Glasgow's Old Airport Was Miles Better

"someassemblyrequired" (someassemblyrequired)
09/14/2018 at 10:05 • Filed to: Lost Airports

Someone posted a few pictures from Glasgow’s Renfrew airport this morning on Twitter and figured some Oppos might be interested in learning about this amazing lost airport, which opened 8 years before the TWA terminal in 1954.

Due to the popularity of air travel and constraints on expansion, this terminal was only used until 1966, when the airport moved a mile and a half away to its current location. Sadly the airport was closed to make room for the M8 runway. The terminal was abandoned and torn down in 1978, only to be replaced by a Tesco.

Many more photos and details after the gratuitous visit from a certain smiling tourism mascot:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130814151613/http://myrenfrew.com/renaviation.htm

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DISCUSSION (9)

ttyymmnn > someassemblyrequired
09/14/2018 at 10:14

This is neat. The art/science of transportation architecture--airports, train stations, etc--is fascinating. Not only does it have to be functional, it has to make a statement about the place. And the future always looked brighter in the 1950s.

someassemblyrequired > ttyymmnn
09/14/2018 at 10:37

That it sure did - I’m always mystified why airports don’t make better use of their vertical space like in the 50s and 60s designs. J ust boxes with a high ceiling pretty much nowa days.

ttyymmnn > someassemblyrequired
09/14/2018 at 10:41

I went through the new terminal at CLT this summer. It’s pretty, white, glassy, clean, but it has no soul. You could be at a terminal just about anywhere. It’s like cities nowadays, where every one has a Target, an Applebees, a Hobby Lobby, a Best Buy, a Wal Mart. You could plunk yourself down in any city today and have no idea where you are. I’m no architect, so I don’t know what to do about that, but I find it rather sad.

Just Jeepin' > someassemblyrequired
09/14/2018 at 10:43

The economic impact of relocating an airport is quite dramatic as well.

My grandmother was compelled to sell her home after many years because the airport could no longer meet federal noise limits in her neighborhood. My beloved childhood trees were plowed to be paved over for a parking lot. (Cue Big Yellow Taxi .)

Just a few years later, the airport was reoriented; the old terminal on the east end was shut down, a new one opened at the far west end. Now the parking lot that replaced my favorite childhood memories is abandoned.

Her church is still there, but there’s no one living anywhere close to it; it’s basically a dead end road off a dead end road. Amazed it’s still alive.

OPPOsaurus WRX > someassemblyrequired
09/14/2018 at 10:52

MMM YES, ARCHITECTURE!!!!!

someassemblyrequired > ttyymmnn
09/14/2018 at 12:45

I think what a lot of architects miss nowadays is that the airport should calm. There needs to be places to rest from the crowds, or visit for a few minutes before you go through security. Something as simple as having a mezzanine waiting area or dining elevated above the main traffic floor, or sinking waiting areas to discourage cross traffic.

TPA is the last great new American airport, and it was built in 1971. And it was even better when the original airsides were in place - especially the bonkers National Airlines airside, which had the planes pull in underneath the holdrooms.

Some awesome shots from just after it opened:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tampaairport/sets/72157626547168720

ttyymmnn > someassemblyrequired
09/14/2018 at 12:48

One thing I will say about CLT is that they had some areas set aside from the main hallways that had lots of white rocking chairs. It was still a bit sparse, but the rockers spread around the terminal were a nice touch.

someassemblyrequired > Just Jeepin'
09/14/2018 at 12:49

Yeah it’s really surprising how anxious airports are to move things around. And the expenses involved - sometimes traffic growth catches one by surprise, but often I think airports are not well managed and generate a lot of income. That seems to make them a bit of an easy mark for construction companies.

someassemblyrequired > OPPOsaurus WRX
09/14/2018 at 12:51

Happy to oblige!