KCGX
Chicago Meigs Airport
VFR
-
Name
Chicago Meigs Airport
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ICAO
KCGX
- Type
- Region
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Timezone
11:08 pm (CST)
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Municipality
Chicago
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Coordinates
41° 51′ 31″ N 87° 36′ 28″ E
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Elevation
593 ft (181 m MSL)
About Chicago Meigs Airport
Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport (pronounced /mɛgz/, formerly ICAO: KCGX, FAA LID: CGX) was a single-runway airport in Chicago that was in operation from 1948 to 2003, when it was bulldozed overnight by then-mayor Richard M. Daley. The airport was located on Northerly Island, an artificial peninsula on Lake Michigan adjacent to downtown Chicago, the second-largest business district in the Western Hemisphere. By 1955, Meigs Field had become the busiest single-strip airport in the United States. The airport was a familiar sight on the downtown lakefront. The latest air traffic tower was built in 1952, and the terminal was dedicated in 1961. The airfield was named for Merrill C. Meigs.
Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley forced the closing of Meigs Field in 2003 by ordering the overnight bulldozing of its runway without notice, in violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.