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Today, there are two private airports in San Mateo County. One is located in San Carlos, along the mid-Peninsula, and the other is Half Moon Bay Airport on the coast. San Mateo County was home to several other airports, which have disappeared into the dust of history. Let’s take a quick journey back in time and recollect these forgotten hubs of yesteryear. Continued from last week …
* San Mateo Airport
The earliest depiction of this airport is in 1941.
A group of six locals formed the San Mateo Airport Association and operated the facility. In its early years of operation, the main runway ran parallel to the Bay Shore Highway. Gamblers patronized this airport due to its close proximity to the nearby Bay Meadows Race Track.
It was located just north of the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 92. The paved runway was 2,200 feet long.
The airport closed in 1954.
* Belmont Airport
The airport was established by two pilots in 1939.
It was called Belmont Landing Field because it was immediately south of the San Mateo line, where El Camino Real descends slightly as you enter Belmont just north of Ralston Avenue.
The runway was unpaved, and there were two hangers. However, a 1945 directory indicated there were two unpaved runways roughly 3,000 feet long. Available services included fuel, repairs, sales, training and hangers.
From 1945 through 1951, the airport hosted a variety of surplus military planes, including PT-13, -15, & -17s, BT-13s, and AT-6s.
Three flying clubs based themselves here, and as a result, Belmont Landing Field became a popular social gathering place for locals.
However, the airport became a victim of population growth.
In 1951, a residential development called Sterling Downs Tract replaced the airport. The borders are Chesterton Avenue, Old County Road, Ralston Avenue and Highway 101.
Nesbit Elementary School is located within this neighborhood, including the Sterling Downs Homeowners Association.
Everything else is just history
