In 1936, while the Great Lakes Exposition was in full swing in Cleveland to both celebrate the centennial of the city’s incorporation and jumpstart Cleveland out of the Great Depression, many ideas were born. The 135-acre Expo along the Lake Erie shoreline downtown attracted seven million visitors who spent $70 million over the two-year run.

Almost an entire additional city was constructed on the lakefront land between today’s East 9th Street and East 12th Street, which had been a park at the turn of the 20th Century before becoming a homeless encampment and landfill area.

The Expo project was designed to improve the area, promote lakefront development, and grow business. But even the Hall of Progress, the Varied Industries Building, and the Horticultural Building constructed for the Expo eventually came down within a few years.

The lone survivor was the Donald Gray Gardens, which eventually gave way to construction of the new Browns Stadium in 1999 (now Huntington Bank Field).

Burke exterior (Courtest Burke Lakefront Airport)One concept that came out of the Great Lakes Exposition was the idea to build a downtown airport to accommodate the increasing number of small aircraft coming into Cleveland. The proposal stemmed from the 1927 vision of Cleveland city manager William R. Hopkins to build a lakefront airport as part of larger vision for the city.

Hopkins was also responsible for developing Cleveland Municipal Airport in 1925, which was later renamed Hopkins in 1951 in his honor.

A lakefront airport, with its proximity to virtually everything downtown, was well-received. While original plans stemming out of the Exposition were too complex for a full-sized airport, a plan was nudged into motion.

However, World War II stymied the plans for what would become Burke Lakefront Airport until August 1947—when a 3,600-foot temporary dirt runway was completed. The first plane landed—welcomed by Cleveland Mayor Thomas Burke and Cleveland commissioner of airports and airfield expert USAF Major John Berry during the opening ceremony of the first downtown airport in the United States.

DredgingIn the first two months after the 1947 opening, only about 200 flights were logged at the new airport. The Army Corps of Engineers continued to develop the airport footprint with dredging used to expand the ends of the temporary runway.

The small airport set records for the numbers of flights and passengers traveling through the area in its early years, and by 1957 a 5,200 foot hard-surface runway was completed. Construction began on a terminal, control tower, and concourses.

In 1966, the new control tower and facilities, designed by local architectural firm Outcalt & Guenther, were completed. The partners’ mid-century modern design emphasized streamlined forms, an efficient layout, and practical functionality.

They incorporated large windows into the terminal, to allow natural light and provide expansive views of Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline and give the airport a sense of openness.

Richard Franklin Outcalt was from Wauseon, Ohio but had practiced architecture in Cleveland since 1928. Carl F. Guenther was a Cleveland native and graduate of Western Reserve University.

The firm was known for the Ohio school buildings it designed, including buildings on Cuyahoga Community College main campus and Cleveland State University’s original main classroom building and tower. Additionally, they worked on designs for the grand entrance lobby on the west side of the Public auditorium and the master plans for the Cleveland Convention Center and the Mall.

Burke Lakefront Airport continued to thrive, with additional expansions in the 1970s, due to increased passenger service. In 1964, the Cleveland National Air Show made its debut at Burke and has remained every summer—celebrating its 60th anniversary this past Labor Day weekend. The Grand Prix of Cleveland also held its annual race at the airport from 1981 until 2007.

In 1998, the International Women’s Air & Space Museum made Burke its permanent home at the airport. Currently, Burke serves private and charter flights, medical transport services, flight training, corporate aviation operations, and some non-aviation-related businesses lease space.

While talks about closing Burke Lakefront Airport have occurred off and on for years, today the future truly remains uncertain. City officials recently commissioned studies to weigh the option of closing the airport and using the 445-acre site for a lakefront development project. A decision has yet to be made.