Cahokia Heights in St. Clair County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

St. Louis Downtown Airport (Parks Airport)

Photographed By Jason Voigt, October 1, 2019

1. St. Louis Downtown Airport (Parks Airport) Marker

Inscription. In 1929 the airport opened as the Curtis-Steinberg Airport. It was developed by a business consortium that included Mark Steinberg - a St. Louis financier and Curtis Wright - the owner of an aircraft and engine manufacturing firm. The group's purpose was to provide the St. Louis area with a high quality air termunes.

In 1940, Oliver Parks leased the airport and it was renamed Curtis-Parks. In the mid 40's the name was changed to Parks Metropolitan Airport. The dark day came in 1959, when the airport closed."

The rebirth of the airport came in 1965 under the new name of Bi-State Parks Airport. During this period McDonnell Douglas Corporation built test facilities for the Gemini space capsules here.

In 1984 the name was changed once again - St. Louis Downtown-Park Airport. Throughout the 1990's the business park around the airport continued to grow with new hangars and businesses locating at the airport, making it what it is today.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.

Location. 38° 34.256′ N, 90° 11.311′ W. Marker is in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, in St. Clair County. Marker is at the intersection of East 1st Street and Church Street, on the right when

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traveling west on East 1st Street. Marker is located along with several others around a clock structure at the Cahokia Wedge (a grassy area), across from Church of the Holy Cross. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 124 Church Street, East Saint Louis IL 62206, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Parks Air College (a few steps from this marker); Cahokia Association for the Tricentennial (a few steps from this marker); Lewis and Clark in Illinois (a few steps from this marker); Revolutionary War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Cahokia - The Birthplace of the Midwest (within shouting distance of this marker); Cahokia (within shouting distance of this marker); 13 Star Day (within shouting distance of this marker); The Grand Plan (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cahokia Heights.

Also see . . .
1. St. Louis Downtown Airport. Official website for the airport. (Submitted on November 23, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)

2. St. Louis Downtown Airport on Wikipedia. Wikipedia page for the airport, with some history and additional information (Submitted on November 23, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)

Photographed By Jason Voigt, October 1, 2019

2. St. Louis Downtown Airport (Parks Airport) Marker

Marker is in the front, facing the clock structure

Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 22, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 241 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 22, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.