Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport ready for Mardi Gras

Events, Holidays,

No time to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? You could go instead to St. Louis.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is ready to welcome the thousands of visitors expected to visit St. Louis for the annual Historic Soulard Mardi Gras celebration.

For the third year, the airport is hosting an exhibit of St. Louis Mardi Gras posters dating back to 1982. The month-long exhibit is in the Terminal 1 Baggage Claim and in the Terminal 2 ticketing lobby.

February 17, the day prior to the River City Casino Grand Parade, will be Mardi Gras Day at the airport, so don’t be surprised to find airport employees in Mardi Gras garb and to hear live music in both terminals.

The River City Casino Grand Parade takes place on February 18. The city’s month-long calendar of Mardi Gras events wraps up with the Lumiere Place Light Up the Night Fat Tuesday Parade in downtown St. Louis on February 21. For more information see: www.mardigrasinc.com.

Going on the go: bathroom news

Bathrooms, , ,

Although it may be a year before Lambert-St. Louis International Airport can repair Concourse C, which was heavily damaged in a tornado on April 22, 2011, the airport is moving forward with much-needed, scheduled upgrades in the Airport Experience Program.

And right now, airport officials are flushed with pride over some newly renovated restrooms.

All restrooms in Concourse A, Concourse C and Terminal 1 will eventually get renovated, and let’s hope they all look as lovely as the fresh set bathrooms (Men’s, Women’s and a Family Assist) featuring bright white counters, new terrazzo flooring and colorful walls that just opened on Concourse A (near gate 8).

And while we’re talking bathrooms… take a look at The Bathroom Diaries , Mary Ann Racin’s directory of more than 47,000 public restrooms, with a color-coded key for toilet cleanliness and amenities such as changing tables.

Racin says she’s recently overhauled the site, but is still working on some features and functionality and, of course, an iPhone app.

They didn’t call him Lucky Lindy for nothing

Airplanes, Weather, , , , , ,

Talk about luck.

For more than 30 years Charles Lindbergh’s 1932 Monocoupe D-145 hovered over the Concourse C checkpoint at Lambert-St Louis International Airport (STL).

But just last month, to make way for the relocation of that checkpoint, the plane was lowered to the floor, removed from the airport and put in storage at Missouri’s Mount Vernon Municipal Airport.

According to the owner of the company that moved the plane, “Had it still been inside the St. Louis airport when the tornado blew through last Friday, the plane would have taken a direct hit.”

Lucky, right?

That’s what the folks at the Missouri Historical Society are probably thinking. The organization received the plane from Lindbergh back in 1940 and planned to have it restored and put on display at the Mount Vernon Airport while renovations were underway at Lambert.

The timeline for restoring and returning the plane to Lambert airport may be altered a bit by the aftermath of the tornado, but at least the plane is safe and still around.

Tornado closes Lambert-St. Louis Airport indefinitely

Air Travel, Airplanes, Aviation history, Weather, ,

We’ll be getting more details today, but Friday night, April 22nd, an apparent tornado ripped through the St. Louis area and caused so much damage at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport that the airport is now closed indefinitely while they figure out what to do.

Here’s a story from the local TV news station KMOV:

 

Airport spokespeople say at least four people were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries and that:

“At this time, it appears that Terminal 1 and Concourse C suffered the most damage from the storm with high winds that blew out up to 50 percent of windows and caused roof damage as well.  There is also considerable storm damage at the entrances of the airport and along roadways.”

KMOV has also posted a gallery of photos showing what the area looked like after the tornado:

See the rest of the KMOV STL airport tornado damage photo gallery.

The damage is heartbreaking. Especially for those who have been looking forward to all the new features and amenities that were being put in place for a major restoration project.

Let’s hope the Lindbergh 1934 Monocoupe D-145 is safe. Charles Lindbergh’s personal plane hovered over the STL Concourse C checkpoint for 30 years and just last month was lowered and moved to the Mt. Vernon Municipal Airport to make way for a concourse relocation project. The plane is owned by the Missouri History Museum and is scheduled to return to STL when renovations there are complete.

Museum Monday: art inspired by Lambert –St. Louis International Airport

Air Travel, Architecture, Exhibits, , ,

On StuckatTheAirport.com, I often make note of an inspiring museum-quality exhibition that has made its way to an airport.

Today, I’m pleased to point you to a museum exhibition that has been inspired by an airport.

St. Louis Art museum

Ian Monroe's Arc

 

The Saint Louis Art Museum is showing an exhibition of work by Ian Monroe that takes its cue from the architecture and history of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport terminal.  The building was designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers.

Ian Monroe

 

Currents 105: Ian Monroe will be on view in Gallery 338 at the Saint Louis Art Museum through July 31, 2011. Even better: admission to the Saint Louis Art Museum is free.

(Images courtesy Haunch of Venison and Ian Monroe © Ian Monroe)