Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport then renamed Douglas Municipal Airport for former Charlotte mayor Ben Douglas. The airport gained its current name in 1982 .
Here's a look at growth over the years.
'This 1945 photo shows an Eastern Airlines plane at the original terminal building at Douglas Municipal Airport. The airport was named for Ben Douglas, who was Charlotte's
mayor from 1935-1941.'
1945. Courtesy of City of Charlotte.
'There's always plenty of activity at Douglas Municipal Airport.'
1955. Staff
1960. Jeep Hunter/Staff
'Automatic doors aid passengers in new west concourse.'
1967. Jeep Hunter/Staff
'Passenger and crew board jet in driving rain.'
1967. Elmer Horton/Staff
1969. Jeep Hunter/Staff
'The men in the control room become the airport's traffic cops when the planes come within a range of eight miles from the airport. Here we see Nat Fulcher, Eddie Augustyn and Gerry Gulledge at work in the tower. Airplanes always land and take off into the wind.'
1970. Don Hunter/Staff
The terminal.
1975. Don Marten/Staff
'The number of private jets and other aircraft has grown rapidly in recent years, and so has the number of private pilots.'
1977. Staff.
Row of pay phones in the terminal.
1977. Staff
Undated. 1970's?
Staff photo.
'View of the new terminal from upper ramp where departing passengers enter terminal.'
1982. Elmer Horton/Staff
'A statue of Queen Charlotte, holding her crown aloft, outside the main terminal at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Charlotte City Council last Monday approved spending $5 million for engineering work on a dramatically new Charlotte-Douglas. It's tearing down the existing daily parking decks, and has plans to expand the existing terminal, to make it wider.
2009. Davie Hinshaw/Staff
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13 comments:
I remember going to meet my grandmother in the 1960s, when she'd fly in on Eastern Airlines. We could walk right to the plane, and we'd get so windblown as it approached the gate.
QUESTION: we have to prove we're not robots to post on here, but the text is frequently VERY illegible. Why not just have numbers?
I remember those plastic TV chairs. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC, the only international flight the airport had when it acquired the "International" name was a cargo flight (Flying Tigers??) to the Caribbean or some other very close-by destination.
The run ways are OK but what a cluttered cramped sardine can terminal and endless construction. They had all the land and funds to build a large expansive one in the 80s but they screwed up.
Tear that that mangy mutt down and start over. Hire a top notch professional architecture firm out of NYC like Cesar Pelli who is world class tops.
An airport has to be dazzling spectacle Art of the State 1st class modern and professional.
Look at what a mess they made of downtown or TWA and all the roads. Southpark is just terrible.
Ballantye however is a crowning success.
An world class airport is the first and last impression travelers see and remember so you dont screw it up.
Ballantyne a "crowing success" ? You have to be kidding. Just goes to show how 'beauty' IS in the eye of the beholder.
Remember Morris Field? In the 60's the Air National Guard had jet fighters stationed there. F-86
I have so many fond memories of watching planes from the great observation deck at the old terminal. Here is a video I shot in 1979.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eirRl1cjxWs&list=UU3UXNBfA_rZGisBwK0sPJmg
Now that we know that Ceaser Pelli is really Anonymous in a previus comment and thinks an intersection on 485 aka Ballentine is a model of planning. We should close CLT and give him the contract to build a new facility I am positive it will be flawless.
Morris Field was built by the Army Air Force in 1941. At the end of the war, it reverted to the City of Charlotte. The AAF had made great improvements to the field and left Charlotte with an airport far beyond what one would expect for a small town. That fact has been the main instrument in the rapid growth of Charlotte since 1945.
Build a new regional airport 2 times the size straddling the state lines like Carowinds half in NC and SC and get double funding from DC as a dual state grant.
Some of these idiots complained about driving to Knights Stadium in Ft Mill that took an hour from Dilworth? What a lie. Its 5 minutes max although it could take an hour to get to the new one in heavy traffic from Dilworth.
Do they complain about driving to Carowinds ?
Scrap that totally ugly current mess called Douglas airport or keep it as a secondary one like in DC and many other cities who have 2 and 3 airports.
Ballantyne is where all the real business and luxury is anyway that spills over into SC where everybody is moving or have already moved anyway.
Low taxes little crime and expanse.
NC and SC is where America was birthed and were the same Carolina state until 1729 anyway.
Carolina is Latin for (King) Charles of Spain founded in 1663 as the Province of Carolina.
Indianland
"Ballantye however is a crowning success. "... Proof that drugs will fry your brain.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060327044019/http://oldterminals.topcities.com/charlotte.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=large+world+class+modern+airports+in+the+world+pics&biw=995&bih=605&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fb5PVOvHFYiwyQSXqoHACw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
King Charles of Spain??
So we started as a Spanish colony?
I guess in that alternate reality you can go from Dilworth to Ft. Mill in 5 minutes.
Carolina is the Latin form of Charles. The original Carolina grant was named to favor Charles I of England.
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