SFO

At the SFO Museum: “self-moving mechanical creations”

Art, Exhibits, , , ,

If you’re very lucky, you’ll end up getting stuck for a while at San Francisco International Airport sometime between now and the end of May 2012.

When you do, rush over to the pre-security departure lobby of the International Terminal Main Hall to see the exhibition of automata and “self-moving” mechanical creations on loan from the Morris Museum in Morristown New Jersey, which houses the incredible Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

Here’s a link to a radio piece I produced about the collection for NPR back in the 2005.

Tidbits for travelers

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If you’re one of those people who heads straight to the gate once you’re at the airport, then the B4 YOU BOARD smartphone app could come in handy.

The app is free and offers the option of having a meal delivered to you right at the gate. You can also use the app to order something ahead of time and pick it up once you’re at the airport.

The service has already been rolled out at JFK and Minneapolis-St. Paul International airports and, just in time for the holiday travel season, is available at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport where, so far, the Tuscany Café and Chili’s Too! In Terminal 1, Blackhawks Restaurant & Bar in Terminal 2 and Wolfgang Puck Café and Chili’s Too!, in Terminal 3, are participating.

During the busy Thanksgiving travel days, Los Angeles International Airport(LAX) is hoping to create a N.I.C.E. experience and “neutralize irritations customers experience. ” Instead of handing out parking citations or warnings, the officers will hand out information with alternative parking options and coupons for a free cup of coffee.

And, at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), there’s a turkey-themed Twitter and Foursquare contest scheduled for November 21-23. @flySFO will tweet pictures of Pardon the turkey at different locations at the airport and all you have to do is guess where he is. Prizes include an iPad and other goodies. Find more details here.

Making the most of America’s busiest airports – part 3

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Here’s part 3 of my recent Bing Travel slide show about how to make the best of America’s busiest airports. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.



San Francisco International
In the winter, delays can mount at San Francisco International Airport because of rain, wind and, yes, fog. That will leave you plenty of time to enjoy airport amenities that include free Wi-Fi, an aquarium, fun and educational kids’ play areas, spa services at four XpresSpa locations, and a museum program that presents up to 20 exhibitions around the airport at any one time.

Defeat the delay: Most airport eateries are branches of well-loved local restaurants, cafés and bars; the best concentration is in the pre-security area of the International Terminal.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International
All three terminals at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport offer free Wi-Fi, a branch of the popular Paradise Bakery and plenty of permanent and changing museum exhibitions.

Defeat the delay: Take the free 10-minute airport shuttle bus to the Metro light-rail stop. From there you can head into town or walk across the street to the Pueblo Grande Museum.

Charlotte-Douglas, North Carolina
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport was the first airport in the country to provide rocking chairs in the terminal, an amenity we’re thankful that many other airports have adopted. Additional stress-reduction services at the North Carolina airport include free-Wi-Fi, piano concerts in the atrium and the Terminal Getaway Spa, where the menu includes massages, manicures, pedicures and reflexology and oxygen treatments.

Defeat the delay: The Queen’s Courtyard, in front of the CLT terminal, has a 15-foot statue of Queen Charlotte and a 40-foot reflecting pool.

Miami International
The 12th-busiest U.S. airport for total passengers, Miami International Airport is finishing up a major expansion and overhaul. Spend a delay getting a massage or a spray-on tan at the Jetsetter Spa, visiting the art galleries and public art installations, recharging with Cuban coffee or visiting one of 20 new restaurants.

Defeat the delay: The on-site Miami International Airport Hotel has a sushi bar in the lobby and a fine-dining restaurant offering panoramic views of airport runways and the Miami skyline.

Orlando International
Once they discover the art installations, the 3,000-gallon aquarium, the entertaining water fountain and the theme-park style character statues, kids — and many adults — will find themselves wishing for long delays at Florida’s Orlando International Airport.

Defeat the delay: Grab some freeze-dried ice cream from one of the Kennedy Space Center shops and spend a delay playing video games at the King of Kong arcade.

Museum Monday:Game Over at National Pinball Museum

Art, Exhibits, Museum Monday, Museums, ,

If you’re in Washington, D.C. today, go visit the National Pinball Museum.

Today – Labor Day – is the last day to visit the museum before it closes and packs up for a move to Baltimore, Md.

