Air travel has come a long way since the Wright brothers first took to the skies in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. While flying in an airplane today might get you ever-shrinking legroom and a tiny bag of pretzels, air travel in the 1950s and ’60s was a much different experience. Those fortunate enough to afford the cost of a ticket back then were treated to gourmet plated meals, piano bars, flight attendant fashion shows, and ample room to spread and socialize. Wondering what it was like to fly during America’s golden age of air travel? Take a trip down memory lane with these vintage photos from seven iconic U.S. airports.
John F. Kennedy International Airport – New York, New York
Perhaps no airport terminal is more synonymous with the dawn of the jet age than the TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport. Designed by famed Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, the landmark terminal building put forth a bold, experimental vision of the future of flight when it debuted in 1962. With its magnificent sloping roof extending into two wings, the terminal also housed cutting-edge technology for the time, including jetways and baggage carousels.
After the terminal’s primary tenant, TWA, went bankrupt and merged with American Airlines in 2001, the building sat empty for nearly two decades. In 2019, it was converted into the retro-themed TWA Hotel that makes guests feel like they’ve stepped right back into the 1960s.
LaGuardia Airport – New York, New York
About 10 miles north of the TWA Flight Center, you’ll find another landmark in aviation history: the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. Opened in 1940, it was built by Pan American Airways to serve its fleet of flying boats on transatlantic journeys. The stunning art deco building features a circular lobby where guests once checked in for their international trips under James Brooks’ 1940 mural “Flight,” which depicts the history of humanity’s journey to the skies.
The terminal, now called Terminal A, is still in use today serving low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. Though the boarding areas are housed in a newer addition, guests can still visit the original lobby to get a sense of the building’s history.
Los Angeles International Airport – Los Angeles, California
Towering over the center of LAX’s horseshoe-shaped terminal complex, the Theme Building is a striking homage to the space age. Built in 1961, it features a UFO-like structure suspended from two 135-foot intersecting arches. The Googie-inspired building opened in conjunction with LAX’s expansion for the jet age. Though it once housed a glass-walled restaurant and observation deck on top, both have since closed and the building’s future remains uncertain. But for today’s travelers at LAX, it remains a symbol of a bygone era.
Washington Dulles International Airport – Dulles, Virginia
Another Eero Saarinen design, the main terminal building at Washington Dulles debuted in 1962 with a dedication from President John F. Kennedy and still welcomes millions of passengers annually. The iconic building features soaring windows and a roof gracefully curving to the sky, evoking the idea of flight.
The terminal opened with several innovations, including separate levels for arrivals, departures, and parking, along with a fleet of mobile lounges, which were giant buslike vehicles that carried passengers from the main terminal to their gates. While these were never replicated at other airports, the mobile lounges remain a unique quirk of traveling through Dulles.
San Francisco International Airport – San Francisco, California
Jet bridges were an innovation born out of the golden age. Instead of walking across the tarmac and up a set of airstairs to board an aircraft, these mechanisms allowed for quicker boarding while sheltering passengers from the elements. San Francisco International Airport was one of the first airports to debut the new technology in 1959, but the earliest jet bridges looked a little different than what passengers are used to today.
In those days, aircraft would typically taxi alongside the terminal, parking parallel to the building, and there were two short jetways that connected to the front and rear doors of the aircraft. As air travel boomed, jetways were repositioned so that planes parked perpendicular to the terminal, which required them to be constructed with a longer corridor connected to a movable jetway at the end, but it allowed for more efficient use of terminal space.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport – St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is named for Albert Bond Lambert, who learned to fly with the Wright brothers and later fought in World War I. The airport that bears his name is also steeped in history — Charles Lindbergh flew an airmail route from the airfield in the 1920s before his groundbreaking solo transatlantic journey.
In 1956, the iconic arched main terminal building designed by Minoru Yamasaki opened, inspiring the design of future terminals throughout the country, including those at New York’s JFK Airport. Lambert was also one of the first airports to welcome jet service, when TWA introduced the Boeing 707 here in 1959.
Greater Pittsburgh Airport – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is another city that has a long history with aviation. When the new Greater Pittsburgh Airport opened in 1952, its terminal building was one of the largest in the world, second only to New York’s Idlewild Airport (later renamed JFK). During the airport’s first full year of operations in 1953, more than 1.4 million passengers transited through the terminal. The historic terminal was replaced when the current modernized terminal opened in 1992, and it was demolished in 1997.
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