Phoenix Airport Museum

Visit an Airport Museum on Int’l Museum Day

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New England Air Museum adjacent to Bradley International Airport (BDL)

May 18 is International Museum Day, which gives us an excuse to talk about some of the great museums in and adjacent to airports around the country.

Having a museum or museum program in an airport just makes so much sense. Millions of people pass through airports each year. Many passengers have plenty of downtime before their flights. And art or history exhibits in airports can connect passengers with a place, inspire them, educate them, or create those sought after moments of suprise and delight.

Here are a handful of airport museums and museum programs to look for on your next trip. Let us know if we missed your favorite.

Phoenix Airport Museum

The Phoenix Airport Museum at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is one of the oldest and largest airport art program in the country. You’ll find permanent artwork and temporary exhibitions throughout the sprawling airport facilities, including in the rental car center and at the Sky Train stations.

SFO Museum

The SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is accredited by the American Alliance of Museum (AAM). In addition to permanent public art and more than a dozen temporary exhibitions at a time, the museum maintains a video arts program , student art programs, and photography galleries.

While the airport’s wonderful Aviation Museum & Library is currently closed for renovations, temporary exhibitions throughout the terminals currently celebrate everything from Early Women Aviators and their Aircraft to Victorian Wallpaper.

Julia Clark (1880–1912) at the controls of a Curtiss biplane  c. 1912. Courtesy SFO Museum

Mitchell Gallery of Flight at MKE

The free Mitchell Gallery of Flight at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is located pre-security and open 24 hours a day. Exhibits include airplane models, aviation paintings, propellers, a scale model of the Milwaukee airport terminal as it looked in 1941, and sections dedicated to famous Wisconsinites in aviation history such as astronaut James Lovell and General Billy Mitchell, known as ‘the father of the U.S. Air Force.

You’ll find aviation-themed history exhibits and full-fledged aviation museums in and adjacent to many other airports too.

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) in South Carolina has a 350-square-foot museum in its Grand Hall. The Frontiers of Flight Museum is on the southeast corner of Dallas Love Field Airport. And the New England Air Museum is adjacent to Bradley International Airport (BDL), in Connecticut.

And there are lots more.

Courtesy New England Air Museum

More airport museums and museum programs not to miss

Take a few moments to look around next time you’re at an airport and it’s a very good chance you’ll spot art and history exhibits you may have rushed by in the past. Curators at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB), Denver International Airport (DEN), Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Miami International Airport (MIA), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), and many others do a great job filling the terminals and concourses with art and exhibits you’ll enjoy.

Quest by Bert L. Long, Jr

See Style in the Aisle at PHX Airport

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Style in the Aisle: Mid-Century Airline Identity

The newest exhibition at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) highlights the “Golden Age” of air travel.

From the exhibit notes:

“From hot pants and go-go boots to disposable paper dresses, the 1960s and 1970s were known for breaking fashion norms and traditions – even in the airline industry. Mid-century air travel had progressed into a posh experience and airlines built unique brand identities to set themselves apart. Each airline found new ways to attract passengers with amenities like onboard movies, gourmet meals, and glamorous flight attendants.“

This exhibition is put together by the Phoenix Airport Museum and includes eight flight attendant uniforms, historic photographs, and a variety of airline amenity objects.

If you are passing through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, look for the Style in the Aisle exhibit in Terminal 4, level 2 near ticketing through October 2021.

In the meantime, we’ve got some images to share here.

Highlights of the exhibit include Hughes Airwest’s 1977 “sundance yellow” dress with matching bucket-style hat and an American Airlines plaid “Americana” uniform with a raccoon-fur cap. A Trans World Airlines (TWA) single-use, gold paper dress – part of the “Foreign Accents” collection – is also on display.

Airline amenities on display include fine china and themed cocktail swizzle sticks. There’s also a first-class menu featuring caviar and lobster, and an ashtray and lighter with airline logos.

PHX: 5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport

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Here is another installment of our new “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrating some of the services, amenities and features we love about airports around the world.

We’re keeping our list to just 5 cool things about each airport, but feel free to add any bonus features we overlooked in the comments section below.

Feel free, too, to nominate an airport for the series or sponsor an installment.

So far, we’ve profiled San Francisco International Airport (SFO); Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP).

Today: 5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

1. The Phoenix Airport Museum

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is home to one of the largest airport art museums in the U.S. – the Phoenix Airport Museum.

The collection includes nearly 900 artworks, 35 exhibition spaces in six buildings and the Phoenix Aviation Archive.

Look for the art in both terminals and at the Rental Car Center. There’s also a treat at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train Station, which is home to a restored vintage World War I aircraft, the SPAD XIII.  

2. The PHX Navigator Buddies

PHX is one of a growing list of airports where teams of therapy dogs and their handlers regularly visit the terminals to hang out with travelers and help de-stress the journey. Here they’re called the PHX Navigator Buddies.

3. The Fitness Trail at PHX

The Sky Harbor Fitness Trail at PHX is located post-security in Terminal 4 and is measured out to just a little over one mile from Gate A30 to Gate D8.

The trail is part of FitPHX, a city of Phoenix initiative intended to help get Phoenix residents into better shape. In addition to getting some exercise, travelers who walk the trail are rewarded with views of the downtown Phoenix skyline, beautiful Camelback Mountain and more.

4. Animal relief areas at PHX

PHX goes all out with the pet relief areas for pups and has seven pre and post-security cute-as-a-puppy places where dogs can take care of business. There are even animal relief areas at the PHX Sky Train stations.

PHX pet relief area

5. The souvenirs at PHX Airport

We’ve found some charming – and quirky – souvenirs in the shops at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Here are just a few of our favorites.

5 Things We Love About Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is part of an ongoing series here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

If you’d like to sponsor one of the installments, get in touch.

Guitars at Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl Airport

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A cool new exhibit about guitars is underway at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Phoenix is home to the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery and right now passengers traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport are being treated to an exhibit featuring nine hand-crafted guitars, including both acoustic and electric style.

Exhibition highlights include Scott Walker’s hand-painted “patina” guitar (above), which has wood body that resembles oxidized metal. Also on display: an unusual 26-string harp-guitar by William Eaton and an electric mandolin by Joe Vallee, whose instruments are collected by prominent musicians like Steve Miller.

Visitors to the PHX Airport Museum exhibit will also find displays of the guitar-making process. Parts of a guitar are presented in an exploded view showing how a guitar is constructed. And the various stages of shaping the wood components of a guitar are explained.

Exploded view of an acoustic guitar, courtesy of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery

Phoenix Airport Museum’s exhibition, Shaping Sound: The Art of Guitar Making, is on view in two display cases at Terminal 4, level 2 near ticketing through May 2020. 

The 30-year old Phoenix Airport Museum has more than 900 pieces in its collection. The museum presents exhibits featuring both items from the collection and from area artists in several galleries throughout the airport.