The National Pinball Museum has more than 200 machines on exhibit spanning 140 years of pinball history “from Bagatelle (the 18th Century precursor to pinball) through to modern day computerized marvels.”

There are films about the history of pinball, exhibits exploring the art and artwork that made the games so appealing to the eye and so much fun to play and, best of all, a Pay-to-Play exhibit where you can drop a few quarters and play 40 machines ranging from classic, vintage wood rail games to modern solid state machines.

The museum is open today for free and is located at The Shops at Georgetown Park (3222 M St. NW) in Washington, D.C.

After closing today the plan is to reopen in Baltimore in a few months.

Here’s one of my favorite pinball games:

It was on display awhile back at San Francisco International Airport as part of an SFO Museum exhibit on the history of pinball that included many machines from the Pacific Pinball Museum – and the opportunity to play pinball at the airport for free.

Museum Monday: see the history of TV at SFO Airport

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Travelers heading to or through San Francisco International Airport now have a chance to tune in and turn on before they take off, thanks to the latest offering from the SFO Museum.

 

Television: TV in the Antenna Age is filled with television sets and related items from the first four decades of television

 

Models range from the earliest commercial sets with 7-inch screens in Art Deco wooden cabinets to colorful plastic versions from the 1970s designed to look like space helmets and flying saucers.

 

Here’s a preview:

Philco Predicta 4654 Pedestal - 1959

Hoffman M143U Easy Vision 1954

TVs from the early 1970s

Memorabilia from Howdy Doody, Romper Room and other TV shows

Television: TV in the Antenna Age is on view in Terminal 3, post-security in Boarding Area F through February 6, 2012.

(All photos courtesy of SFO Museum)

Souvenir Sunday: Hello Kitty at SFO

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It’s Souvenir Sunday, the day we take a look at some of fun, inexpensive items you can find when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week: cute  – really cute – Hello Kitty trinkets from San Francisco International Airport:

hello kitty sfo

If you spend your time poking around the shops when you’re stuck at the airport, please keep an eye out for items that are fun, inexpensive (around $10 or less) and a bit offbeat. Snap a photo, send it along and if it’s featured here on StuckatTheAirport.com, I’ll send you a special airport-related souvenir.

Hello Kitty Golden Gate t-shirt

SFO T2 brings back great “old” art

Air Travel, Art, ,

Here’s one more look at some of the art in the newly renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport.

The terminal, which will serve American Airlines and Virgin America passengers, opens to the flying public on Thursday, April 14th.  Among the artwork travelers will see are some treasures that have been in storage for years.

Kate Patterson of San Francisco Arts Commission says one of the highlights is a series of three tapestries by Mark Adams.

Mark Adams tapestry at SFO T2

 

“Woven in the traditional Aubusson style, these tapestries represent various gardens that the artist remembers from his years living in San Francisco. Irises, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and wild dahlias rendered in rich, deep shades now greet passengers as they make their way towards the baggage claim area.”

 

Patterson says the works that were put away during the T2 renovation include pieces by some key figures in the Bay Area’s Abstract Expressionist and Bay Area Funk movements, including Roy De Forest, Lee Mullican, Hassel Smith, Sam Tchakalian, Joan Brown, Wally Hedrick and Arnaldo Pomodoro.

“As a collection, these artworks provide a window to San Francisco’s vibrant art scene in the early 1960s through the mid-1980s.”

Curious to know more about the new and ‘old’ artwork in SFO’s T2?

Earprint Productions has made a cell phone art tour for T2. (650.353.4331)

That audio will soon be available as a podcast.

For more about the art and amenities in SFO’s renovated T2 see these previous posts:

SFO T2 Sneak Peek: part 1

SFO T2 Sneak Peek: part 2

SFO T2 Sneak Peek: part 3

SFO shows off renovated T2

Airports, Art, , ,

Look what showed up for official unveiling of the newly renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport:

White Knight 2 /Spaceship 2

A new Virgin America A320 with White Knight 2 carrying Spaceship 2

StuckatTheAirport.com readers have gotten a sneak peek of many of the features of T2 over the past two weeks (see here and here and here) but the completed facility was officially shown off today to dignitaries and media folks.

Passengers flying on American Airlines and Virgin America will be the only ones who get to enjoy the new terminal, but in addition to the art, amenities and services described here earlier (see the links above), here are a few more photos of what’s inside.

