Sunday, November 1, 2015

#FlashbackFriday: 10 Amazing Old-School Airport Terminals

I'm of an age when going to an airport -- along with getting on a flight -- was a special occasion.  In the 1970s, my family moved from the United States to a military base outside London. Our flight to London Heathrow Airport was flown out of the iconic Pan Am Worldport at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. I remember my New York cousins came to see us off, and everyone was dressed for the occasion. I culled my Classic Airport Terminals Pinterest board to bring you photos from another part of the Golden Age of Travel. 

 - Photo courtesy of EverythingPanAm.com
Photo courtesy of EverythingPanAm.com

1.  Pan Am Worldport

This photo, from EverythingPanAm.com, offers an aerial view of JFK Airport's Pan Am Worldport. The Worldport, designed by designed by Ives, Turano & Gardner Associated Architects and Walther Prokosch of Tippets-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton, was opened on May 24, 1960. It was originally built as a monument to international jet travel. After declaring bankruptcy on January 8, 1991, Delta Air Lines bought Pan Am's  remaining profitable assets, including its remaining European routes and Frankfurt mini hub, the New York Shuttle operation, 45 jets, and the Worldport, all for $416 million. Delta demolished in November 2013 after it moved into its new Terminal 4 home on May 13, 2013. ;

 - Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory
A seaplane terminal in Dinner Key, Florida, in 1930. Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

2.  Dinner Key seaplane terminal

From Dinner Key in 1930, Pan American inaugurated flying boat service to Latin America. The former naval air base at Dinner Key was selected by Pan Am as the base for its inter-American operation. Its inaugural flight from Dinner Key was to Panama  on December 1, 1930. PAA sold Dinner Key to the City of Miami in 1946.  ;

 - Photo courtesy of nyc-architecture.com
Photo courtesy of nyc-architecture.com

3.  TWA Flight Center

The iconic TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, designed by architect Eero Saarinen, opened in 1962. Construction of JetBlue's Terminal 5 was completed in October 2008. In July 2015, it was announced that the facility would be turned into a hotel. New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission made the facility's interior and exterior an official landmark in July 1994. ;

 - Photo courtesy of Flavorwire
Photo courtesy of Flavorwire

4.  Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

The airport opened on January 13, 1974. This photo, from the 1970s, is a photo of DFW's main lobby.  ;

 - Photo courtesy of Balthazar Korab/http://bit.ly/1FkpT5t
Photo courtesy of Balthazar Korab/http://bit.ly/1FkpT5t

5.  Washington Dulles International Airport

The airport is located in Chantilly, Virginia, on 12,000 acres of land in the suburbs of downtown Washington, D.C. The iconic Main Terminal opened on November 17, 1962. It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen, who also designed the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport.   ;

 - Photo courtesy of the golldiecat.tripod.com blog
Photo courtesy of the golldiecat.tripod.com blog

6.  Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport

This photo from the 1970s show Eastern Airlines Boeing 727s parked at the airport's Concourse B.   ;

 - Photo courtesy of the Wichita Airport Authority
Photo courtesy of the Wichita Airport Authority

7.  Wichita Municipal Airport

This airport opened in April 1954 and had flights to Denver, Amarillo, Oklahoma City and Kansas City. The airport's first jet flight, in 1964, was operated by TWA.  ;

 - Photo courtesy of the USC Digital Library
Photo courtesy of the USC Digital Library

8.  Los Angeles International Airport

 This is a photo of the iconic Theme Building at LAX, home of Encounter restaurant. The building was designed by James Langenheim, of Pereira & Luckman. The photo was taken sometime in the 1960s. ;

 - Photo courtesy of Andrew Stiffler
Photo courtesy of Andrew Stiffler

9.  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Technically, this is more a photo of colorful Braniff Boeing 727s (you're welcome, Henry), but you can see a sliver of the carrier's terminal at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  ;

 - Photo courtesy of Unreal Hawaii
Photo courtesy of Unreal Hawaii

10.  Honolulu International Airport

From 1956, here  is Pan Am's the Clipper Glory of the Skies parked in front of Honolulu International Airport. In that decade, the airport was a popular stop to handle the Korean Airlift operation. It also served as a stop and destination for airlines including Belgium's Sabena, Eastern Airlines, Western Airlines, Flying Tigers, United Airlines and American Airlines. 

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