Red Butte Airfield, Arizona

Abandoned Places, Williams, Arizona

Abandoned Red Butte Airfield
We explored the abandoned Red Butte Airfield which was the old Grand Canyon Airport in the late 20s. This place is a hidden gem just south of the Grand Canyon and in good shape for its age. The hanger is huge with a few rooms still intact. Also the site includes a house just up the road and even a bunker. The house is in dangerous shape with what appears to be black mold and I would advise not to enter.

History:
In 1927, former WW1 Army flyer, entrepreneur & promoter Parker Van Zandt created a runway across a northern Arizona meadow at a place called Red Butte, built a hangar, and launched the first commercial air tours over the nearby Grand Canyon. His Scenic Airways was bankrolled by some of the biggest names in American business (such as Henry Ford).

Its first flights carried National Park Service & Fred Harvey Company officials over the Canyon in a Stinson Detroiter. Scenic Airways flew its first paying sightseers over the Grand Canyon in April 1928, a month later bringing online the first of more than a dozen AT-4 & AT-5 Tri-Motors purchased from the Ford Motor Company. In addition to a large hangar at Red Butte, 4 cottages & a Great House were built. The Great House was of the same quality as the El Tovar Lodge.

Date: 04.06.2014
Temp: 64°
Elevation: 6680 ft
DD (decimal degrees)*
Latitude: 35.851967
Longitude: -112.092033
DMS (degrees, minutes, secondes)*
Latitude: +35° 51' 7.08"
Longitude: -112° 5' 31.32"

History:
www.harrietquimby.org

Historic Photograph:
azmemory.azlibrary.gov
Winter at Red Butte [c1935], A winter storm arrives at Red Butte Airport.