Fort Sheridan, IL - Airplane Hangar, Razed - 16x12

Art Type: Archival Pigment Ink Photograph
Frame Style: Wood Frame
Image Size: 6.25" x 8"
Frame Size: 16" x 12"
Mat Style: Warm White, 8-ply Conservation

Works are matted and framed for the highest quality possible. Each print is hand signed.

Custom Requests
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have a need for a special size or framing finish. We can discuss all options.

Razed Airplane Hangar, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, 2004

Northeast Side and Southwest Side

42°13'23.1"N 87°49'04.2”W

Long before my current body of work, I was on the lookout for curious buildings with a clear utilitarian purpose.

A small airfield was established at some point between 1952-1954 on the north side of Fort Sheridan, on the site of a rifle range. It was to be used by planes supporting anti-aircraft & coastal artillery training.

Fort Sheridan Airfield and later known as Haley AAF (Haley Army Air Field) ran alongside Fort Sheridan Golf Course. The golf course was constructed by the Army for use by military personnel. It opened for public play in May 1994 when the Lake County Forest Preserves assumed ownership. I played the golf course many times. It was during one of these rounds I discovered the aging airplane hangar.

A resident of the area recalled, “In early 1967, my father was assigned to Fifth Army at Fort Sheridan. We were assigned to quarters on the west end of Nicholson Road, which ran roughly parallel along the south side of the runway of Fort Sheridan Army Airfield. There were no fences that separated the quarters from the airfield, although there were 2 fairways & greens of the golf course that ran the length of the south side of the runway from east to west. For an 11-year-old boy who was enamored with airplanes, it was the best vantage place on earth. Every morning was the sound of engines running up & take-offs, and by the afternoon, there were airplanes & helicopters landing.”

I photographed the Haley AAF hangar in 2004. It has since been torn down. The area has been allowed to return to its natural prairie state.

Occasionally capturing a bit of history and preserving it is one of the reasons I find making the works I do so fulfilling. Aside from making what I hope are interesting images, it’s very often the history that has more intrigue and can be as compelling as the works.