Many works of art that were in the original Terminal 2 have been reinstalled, including this piece from 1983 by Dan Snyder:

SFO T2 reinstalled artwork

Welcome North, Welcome South, Welcome East, Welcome West

(Photo by Bruce Damonte, courtesy San Francisco Arts Commission)

The terminal has a ‘recompose’ area just past the security checkpoint:

Restrooms with Ann Sacks tiles, Dyson hand dryers and, space to put down your stuff.
SFO T2 Women's restroom

Plenty of “Egg” chairs and other comfortable seating areas, work spaces, free Wi-Fi and (yes they counted them) 341 duplex outlets in the main hold room at at the communal tables:

Seating at SFO T2

There are also outlets on each column in the terminal and on some of the walls.

An audio tour of T2 has been commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission and will be available shortly.

SFO’s new Terminal 2: preview part 3

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San Francisco International Airport will re-open its newly renovated Terminal 2 to the flying public on April 14, but first there will be a media day (April 6th) and a community open house (April 9th.)

For those who can’t attend the open house or who won’t be flying to or from San Francisco on American Airlines or Virgin America – the two airlines that will be using T2 – anytime soon, StuckatTheAirport.com has been offering previews of the terminal.

Part one was about the artwork in SFO’s T2.

That artwork includes a fun piece by Charles Sowers that includes mechanical butterflies.

Elsewhere in the terminal, sound artist Walter Kitundu has installed interactive benches that double as musical instruments.

SFO bench doubles as musical instrument

The wings in one of the birds in Kitundu’s mural can also be played.

SFO mural

Part two of our SFO T2 preview focused on some of the special touches, such as live plants, living-room style furniture, work areas, generous restrooms and those handy water bottle refill stations.

SFO T2 Refill station

There’s more…

The dining options – which were still under construction when I toured the building – will include: Andale – made-to-order Mexican food
Burger Joint
A restaurant/lounge by Cat Cora, one of the Food Network’s Iron Chef judges
Lark Creek Grill
Napa Farms Market
Vino Volo
Peets Coffee & Tea and Starbucks
Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
and The Plant Organic and Pinkberry frozen yogurt

Shops will include:
Compass Books
Greetings from San Francisco
I-Tech X-perience
Kiehl’s (skin and hair products)
Mango (clothing)
Mosaic Gallery
Natalie’s Candy Jar
Pacific Outfitters
Sunset News
and a branch of XpresSpa

Here a few more photos of what you’ll see in T2:

Artwork that was been stored away during renovation:

Fun seating – even in the baggage claim area:
Baggage claim seating

And plenty of places to plug in and get to work.

Souvenir Sunday: showers and sundries at SFO

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Every Sunday here at  StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday: a day to unpack our carry-on and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive goodies you can find for sale at airports.

This week’s souvenirs come from San Francisco International Airport, which is getting to ready to open the new and very much improved Terminal 2 to the flying public.  They will be a grand opening celebration for T2 on April 9th (anyone can go, but you’ll need to sign up for a free ticket). Virgin America and American Airlines begin using the terminal for regular flights on April 14th.

I’ve already posted a sneak preview of the terminal. See SFO T2 sneak peek -Part 1 and SFO T2 sneak peek part 2 – and check back later for more.

When I visited the new T2, the shops were not yet open, so I wandered over to the SFO International Terminal to see what I could find.  Sadly, the Sephora store is gone, but Freshen Up! is still there.

SFO showers

Located right next door to the Airport Travel Agency (on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102) and open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., this no-frills spot offers shower rooms, massage chairs, a place to iron your clothes and a wide variety of travel-sized items at surprisingly reasonable prices. 

SFO Freshen Up sundries

In addition to things like toothpaste, diapers, shaving cream and other sundries they also stock underwear, socks, shirts, pantyhose and other items travelers might find useful when they’re stuck at the airport on a long layover or while waiting for that delayed flight.

SFO FRESHEN UP -underwear for sale

A 20 minute shower at Freshen Up! will cost you $11. A 30-minute “deluxe” shower is $15 and includes shampoo, lotion, shower shoes a towel and nice soap. Store your bags at the travel agency next door and they’ll give you a coupon good for an upgrade from the standard to the deluxe shower.

Now that you’re clean – go shopping!

And if you see a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive, ‘of’ the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special travel souvenir.