“On Broken Wings” — Chanute Air Force Base

(Left) Postcard images used courtesy of Wikipedia.

Chanute Air Force base was named in honor of Octave Chanute (1862–1910) who was a friend and adviser to the Wright Brothers.

Chanute Air Force Base, (formerly Chanute Field) is located in Rantoul, IL and dates back to World War I. Even though the US was the birthplace of powered flight, the military was doing very little to build up its air strength. As of April 1917 the US had one squadron and only about 250 aircraft. France started the war with over 1,500 aircraft. The US had some catching up to do!

Congress appropriated $640 million to build up the Air Service by opening ground schools at eight colleges and establishing twenty-seven flying fields to train pilots. The City of Rantoul was selected because it was one of the few level sites in Illinois in close proximity to the Illinois Central Railroad and the ground school at the University of Illinois.

Construction of the airfield began on May 22 1917 and after two months of hard work by 2,000 men and 200 teams of horses, it was completed on July 22 1917.

Chanute experienced a major growth spurt during World War II. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, people flocked to Chanute by the thousands in order to enlist in the US Army Air Forces. So many people were coming in that the 15,000 man quarters were insufficient and many soldiers ended up being temporally housed in tents. The training programs at Chanute reached their peak in January of 1943 with a total of 25,000 people.

On 22 March 1941, the first all-black fighter squadron was activated at Chanute Field. Formed without pilots with the purpose of training the officer corps and ground support personnel, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was the first unit of what popularly became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Over 250 enlisted men were trained in aircraft ground support including airplane mechanics, supply clerks, armorers, and weather forecasters.

After World War II, the US established the Air Force as a separate military service and Chanute Field became known as Chanute Air Force Base.

“Built in response to the pre-World War II massive mobilization, (White Hall) was originally a self-contained multi-purpose troop barracks for 2,200 men. It included a barber shop, post office, communications office, mess hall, bakery, library, and study halls when it was completed in 1940.”– Library of Congress

White Hall is a 500,000-square-foot building that spans 11 football fields and was the largest military center before the Pentagon was built in 1941.

Aerial view of Chanute’s White hall, taken from Google Maps

This was easily one of the more toxic locations I have visited. Asbestos, and mold were abundant. Many of the inside rooms had standing water. Drop ceilings had fallen, along with light fixtures, and everything was rusted. In most of the interior spaces there were calcium stalactites and stalagmites as if the ceilings were dissolving. We used breathers in parts of the building especially in areas that were closed off with no outside air circulation. After the shoot I found EPA reports online that talked of heavy contamination on the grounds, and even some articles which claimed the possibility of “Agent Orange” on the site.

Many rooms in White hall were designated for classroom space, and there was no shortage of painted inspirational wall murals around the base. Walking into one room in particular I saw just above where the chalkboard used to be, large block letters spelling out “You’ll Move Forward Fast”. I could not help but laugh at the irony of the scene!

A few of them were not so inspirational 😉

All in all we explored the decaying remains of this historic Air Force base for about 6 hours. There was so much to see given the size of the location.

And here are a few “before and after”‘s

(Above) Historic image, courtesy of the Library of congress.

(Above) Historic image, courtesy of the Library of congress.

At the end of 2013, Rantoul, IL received the green light to begin demolition of the massive White Hall. The Asbestos will be removed and the building demolished sometime in the coming years.

The Art of Abandonment

Walter Arnold Photography

All images are copyrighted by Walter Arnold Photography except where noted. None of these images may be used without permission.