Saturday, March 28, 2009

Enlisted Men's Club at Mitchel Field

The Enlisted Men's Club at Mitchel Field, or Mitchel Air Force Base in Garden City.  Mitchel Field was home to a number of Air Force units including a number of fighter groups, and was in use from 1918 to 1961.  After the Air Force turned over possession of the property to Nassau County the land was redeveloped and today hosts a number of things including the Long Island Children's Museum and the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

Click below to see Mitchel Field with its runways intact in a 1966 aerial shot.

9 comments:

Paratrooper said...

Do you have any pictures of the old Officers Club? I have heard a few stories about it, supposedly it was the place to be from the late 40's till the early 60's. Air Force Officers came from all over the US on the weekends to be at the Officers Club. One story was the heir (female) to Newsday promised Kennedy the papers support if he closed Mitchel Field. This was because the Commanding Officer broke his engagement to her for another girl.

maeve said...

WOW I use to go here as a kid, my girlfriends father worked at Mitchell Field, he was in the Air Force. Lots of fond memories at the PX and bowling alley too!!

Unknown said...

I ATTENDED NCC IN THE MID 70'S AND WOULD HOP THE FENCE TO EXPLORE THE OLD OFFICERS CLUB WHICH WAS DETERIORATING. IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT TO HIGH STANDARDS: BRICK, PLASTER, SLATE ROOF. THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF IT, AND THE REASON I'M WRITING THIS, THE FRESCO ON THE WALL OF THE GREAT ROOM. DO ANY PHOTOS EXIST OF THIS GREAT ART? IT WAS FLAKING OFF THE WALL WHEN I SAW IT, BUT WAS STILL FANTASTIC. I WILL DESCRIBE IT: THE ROLLING LANDSCAPE OF LI, DIVIDED INTO NEAT FARMS. OVERHEAD, IN BIG CLOUDS, WAS A FIGHTER AIRPLANE WITH A TOOTHY SMILE ANCHORED TO THE CLOUD. NEARBY WERE FIGHTER PILOTS IN LEATHER FLIGHT JACKETS AND HELMETS KNEELING IN THE CLOUDS, SHOOTING DICE, WHILE AN OFFICER SCOWLS AT THEM. FLOATING NEARBY WERE CHERUBIC ANGELS WITH SLINGSHOTS. BEER BOTTLES AND PLAYING CARDS WERE SCATTERED IN THE CLOUDS. ANYONE REMEMBER THIS? WHO IS THE ARTIST?

Anonymous said...

My sister and I were born at the Mitchel Field AFB Hospital. Does anyone have pictures to post here from 1953 - 1956. The hospital supposedly closed some time after Jan 1955.

Anonymous said...

I too was born at the Mitchel Field AFB hospital. I was born in April 1959, and it was still in use then. What I would like to know is if I was born in the handsome brick building that was built around 1929/1930 or if there was a different hospital by then. There is another Mitchel Field website that has a photo from 1961 that identifies what had been the hospital as the Base Dental Clinic. Can any old AF hands help here??? I would like to have a photo of the hospital from around 1959. Regards, Tom

markboulder said...

I too was born in the hospital at Mitchel AFB in August, 1953. If anyone has photos, press clippings, stories or the like I would love to have copies. Please write me at markbouldeR@yahoo.com. Much Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I too was born at Mitchel Field NY (1953) and there is a postcard of the hospital being sold on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Postcard-Main-Hospital-Mitchel-Field-New-York-/310357712172

AMC said...

I was just at the Mitchel site today and what was apparently the club is now being used as a hospitality services building. There weren't any frescos but two chandeliers remained in what was originally a ballroom and that's all the staff knew. May not have been the right building...there were just so many!

Unknown said...

Paul Martin ( not the Paul who comments above - all in capitals ) has posted photos of the great room. Unfortunately, the fresco is mostly gone by time he photographed it.