For those of you who like to kick it old school — damn, I sound like an old guy trying to pretend to be cool — we now have vintage airport t-shirts available. It’s not a huge list yet, because it’s a whole lot harder to find accurate airport maps from back in the day. But hey, we have to start somewhere.
Thanks to Atmosphere Research Group’s Henry Harteveldt, my first vintage shirt is a throw back to the old Love Field.
Dallas/Love Field Vintage 1972 T-Shirt
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
That is, of course, in a signature orange to honor Braniff, the long-lost carrier based in Dallas,though other colors are available. And the back is an outline of one of that airline’s most recognizable planes. This was the terminal layout just before DFW opened and airlines moved out.
Once this was done, Henry tweeted it and requests started coming up. That led me to…
Chicago/Midway Vintage 1968 T-Shirt
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
O’Hare had already opened by this time, but the Midway terminal was still in place as built for the big guys. On the back, you’ll find the long-gone old terminal building. The place is definitely unrecognizable now.
Next up… an old friend.
Los Angeles LAX Vintage 1961 T-Shirt
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
In 1961, LAX finished building the initial version of its jet age terminal complex. Far from the snarled mess that is the airport today, this was a futuristic and sleek design. That is captured here along with the Theme Building on the back, also part of the original plan.
This isn’t just about old airport terminals. It’s also about old airports that don’t even exist. For example…
Denver Stapleton Vintage 1995 T-Shirt
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Finally — for now — we had east to another Henry favorite. This isn’t an entire airport but just an iconic part of one….
New York JFK Vintage 1970 T-Shirt
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
There’s nothing quite like the Saarinen-designed TWA terminal at JFK. This layout is from right after the Flight Wing 1 expansion opened. On the back, it’s the view from the ground. I’m working on one for the whole airport, but I’m still trying to get some details squared away before it’ll be ready.
Now it’s your turn. Do you have any vintage layouts you’d like to see? If you have an actual copy of the overhead view, that’s even better. Just email cf@crankyflier.com and let us know. We’ll do our best to put it together.
In the meantime, you can see the whole, hopefully expanding, collection here.