Experience the Golden Age of Aviation in Floyd Bennett Field’s Ryan Visitor Center! Now part of the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area, Floyd Bennett Field served as New York City’s first municipal airport beginning in 1931, quickly becoming the country’s most important airport. The Ryan Visitor Center, formerly the administration building and glamorous terminal for the airport, has been restored by the National Park Service. The terminal was a modern marvel of its time, where well-heeled travelers enjoyed amenities including a restaurant, barbershop, newsstand, and a cocktail bar with views looking out over the airport’s runways.

The terminal now houses a museum telling the story of Floyd Bennett Field and the famous aviators, Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes among them, who flew there. Visitors may tour the museum and take a peek at the tunnels underneath the runways, not generally open to the public, where airport staff transported travelers’ luggage to their planes. Visitors can also enter the restored control tower, also not generally open to the public, offering panoramic views of Jamaica Bay and the airport’s runways and grasslands; and one of the best views in Brooklyn!

Tours will be led by staff from Jamaica Bay Rockaway-Parks Conservancy and Gateway National Recreation Area, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Access Notes: Access to tower and tunnel will require use of stairs. No elevator is available. Bathrooms are available onsite.

Sunday Notes: Three one-hour first-come, first-served guided tours will be offered on the hour to 20 people. All other visitors may take a self-guided tour of Floyd Bennett Field.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-house-new-york-weekend-at-floyd-bennett-field-tickets-444630109627