Bowman found an outlet for his enthusiasm after meeting and forming a brief partnership with Louisvillian Robert H. Gast, a pilot and World War I veteran of the Royal Flying Corps.

[2] During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.

Bowman Field was used in the James Bond film Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore's Flying Circus; principal photography of hangars, aircraft, etc., were done there in fall of 1963.

Since many urban airports are located in industrial areas, this verdant setting is unusual and contributes to the ambience of the Bowman Field Historic District.

[5] The dominant landmark of Bowman Field is its terminal, known as the Administration Building, styled in aerodynamic Streamline Moderne, and designed by the firm of Wischmeyer and Arrasmith.

[6] As built in 1929, it was a fairly modest two-story structure with one-story wings, housing administrative and communications offices, weather station, and restaurant.