Nearly a half century ago, plans were in motion to construct one of the world’s largest airports on a manmade island in the middle of Lake Erie.
The massive new island airport, which would have replaced Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), took flight in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Like many ideas in confident post-World War II America, the $1.2 billion proposed Cleveland Jetport, also known as the Lake Erie International Jetport, was intended to be an engineering marvel for the ages.
The Cleveland Jetport was the brainchild of Dr. Abe Silverstein. Considered one of the architects of America’s space program, he was an engineer at the Cleveland-based National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). When NACA restructured in the late 1950s to become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Silverstein helped plan the Apollo, Ranger, Mariner, Surveyor, and Voyager missions. He was also responsible for naming the Apollo program.
Although Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher first announced in 1966 that Cleveland would soon outgrow its airport, Silverstein envisioned transforming Cleveland into a global hub of commerce and transportation. He believed that Hopkins Airport was too small and outdated to meet the needs of a growing city and a rapidly expanding – yet still regulated – airline industry.
The Cleveland Jetport Terminal Would Have Been Ten Times the Size of the Pentagon
Silverstein’s solution was extraordinarily ambitious. He envisioned a sprawling complex constructed on an artificial island five miles off the coast of downtown Cleveland in the middle of Lake Erie. The new airport would feature multiple runways, a terminal ten times larger than the Pentagon, and state-of-the-art cargo and maintenance facilities. The Cleveland Jetport would be a hub for both commercial and private aviation, with ample space to accommodate the largest passenger planes, cargo jets, and smaller regional aircraft. The new airport would also feature accessibility for what was sure to become the next big thing in aviation – supersonic transport.
But the Cleveland Jetport was more than just a plan for a new airport. It was a grand vision for the future of Cleveland, a city that had fallen on hard times in the wake of deindustrialization and urban decay. Silverstein saw the Jetport as a way to revitalize Cleveland’s economy and bring new opportunities to a struggling city.
A Beacon of Hope for A Struggling Cleveland
The proposed island location for the Cleveland Jetport received much support, especially early on. The Boeing 747 was about to come online, supersonic transport was seemingly imminent, and noise pollution was becoming an issue at Cleveland Hopkins’ increasingly suburban location. Proponents of the new Jetport believed it would meet the needs of all these issues.
The Cleveland Jetport quickly became a topic of heated debate in the city. Supporters of the project saw it as a bold and visionary plan that would transform Cleveland into a significant player on the global stage. They argued that the new airport would bring in billions of dollars in revenue and create thousands of new jobs, both in construction and in the ongoing operation of the airport.
A Colossal Waste of Money and Resources
Opponents of the project, however, saw it as a colossal waste of money and resources. They argued that the Cleveland Jetport was an extravagant and unnecessary project that would drain public funds and do little to improve the lives of Cleveland residents. They also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the airport, which would require extensive land clearance and could disrupt the fragile ecosystem of Lake Erie.
In the late 1960s, Lake Erie was in bad shape. Pollution was effectively killing the fourth-largest Great Lake. However, planners touted the environmental benefits of the island’s construction from sand and dirt from the bottom of Lake Erie. A 13-mile stone dike would surround the island to protect it from Lake Erie’s notoriously wild storms. A 13-lane causeway featuring auto, bus, truck, and train lanes would connect the Jetport to the mainland.
An Aeronautical Disneyland
Despite the controversy, plans for the Cleveland Jetport moved forward. Officials poured more than $4 million into feasibility studies throughout the early-to-mid-1970s. Silverstein and Mayor Locher believed Hopkins – which opened in 1925 – would be woefully inadequate by the 1990s. In fact, they estimated that by the year 2000, more than 46 million passengers would be flying in and out of Cleveland. Politicians and citizens alike supported what became known as “Aeronautical Disneyland.”
But as the project moved closer to fruition, it became clear that the Cleveland Jetport would face insurmountable obstacles. In particular, the project ran afoul of the new Cleveland Mayor, Dennis Kucinich. A growing chorus of opponents also lambasted the project’s exorbitant cost (especially considering the economic uncertainties of the late 1970s), environmental risks to fragile Lake Erie and migratory bird routes, and extreme weather conditions routinely experienced on the lake.
Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had strict regulations in place for airport construction, raised concerns about the size and scope of the Cleveland Jetport, saying Hopkins would be sufficient for the region’s needs until at least the year 2000. Ultimately, the FAA refused to approve the now $2B project and, in 1978, pulled support for the endeavor. The Cleveland Jetport was dead in the water without the FAA’s blessing.
It Turns Out that Hopkins is Just Fine
Forty-five years later, Hopkins Airport continues to serve the residents of northeast Ohio. Despite a bold prediction of 46 million passengers by 2000, CLE saw just 13.28 million passengers that year.
The airport was once a hub for Continental Airlines, which, in 2010, merged with United Airlines. United officially dehubbed CLE in 2014, and passenger numbers have continued to fall since, with just under 8.7 million passengers recorded in 2022 (after plunging to 4.1 million amid the pandemic in 2020).
A Symbol of What Could Have Been
Looking back on the Cleveland Jetport project, it’s easy to see both the proposal’s ambition and folly. On the one hand, Abe Silverstein’s vision for a massive new airport to bring new economic opportunities to Cleveland was undoubtedly bold and forward-thinking. On the other hand, the project was plagued by unrealistic expectations and logistical challenges that ultimately proved insurmountable.
Despite these challenges, the legacy of the Cleveland Jetport lives on in the imaginations of many Clevelanders. The project symbolized the city’s ambition and determination to reinvent itself in the face of economic adversity. Even though the airport itself was never more than an idea, the concept of a massive new transportation hub that could bring new life and vitality to the city continues to inspire Cleveland residents to this day.
In some ways, the story of the Cleveland Jetport is a cautionary tale about the perils of overambition and unrealistic expectations. While it’s important to dream big and pursue bold ideas, it’s also essential to be realistic about the practical challenges and limitations that any project will face. The Cleveland Jetport may have been a grand vision for the future of Cleveland, but ultimately, it was a project that was simply too big and too complex to become a reality.
