Reveling in the Years, Part 6

Ten years ago today the airport’s current terminal opened for business. To mark the occasion we’ve spent the past few weeks looking back at past terminals. Today we bring this series of posts to a close with the opening of the current terminal on May 6, 2009.

The current terminal's story began in 1967. That’s when the Airport’s Master Plan identified the building site. A master plan looks into the future and tries to predict what will happen at an airport. How many passengers will use it five years from now? In 10 years? In 30 years? What kind of improvements will an airport need to make and when? It is, in essence, a planning document for future growth, project planning and project spending.

The Master Plan was updated in 1977. Of the update's many observations, one stands out: the maximum capacity of the 1964 terminal was 880,000 total passengers a year. The update said when “that level of activity is attained, a new passenger terminal complex will be required.”

That number was reached and exceeded in 2005. Thanks to the Master Plan, the current terminal was already being designed and its finance plan was close to completion. New terminal construction began in 2006. When the building opened, on May 6, 2009, it was the end of a planning process that began 41 years before.

In selecting the photos in today’s post we tried to keep people in mind. Photographs are always better with people!

Hundreds of people had a hand in making the current terminal a reality: planners, architects, finance wizards, ironworkers, skilled workers, artisans, the list goes on and on …

When their work was done they had created more than just a building. They’d created a new front door to the community — the terminal is the first impression visitors have when they step off the plane. It’s a reflection of our spirit, culture, and economy.