Airpark Nebraska

Airpark, Nebraska

Airpark (often written “Air Park”) is a residential and light-industrial neighborhood in northwest Lincoln, Nebraska, built on part of the site of the former Lincoln Air Force Base after the Air Force closed it in 1966. It sits in Lancaster County immediately south and east of Lincoln Airport, centered roughly around NW 48th Street and Mike Scholl Street, ZIP code 68524.

Unlike most entries in this directory, Airpark is not a separately incorporated town — it is a neighborhood of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska’s state capital and second-largest city. It has its own Lincoln Parks & Recreation community center and its own Lincoln Public Schools elementary school, both legacies of the Air Force base’s housing area that once stood here.

History

The airfield dates to 1928, when the City of Lincoln built a 160-acre municipal airport northwest of downtown and named it for Charles Lindbergh, who had learned to fly at an earlier Lincoln airfield in 1922. The Army took it over in 1942 as Lincoln Army Air Field, running one of the country’s few aircraft-engine mechanics schools and training tens of thousands of ground crew during World War II.

The Air Force reactivated the base in 1954 as a Strategic Air Command installation, and by the early 1960s it was home to more than 90 B-47 Stratojet bombers, KC-97 aerial tankers, and a squadron of Atlas-F intercontinental ballistic missiles. At its 1962 peak, Lincoln Air Force Base had a population of about 7,000 and an annual payroll of $26.6 million, making it, in effect, the fifth-largest “town” in Nebraska. The base closed on June 25, 1966; its housing and support buildings were converted into the civilian Airpark neighborhood, and the surrounding land was redeveloped as the Air Park West industrial area. Lincoln Airport itself stayed open and remains a joint civil-military field — the Nebraska Air National Guard’s 155th Air Refueling Wing still flies KC-135R Stratotankers from it today.

Location & Access

Setting: Northwest Lincoln, adjoining Lincoln Airport, in Lancaster County
Coordinates: approximately 40.85° N, 96.76° W
Elevation: about 1,219 feet (Lincoln Airport field elevation)
Designation: Unincorporated neighborhood within the City of Lincoln; ZIP code 68524

Adjacent Counties

Lancaster County borders Seward County and Butler County (northwest), Saunders County (north), Cass County (northeast), Otoe County and Johnson County (southeast), Gage County (south), and Saline County (southwest).

Nearby Towns

Airpark sits at the northwest edge of Lincoln itself, Nebraska’s state capital, second-largest city, and the seat of Lancaster County. Outside Lincoln’s city limits, the closest incorporated villages are Malcolm (platted 1877, population 457 as of the 2020 census, about 14 miles northwest) and Raymond (incorporated 1892, population 159, about 15 miles north).

Points of Interest

• Air Park Community Center and Williams Branch Library: A Lincoln Parks & Recreation facility at 4900 Mike Scholl Street with a gymnasium, fitness rooms, meeting space, and an on-site branch of Lincoln City Libraries; built in 2009 on part of the old base housing area.
• Air Park West Open Field: An open field at NW 48th & Seward Street used for team practices and games, part of the Air Park West industrial area that replaced the former base’s runways and support buildings.

Education & Health

Schools: Arnold Elementary School, part of Lincoln Public Schools, sits at 5000 Mike Scholl Street. Built in 1959 as the Air Force base’s housing-area school and named for World War II air commander Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, it moved into a shared building with the Air Park Community Center and Williams Branch Library in 2009.
Health: As part of the City of Lincoln, Airpark is served by Lincoln’s citywide hospital and clinic network rather than a stand-alone facility.