Say What? Loveland’s Forgotten Airport On the West Side of Town
It seems like there's been something there at the corner of Eisenhower and Wilson forever. Forever is not the case, because before there was JAX or Kmart, there was an airport.
"An airport in Loveland," it just seems crazy to say out loud, doesn't it? We all know about the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, and many of us may remember the 'Downtown' airport in Fort Collins off of Mulberry, which closed in 2010, but one in Loveland? Really?
Having grown up in Loveland, and living in Loveland you would think that I knew this already, but somehow it slipped by. A friend was talking with an older friend of theirs, and that person brought up how there was an airfield where JAX is now. My friend alerted me to the information, and I reached out to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport for more information.
They confirmed that Loveland had an airport (an airfield) east of Rist Benson Reservoir. They even sent me a map of the old Loveland Municipal Airport:
As you look at the map, you can see that Wilson Avenue isn't even a street yet; Estrella seems to have been the main north/south artery. For reference, here's a Google Maps image of the area:
Northern Colorado Regional Airport let me know that in 1960, Lovelanders voted to join Fort Collins in putting in an airport that would be not only for general aviation (as the two cities' airports were at the time) but for commuter service as well, like today's Avelo. The FAA provided the land, and a few years later, Loveland Municipal Airport and Fort Collins' Christman Field both closed as the new airport was ready.
Interesting, right?