Miller Army Air Field Historic District, Staten Island, New York

Torres-Reyes, Ricardo; Greenwood, Richard

The significance of Seaplane Hangar No. 38, the Elm Tree Light, and the Fire Control Tower lies in their direct association with early aviation history, history of the coast defenses of New York, and the lighthouse service. The hangar appears to be of a unique type of design. The establishment of Miller Army Field was largely the product of studies made by the Joint Army and Navy Board on Aeronautical Cognizance. The Joint Board had concluded shortly before World War I that a system of aerial coast defense stations should be constructed to supplement the existing coast defenses. Appropriations for the creation of such air stations were made before the war, but it was not until August 1, 1918, that the construction of seven hydroplane stations on the Atlantic Coast was authorized by the Secretary of War. On January 5, 1920, the Air Service Coast Defense Field at New Dorp was officially designated Miller Field, in honor of Captain James Ely Miller, a native of New York City, who was the first aviator serving with an American Unit to be killed in combat in France. Captain Miller was killed in a dogfight with two German airplanes on March 9, 1918, while serving as the commander of the 85th Air Squadron. The new field was well located for harbor defense purposes, as it was centrally situated and within close range of Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton, on either side of the Narrows, Fort Hancock, on Sandy Hook and newly-established Fort Tilden on Rockaway Peninsula.