History

Happy 90th birthday, Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport. Party on!

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Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), which calls itself ‘America’s Friendliest Airport,’ was surely the funnest airport to be at this week during an anniversary party commemorating the purchase of the rural airport in 1935.

90 years ago, ‘Sky Harbor’ was nicknamed ‘The Farm’ time because of its location. And back then, the purchase price was $100,000.

At the airport’s 90th birthday party, local leaders presented a proclamation and made some speeches.

Then it was time for a 90s-themed dance party and a parade of airport Navigator Buddies from the pet therapy program dressed in neon, as rock stars, as movie characters from “Clueless,” sports heroes, and more.

After all the dancing was over, airport personnel and the pups paraded through Terminal 4 and then boarded the PHX Sky Train to Terminal 3.

PHX has been celebrating its 90th anniversary all year with monthly events hosted in the Culture Corner, located post-security in Terminal 3. Check here to see if something will be happening next time you’re visiting PHX.  

Other anniversary activities at PHX include trivia with Amelia, the Airport’s mascot and music through the decades as part of the weekly Traveling Tunes programming.

The Airport Museum also has a special 90th anniversary exhibition on display in Terminal 4 called “From Farm Field to Airfield,” showcasing the airport’s beginnings and its significant milestones over the years.

You can read and see the exhibit from home starting here.

And, as a nice bonus, PHX travelers can stop by the Airport Information Counters to pick up a commemorative 90th anniversary airport trading card. Super collectible!

PHX Party photos by Mark Skalny Photo, courtesy of PHX

Sit in the Oval Office at this Oregon Airport

History,

A southern Oregon airport that once tried to earn funds by selling advertising space on its control tower has had better luck with its version of the Oval Office.

Back in 2012, the Rogue Valley International Medford Airport (MFR) transformed an empty room in its terminal into a meeting room that looks just like the real Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.

The oval-shaped room has draperies, flooring, an antique clock and furniture patterned after images of the Oval Office that airport officials first found on the Internet. There’s wood flooring in the same pattern as the real Oval Office and wall graphics that include ‘doors’ and ‘windows’ that appear to lead to private offices and offer views of the White House Rose Garden.

There’s even a Resolute Desk, just like the one in the real Oval Office. This one was once used in a play performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., about 15 miles away.

The airport rents out the faux Oval Office for meetings or photo ops and it has been used for weddings, film shoots, business meetings and catered dinners.

More amenities at Rouge Valley International – Medford Airport

The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport is also home to a historic Boeing KC-97 aircraft that can be rented out for meetings, events, films or parties.

This type of plane was used for everything from troop transport and cargo carrier to in-air refueling. As a cargo carrier, it moved heavy equipment such as light tanks, ambulances and artillery. Early models were sometimes called “flying ambulances” and used to bring Korean War causalities back to the west coast from Japan.

MFR airport says this aircraft was built in 1952 and delivered to the 306th Bombardment at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida in September 1953. Her final flight was made in November of 1990 to what was then the Medford-Jackson County Airport. Once there, she was restored.

Reagan National Airport (DCA) adds the story of Abingdon plantation’s enslaved people

History,

In Colonial times, Abingdon Plantation occupied the Arlington, VA site near where Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) now sits.

Abingdon was purchased in 1778 by John Parke Custis, the adopted stepson of President George Washington, and was the birthplace of Washington’s granddaughter, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis. The home was destroyed by fire in 1930 and the ruins stabilized.

In 1998 the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority preserved the site and created an exhibit of artifacts you can see today in the walkway between Terminals 1 and 2.

Outside the airport, on the site of the ruins of Abingdon Plantation, historical signage only told the story of the landowners.

But that wasn’t the whole story. Now, finally, signs at the ruins – between DCA’s Garages A and B – include the story of the enslaved people who worked and lived on this land.  

One sign (above) includes the known names of the Africans and African Americans who were once enslaved there. The other signs give more of a description of what life was like for the slaves.

According to an airport spokesperson, the ruins in the picture below are from the main house. The new interpretive sign describes what life might have been like for the enslaved person who served as the stable manager.

The ruins in the background in this image are from Abingdon’s laundry and kitchen. This new panel describes the life of a slave who served as a seamstress.

Jan 1: anniversary of the world’s 1st scheduled airline

History

The world’s first scheduled airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, began operation on January 1, 1914, 110 years ago.

The half-hour flight from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa was 18 miles and the regular fare was $5 one-way.

The flight offered an alternative to the train, which could take up to 12 hours to make the trip, due to the circuitous route required.

The airplane used for the flight could only carry one passenger at a time. And that passenger had to sit next to the pilot in the open cockpit. This is just one of the reasons the airline ceased operations after only three months.

Former St. Petersburg Mayor A. C. Phiel (center) was the first passenger. The pilot was Tony Jannus (right), and the airline’s organizer was Paul E. Fansler (left). 

(Images courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Statues at PIT Airport Now on View for All

History, , , , ,
Photo by Beth Hollerich

Among the amenities at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are three statues.

The lineup includes legendary traveler and early investigative journalist Nellie Bly, founding father George Washington, and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris.

All three statues are here on loan from Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center. And they are popular stops for selfies. But because the statues have been located lost post-security in the Airside Terminal, only ticketed passengers could pay the statues a visit.

Not anymore.

This week PIT moved all three historical to the pre-security Landside Terminal so that all travelers and all visitors can see the statues.

The relocation of the statues was prompted by the recent passing of Franco Harris. He died on December 20, just days before he and football fans were to mark the 50th anniversary of Harris’ now-legendary football play that became known as the “Immaculate Reception.”

After Harris died, “fans flocked to his lifelike figure in Pittsburgh International Airport’s Airside Terminal to pay their respects,” said PIT spokesman Bob Kerlick. “We received a lot of requests after Franco passed away for non-travelers to visit the statue which we could not accommodate. Now the statues are open to all.”

Want to see Nellie Bly, George Washington, and Franco Harris at Pittsburgh International Airport?

You’ll now find them behind the Information Desk near the primary TSA checkpoint in the Landside Terminal.

If you go, take a selfie and send it along to Stuck at the Airport and we’ll add it here.