Griffiss Air Force Base Technology Park, Rome, NY

We took a short drive to Rome, NY, to visit Griffiss Air Force Base Technology Park. Planes, especially military planes, just don’t float my boat. Real snoozers. But I have two sons who are crazy about machinery. Aren’t all boys? So this is for them.

Griffiss was an AFB for decades before the Clinton Administration downsized it. The city of Rome developed it into a technology park, and, among other things, also hosted a debauched rerun of Woodstock in 1999 here. The AFB was named for the first U.S. airman killed in action during WWII, Townsend Griffiss.

For most of its operation, the base was equipped with B-52 stratofortresses. All are gone except the “Mohawk Valley.” Read more