Logan Billingsly and his Aviation Field
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REPRINTED FROM 12-23-2010
This statue of Theodore Roosevelt was sculpted by Vincent Miserendino and stood in the
center of the Theodore Roosevelt Apartments on the Grand Concourse at 171st Street. The
complex, touted as the largest 6-story apartment dwelling in the nation, was constructed
by Logan Billingsly and is thought to have been fi nanced by the mob. It opened in 1924. The
sculptor, by the way, is interred in St. Raymond Cemetery here in the Bronx.
I recall giving a lecture at Barnes
and Noble a good number of years ago
about the land occupied by Freedomland
and later, Co-op City. It drew a
great crowd with standing room only
as Co-op City people generally show a
great deal of interest in their community.
I mentioned the cucumber farm
and the aviation fi eld that once existed
thereat and just recently found some
further information on the airfi eld
thanks to Nick DiBrino.
It was called the Billingsly Aviation
Field and opened on August 5, 1927
with quite a bang. I write “with quite
a bang” because the very fi rst plane
to land there crashed as it touched
down. It was a Curtis biplane and was
piloted by Walter Mitchell. Oddly, the
week before the grand opening the
same plane crashed and lost both of its
wings when it struck a tree while trying
to land.
The opening day fi asco was worse
as the biplane struck a car destroying
both the car and the plane. The vehicle
was a Ford belonging to William
Critter of 3714 Dyre Avenue here in the
Bronx. The biplane lost one wing, the
landing gear and fuselage as it landed
on its nose. The pilot, who, by the way,
was not hurt, was trying to avoid the
crowds that had gathered for the grand
event. They were treated to quite a
show. Prior to the big event, Mitchell
had fl own over the Bronx dropping fl yers
announcing the grand opening ceremony
and the big crowd is what precipitated
the crash.
The airfi eld was named for Logan
Billingsly, a developer, who was a major
real estate developer and builder during
that era. There is a photograph on
page 113 in my book “Images of America:
South Bronx” published by Arcadia
in 2002. It shows a statue of Theodore
Roosevelt at the apartment building
constructed by Billingsly and named
for Roosevelt at 1475 Grand Concourse
at East 171st Street. It’s a grand statue
but unfortunately was removed a number
of years ago and can be seen only in
old photos like the one in my book. Logan,
born in Tennessee, had moved to
Enid, Oklahoma at the age of 10 and attended
Oklahoma University. Both he
and his brother, Sherman, eventually
migrated to New York where they both
became involved in the real estate business
which led to their interest in the
building industry.
Sherman partnered with the mob
right after Prohibition and opened
the Stork Club which became phenomenally
popular attracting all the elite
of New York society. Mad Dog Coll became
a little jealous of not getting any
of the action and kidnapped Billingsly.
He collected the $25,000 ransom
but Sherman’s mob partners didn’t
much like that and put a hit out for Coll
which led to Mad Dog’s assassination
in a telephone booth in 1932. The assassin
was paid $50,000. Coll was now
out of the way but Sherman’s partners
didn’t know who might follow so they
sold out to him and Billingsly became
the sole owner as far as anyone knows.
Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll, by the way, is
buried in St. Raymond Cemetery here
in the Bronx. The Stork Club is long
closed down but the Billingsly family
still thrives. There is even a Billingsly
Terrace here in the Bronx named
for Logan. It’s located just east of Sedgwick
Avenue between West Tremont
and West Burnside Avenues. He is, by
the way, largely responsible for having
the Grand Concourse extended south
to 138th Street.
BRONX SCENE