Property Record
4105 Airport Road
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Land O’ Lakes Municipal Airport Administration Building |
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| Reference Number: | 238262 |
| Location (Address): | 4105 Airport Road |
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| County: | Vilas |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Land O'Lakes |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1963 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2018 |
| Historic Use: | airport |
| Architectural Style: | Rustic Style |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Log |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | This record is part of a collection of records. See also: #238263 #238264 #238265 #238266 #238267 #238268 #238269 #238270 #238271 #238272 #238273 #238274 #238275 #238276 #238277 #238278 #238279 #238280 #238281 #238282 #238283 #238284 #28285 John King, born in 1875 in Detroit as John H. Kunsky, was a self-made entrepreneur and theatre-magnate who owned and operated twenty-eight movie theaters in Michigan during the 1920s and 1930s. King initially wanted to develop an entertainment destination in Watersmeet, Michigan, not far from Land O' Lakes, but purchased a small cafe and gas station at the intersection of State Highway 45 and County Highway B, just east of the Town of Land O' Lakes in 1936, after passing through the community. He proceeded to construct the Gateway Inn and Lodge and many associated properties, including the airport, over the following few years. King constructed an airfield with a main paved runway, taxiway, a cross grass runway, and associated buildings in 1939 to the south of his resort properties. Aerial photography from 1938 shows a wide and clear area south of the Gateway Lodge, which was under construction at the time. Previously, the level land of the current airport site was occasionally used by pilots as an alternative to the first airport in the region, established in 1931 near Black Oak Lake northwest of Land O' Lakes. Both of these runways were simply grass. Used as a private airfield associated with the Gateway Resort, airplanes would taxi upon arrival right to the lodge building. During World War II, the airport was periodically used as a military training facility. The main airport runway was extended 500 feet and repaved in 1953 to allow DC-3 commercial aircraft, owned and operated by North-Central Airline, to use the airport seasonally, bringing tourists to the Gateway resort and the Northwoods. Land O' Lakes was the smallest town in the country to be served by commercial flights in 1954. King's Gateway Airport, as it was known in the 1940s and 1950s, was privately owned by John King until his death. In 1954, it was donated by his widow, Sarah (Sug) DeMers, tot he Town of Land O' Lakes. The Federal Aviation Administration would not allow commercial flights to land at private airfields, so to maintain and improve tourist flights to the area, the airport was donated and developed by the town. It has since been known as Land O' Lakes Municipal Airport. During this time, the original rustic style airport building was moved to the north side of County Highway B to the north of the airport and used as the Gateway Golf Course clubhouse, which is still extant. A small shack replaced the airport building, for use as a public airport, the same year. In 1963, the Land O' Lakes town board approved the construction of a new administration building for the airport to accommodate the passenger trade along with additional private hangars, which remain presently. Seasonal flights from Chicago by North-Central Airline, ceased in 1965 as the runway could no longer be expanded to accommodate the airline's new turboprop aircraft. Airborne tourism to the area declined considerably. In 1994, the airport received federal funding for improvements and repairs, which included resurfacing and an expansion that would allow small jet aircraft to land. The runway and associated paved taxiways and strips have been repaired, repaved, and added on to repeatedly since the airport was completed. |
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| Bibliographic References: | "Historic Aerial Photographs--Land O' Lakes, Vilas County, 5/12/1938," Wisconsin Historic Aerial Image Finder. <www.sco.wisc.edu> Accessed November 5, 2018. Helminiak, Jon. Land O' Lakes, Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Wyatt, Barbara, Ed. Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin: Volume II. Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986, Pages Air Transportation 11-1 -- 11-7. Nehring, Barbara. "Gateway History," Land O' Lakes Historical Society Website. <landolakeshistory.org/photo-galleries/gateway-inn-hotel/> Accessed October 30, 2018. "Gateway Lodge History," Gateway Lodge Website. <gateway-lodge.com/history.html> Accessed October 30, 2018. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |