It's been a long time since an airplane has flown in or out of Gila River Memorial Airport. Built to support the Pacific front in World War II, it now serves as an airplane graveyard.
After checking out the ruins of Mesa, Arizona's agricultural heritage, I made my way south. It was a perfect sunny day, and I could hardly wait for my first exploration of an abandoned airport.
Gila River Memorial Airport was built in 1942 to support the rapidly growing U.S. aerial operations during World War II. The 1,345 acre stretch of land was designated Williams Auxiliary Army Airfield #5.
 |
| The original Williams Auxiliary Army Airfield #5 (photo from http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AZ/Airfields_AZ_Phoenix_SE.htm#memorial) |
After the war, it was renamed Goodyear Air Force Auxiliary Airfield and the runway was modified to better accommodate the jet airplanes that saw increased use in the 1950s. In the late '60s it became a civilian airfield and its name was shortened to Goodyear Airport and then changed to Memorial Airfield.
 |
| Memorial Airport before the hangars were added (photo from http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AZ/Airfields_AZ_Phoenix_SE.htm#memorial) |
In the late 1970s hangars were finally added and it took on the appearance it has today (minus the rust and decay, of course). By this time, the airport was mostly used by Biegert Aviation, a company that flew piston-engined aircraft that had been converted into air tankers.
By the 1990s, the airport had become a boneyard for retired aircraft. Dozens of old airplanes sat in various states of decay and dismantlement. It must have been an awesome place to explore.
In 2006 plan were drawn up for redeveloping the airport, which involved giving the structures a Native American style. and at least one of the runways was repaved. But the plans never came to fruition.
Since then, most of the retired planes have been hauled off and scrapped.
 |
| Abandoned Gila River Memorial Airport Building |
By 2007, the Gila River Indian Community was given control of the airfield and gave it its current name, Gila River Memorial Airport. All commercial tenants were evicted and allegedly there was talk of building a casino on the site.
 |
| Can you see the little plane buried beneath the rubble? |
When I visited, only a few airplanes remained on the property and three buildings stood in fairly advanced states of decay. I didn't go inside any of the hangar buildings because there were large swarms of bees in each of them.
I was only able to take a few pictures before a police officer showed up and asked me what I was doing there. I told him I just wanted to take pictures of the neat old planes. He informed me that I was on an Indian reservation and said "The Indians don’t want you here". He also told me that I could be cited for trespassing and have my vehicle confiscated for 30 days.
I quickly got the hell out of there and continued on to explore the bizarre abandoned Casa Grande Domes.
Thanks for checking out this article. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to share it on Facebook. While you're at it, please subscribe to Places That Were and follow me on my social media sites:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/placesthatwere
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JimSullivanPlacesThatWere/posts
EyeEm: https://www.eyeem.com/u/placesthatwere
flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/placesthatwere/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/placesthatwere/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jimplicit
Instagram: http://instagram.com/theplacesthatwere
Tumblr: http://placesthatwere.tumblr.com/
Thank you!
I couldn't tell if he was Native American or not, but I wasn't about to ask. He definitely didn't need to be so rude.
ReplyDeleteSorry to say but on February 26 around 6pm the airfield burned down. Sad to see such a cool place be destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update! I'm glad I at least got to see some of it before that happened.
DeleteAny information on this site as of recent? New to Phoenix area and hear a lot of this place wold really like to go get some photos of my own.
ReplyDeleteI heard it has been demolished, but I haven't been able to verify it.
DeleteI actually went to explore the airport a couple months ago, it still looks pretty much the same. The fire caused minor damaged to one hanger, but the metal structure is still intact. I was there for about an hour before the tribal police showed up and asked me to leave. I'm pretty sure they keep a close watch on the airport. Everyone I know has been escorted off the property by police.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the fire didn't do too much damage. It's nice that you got to spend an hour exploring before you had to leave.
DeleteAwesome time walking through the planes, seeing the cockpits, and rummaging through the hanger.
ReplyDeleteI need to go back and spend more time there.
DeleteThe officer probably explained that, because Memorial Airfield is on the Gila River Indian Reservation, permission is needed to enter the property and, if you do not have permission, it is a violation of the Gila River Indian Community's Civil Trespass Ordinance. You can be cited and fined.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't go into that much detail.
DeleteJust went here today! The planes have much more graffiti on them now, but otherwise everything looks pretty much the same. Great adventure! If you like abandoned airports, check out Echeverria west of Wickenburg. That place is a fun exploration.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to have a more thorough look around than I did. It's such a neat place. Thanks for suggesting Echeverria! I've added it to my list of places I need to visit. I love exploring abandoned airports, but haven't had the opportunity to visit many. Hopefully that will change soon!
DeleteThank you for the info. I spoke with a Chandler officer today. He gave me the number to the tribal police. I am going to try to get permission to get photos and video with my drone later this week.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Were you able to go out there and get any drone footage? If so, I'd love to see it.
DeleteDid you got permission by any chance??? I want to take pics in there with my car
DeleteI would like to visit that awesome place, and take pictures of the planes !
ReplyDeleteIs it an open area, or I must have a permission to enter ?
You need to get permission to enter.
DeleteOk, so who I need to contact to get that permission ? :)
DeleteThe Indian Tribes let everything go to pot unless it's a casino. The tribes are corrupt a tiny minority get rich 99% live dirt poor. It's a shame because so much potential for places like this to become something. Tribal police can't enforce their laws on non-tribal members they can confiscate your stuff you have to go to federal court to get it back most just forget about it. Tribal police can enforce state and federal law they will hold you for local sheriff. I have known a few who got their guns confiscated they had to go to court get them back.
ReplyDeleteVery good - really like what you do! Would love to feature you on www.ghosthuntingtheories.com
ReplyDeleteThat was an interesting airfield when I used to fly over it in the early 1970s on my route from Tucson to Phoenix.
ReplyDeleteOf major interest, was the row of B-17s which were converted to tanker/sprayer planes.
I worked and lived on this airfield, when I was 22 yrs old !I learned to work on dc7s and they also flew c130s and 2 pb4ys a navy version of a b24 ,but it has a single tail some of the best years of my life:) sure miss this times.
ReplyDeleteI also worked at the field when younger. From 1/1987 to 12/94 I worked for Biegert Aviation on their C54s. I really loved that job. The pictures of the building missing the front wall metal show where the business was.
DeleteWhen I was younger, I also worked at the field. I worked on the C54s for Biegert Aviation from January 1987 until December 1994. I had a great time at the work. The location of the business is seen in the photos of the building without the metal on the front wall.dump truck accident
ReplyDelete