The Goodyear Blimp Made Stops in 1975 & 1982, Drawing Approximately 36,000
In the late afternoon of July 15, 1975, the Goodyear Blimp approached the Watertown Municipal Airport giving the local residents a sight seldom seen. The Watertown Daily Times reported “house painting stopped, newspaper and broadcast switchboards lit up, cars were quickly pulled to the roadside and everywhere heads turned upward.” Those who were in downtown Watertown at the right moment and looking up may have been fortunate to see the blimp hover over the Hotel Woodruff.
It had been well over 75 to 100+ years since the hot air balloon ascensions drew thousands to Public Square, the Fairgrounds and Glen Park, but during the 70s and 80s, the Goodyear Blimp made several stops drawing the same kind of spectacle. Blimps had previously came close to the city, once in 1958 when winds kept a navy blimp from flying over the city and causing to drift toward Kingston, Ontario, and again in 1967 when a second blimp was spotted from the Thousand Island Bridge, but 1975 proved to be a memorable occasion for many.
The Times reporter Aralynn Abare wrote in the July 16th, 1975 edition—
By the time the blimp finally docked at Watertown Municipal Airport hundreds had arrived to watch the landing.
“We never expected that many people,” Robert Cratsenberg, airport managers, said, adding that air shows are the only other event that would draw such a crowd.
Karl Burns, chairman of the airport commission, said that people were still coming at 10:30 p.m.
It was later reported that over 25,000 people had come to the airport to witness the Goodyear Blimp. Only four blimps with the Goodyear name existed: the one in Watertown that day was named America and based in Houston, Texas, while The Mayflower was based in Miami, the Columbia in Los Angeles and Europa in Rome, Italy.
The America was making a stop on its way to Montreal where it was scheduled to work with the Canadian Broadcasting Company to televise the Canadian Open Golf Tournament later that month. It would make a second stop at the end of July on its way back from Montreal.
June 1982 Goodyear Blimp Visits
Seven years after the Goodyear Blimp’s first visit, a newer blimp named “Enterprise” made two stops once again on its way to and from Montreal. The Times reported on May 26, 1982—
The Goodyear Blimp will visit Watertown twice next month, the Watertown Airport Commission announced Monday.
The blimp, on a trip to Montreal, will stay overnight at the airport the night of June 7 on its way to Montreal, and on June 15 on the return trip.
The Enterprise, based in Florida, was ultimately delayed one day and rescheduled to arrive on Tuesday from Detroit, Michigan.
On June 9th, The Times wrote of the Goodyear Blimp Enterprise’s arrival at the renamed Watertown International Airport—
“I’d like to say it’s lead. You know, a ‘lead’ zeppelin,” quipped one of the 16 members of the Goodyear Blimp ground crew at Watertown International Airport Tuesday.
Actually the 192-foot-long blimp Enterprise, which landed at the local airport on a trip from Detroit to Montreal, is constructed of a rubber-coated polyester fabric shell filled with 202,700 cubic feet of helium.
It’s neither lead nor a zeppelin.
The Enterprise, named for the yacht Enterprise (1930 winner of the America’s Cup), has no rigid internal framework, as does a zeppelin.
The Goodyear Blimp landed “to the delight of thousands of curious onlookers.” On its way back, it arrived on the 14th, a Monday afternoon, having covered the Montreal Grand Prix during the past weekend. It was subsequently grounded due to thunderstorms and high wind in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Buffalo and Niagara Falls region.
It was estimated more than 11,000 persons had visited during the two stops in 1982, the first drawing about 8,000.
The Modern Era Visits of the Goodyear Blimp
After a 22-year absence, the Goodyear Blimp returned to Dexter at the Watertown International Airport in July of 2007 and again in 2017. The 2007 event drew a few hundred to the airport as the spectacle wasn’t much of one in an era where more eyes were upon the sky looking for something more unusual.
The modern incarnation of the Goodyear Blimp made two visits once again in 2017, documented in the video people from the Watertown Daily Times YouTube channel:
