On a summer Sunday in 1932, Navy planes and a 21-gun salute dedicated new marine airport facilities at the Buffalo waterfront. Naval Rear Admiral F.R. Lackey stood on the sloping apron of the seabase to deliver remarks:
“Your geographical position here makes Buffalo a natural terminus for all seaplane traffic on the Great Lakes. The building of this airport is evidence that Buffalo does not intend to relinquish her position with respect to aviation.”
The new airport was labeled “another step forward in Buffalo’s history” and amidst the fanfare, a plane took off carrying Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Democratic convention in Chicago, to receive his presidential nomination…