It was originally constructed in 1936, and became an American military base in 1945 (closing in 2005). Most folks would argue that it was mostly shut down by 1997.
For me, it was a special base. You could walk out of your barracks...hike up to the front gate, and be on a bus to the Flughafen in a matter of fifteen minutes. Or you could walk an extra 15 minutes and reach the small railway station at Zeppelinheim that had a train every fifteen to twenty minutes into Frankfurt.
You basically had five places to eat on the base: the chow hall, the AAFES cafe, the German cantina, the bowling alley, or the NCO Club.
Your entertainment situation? Well....you had the gym, a base theater which had no hot water (meaning they refused to sell you sodas), and AFN-TV. In the summer period, you'd exit the rear (walk-in) gate and hike for twenty minutes over to the sand-pit lake.
So all of this led you to often leave the base and check out Frankfurt.
The base remains of today? Non-existent. I sat and looked over a Google overhead imagery shot. Other than the old hotel near the front-gate, there is nothing left there. It appears that every single building that existed in the 1990s era....is gone. The Flughafen? It's utilized every inch of the property. Other than a small memorial to the airlift era area near the autobahn, there's nothing left.
3 comments:
I remember being 'stuck' there for a couple days in 1991 before they moved me to Wiesbaden AB. I remember going back to Rhein Main for a couple car shows and some dinners at InterContinental Hotel. I remember that monument to the Air Lift as well. But as they say, the only constant is change.
There is even less left today. I went for a walk at the former recreation area across the A5 and next to Zeppelimheim. Nothing left but a few old beer and pop cans amongst the trees. The buildings were all teared down. Very sad.
I was there 86-89. You are right it was a cool era and location. I found this page just reminiscing and wondering what was left.
Post a Comment