I’m not going to lie. There are many pictures in this series, 68 total, and please give yourself some time to go through these. Most are aerial shots of the airpark throughout the years, but some are from different Western New York areas. I have broken it up into seven subpages to make it easier to navigate.
I love this silhouette of my father flying his J-3 Cub!
I’ve organized the subpages in chronological order to the best of my ability, and please contact me if you see something out of place or have something to share. I’ve also numbered all of the photos after their descriptions for easy referencing.
I hope you enjoy viewing these pictures as much as I did, and together we are discovering Gardenville Airport/Buffalo Airpark’s history.
Where it all began! The future site of Gardenville Airport/BAP, 1938. (1)
The best aerial photo that I have of Gardenville Airport, 1944. Tony finished building the Quonset hangar, the operations building is only a single story, and the horse stable is being used as a maintenance shop/garage. The remnants of his first “North” hangar are visible, center left, from the devastating fire in February 1943 that destroyed the building. (2)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. Notice “Gardenville Airport” that Tony painted on the Horse Stable roof, lower right. (3)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. Notice paving just started in front of the Quonset hangar, center left. (4)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. Look at all of the undeveloped land at this time! You can just make out French Road at the top of this photo. (5)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. (6)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. (7)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. (8)
Gardenville Airport, 1944. (9)
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The Skyhook was the only helicopter ever produced by Cessna, and it has a fascinating history from what I discovered. Now get yourself a cup of coffee, or a cold beer, and enjoy this little story! After the purchase of the Seibel Helicopter company in 1952, Cessna began the initial design of the CH-1 Skyhook…
My father Tony first purchased a 20-acre lot located in Gardenville, New York, including two buildings, a farmhouse, and a small horse barn in 1938 at the age of 27. He converted the farmhouse into the beginning of the first operations office for his Gardenville Airport. Tony completely redesigns the interior to include a custom…
Since this is the 43rd anniversary of The Blizzard of 1977, it’s only fitting to look back at the hanger collapse at Buffalo Air-Park and remember the planes that were lost. I was only 9 at that time and still remember the sadness I felt seeing so much destruction. Discover more from Buffalo Air-Park Subscribe…
For today’s blog post, I thought it’d be cool to dive into the story of the Globe Swift—a sporty little airplane that holds a special place in my family’s history. You see, back in 1946, my dad was actually a certified dealer for these sleek machines. He always said the Swift reminded him of a…
My father was born in Italy on October 31st, 1911. He became a US citizen in June of 1920 along with his parents, my grandparents, Michele and Anmina Riccio. He would have been 108 years old. He passed away on February 5th, 1976. I remember as a young kid that Halloween wasn’t a day he…
I believe this photo was taken sometime in the 1940’s. The original building was only a single story and then Tony added the second story later on. Also added was a right rear addition for the snack bar and restrooms. The front service area was to the left as you walked through the front door…
