two paved runways (5,050 Runway 14/32 & 3,110' Runway 1/19),
as well as two other abandoned runways.
However, a note said "Runway 19 landing light aircraft only."
Buildings (hangars?) were depicted on the west & southwest sides of the airfield.
By 1963, the size of the station was 495 acres.
In 1966 the station population included 482 active duty, 1,471 reserve naval personnel, and 318 civilians.
In 1967 Sand Point gained a Coast Guard Air Station, which was relocated from Port Angeles.
The last photo which has been located showing NAS Seattle in operation was a 1968 aerial view.
It depicted 23 aircraft of various types on the ramp, and a Fairchild R4Q on the runway.
In 1969 the main runway was resurfaced & extended from the southeast to northwest shore,
a length of 4,800', with an estimated cost of $500,000.
In 1970 the Navy announced that it would retain a small portion of Naval Air Station Seattle
and 347 acres would be declared surplus for other purposes.
On June 30, 1970 the U.S. Navy deactivated the Naval Air Station,
ended all flight operations, and renamed the base as Naval Support Activity – Seattle.
Plans to convert part of the site to a general aviation airport were defeated in a referendum.
Three runways of "Seattle NAS" were still depicted on the 1974 USGS topo map.
An August 1974 aerial view looking north at the abandoned runways during the Gold Cup Hydroplane Race.
The race was held in the waters adjacent to Sand Point, drawing an estimated attendance of 30,000-35,000.
Event parking was held on the remaining airfield tarmac.
In 1975, a total of 312 acres were declared surplus: 117 acres were transferred to NOAA,
and 196 acres were transferred to the City of Seattle for Sand Point Park.
In 1975 the Sand Point Park Master Plan proposed development of a 75-acre Sports Meadow,
tennis courts; neighborhood park; maintenance complex, and restaurant.
Sand Point Park was dedicated in December 1975.
In 1976 the reported "Sand Point Park: A Final Statement on Impact" proposed demolition of structures & runways,
development of a sports meadow & drained playfields,
North Cove Swimming Beach, boating center, and interior circulation system.
In the late 1970s, demolition was conducted of runways, tarmac and taxiways, encompassing approximately 120 acres.
In the late 1970s, construction begun on the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's
Western Administrative Support Center on a portion of the former Navy property.
In May 1977, the park was renamed in honor of Senator Warren Grant Magnuson.
The former airfield was no longer depicted on the 1979 USGS topo map – it had been replaced by Magnuson Park.
Building 1, which had been built as Sand Point's first hangar in 1923,
was demolished by NOAA in the 1970s or 1980s.
In 1985 the Naval Support Facility - Seattle housed the offices of the Navy's supervisor of shipbuilding,
a recruiting office, and a public-relations office.
The workforce encompassed 1,000 military personnel & 1,182 civilians.
In October 1986 the base was redesignated as Naval Station Puget Sound.
In the late 1980s the "Sand Point Site Development Master Plan, Naval Station Puget Sound"
proposed using Naval Station Puget Sound for support facilities.
In April 1991 the Naval Station Puget Sound was recommended for closure
under the Base Realignment & Closure Act (BRAC).
Sand Point's former hangars were reportedly used in the 1993 movie “Sleepless in Seattle”
as soundstages to film Empire State Building scenes.
The Navy ceased its use of its remaining portion of the base in 1995.
A circa-2000 aerial photo of the site of the former Sand Point NAS.
The only remaining evidence of the runways are portions of the south end of the primary runway.
The seaplane ramp also still exists, along with a number of hangars & buildings.
Lee Englund reported in 2003, "all the hangars remain.
Most are of all brick construction & first-class."
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking west at former hangars on the north end of Sand Point.
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking west, at the southern-most former hangar at Sand Point.
See also: http://www.vpnavy.com/nasseattle_history.html
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