Marine Air Terminal
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Marine Air Terminal
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Facade of the Marine Air Terminal
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| Location | La Guardia Airport, Queens, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°46′25″N 73°53′10″W / 40.77361°N 73.88611°WCoordinates: 40°46′25″N 73°53′10″W / 40.77361°N 73.88611°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1939 |
| Architect | Delano,William |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP Reference # | 82003397 |
| Added to NRHP | July 9, 1982 |
The Marine Air Terminal ("Terminal A"), located at New York City's LaGuardia Airport, is the only active airport terminal dating from the first generation of passenger travel in the United States, a.k.a. the "Golden age of the flying boat." Originally built to handle seaplanes, the Marine Air Terminal, an Art Deco building designed in 1939 by William Delano of the firm Delano & Aldrich, consists of a central circular core of two stories with an attic, from which a rectangular entrance pavilion and two symmetrically opposed one-story wings project. In LaGuardia Airport's overall terminal naming scheme, the Marine Air Terminal is called "Terminal A".
The terminal has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.
By the early 1930s, commercial airlines and airports began to be developed in the United States as a result of the Federal government's use of private contractors for postal transport, inspired by Charles Lindbergh's famous transatlantic flight in 1927. New York was in dire need of a new airport by 1934 when Fiorello H. La Guardia was elected mayor. Plans for the airport, which was to be federally sponsored and funded through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), were approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 3, 1937.
Just six days later, the Mayor presided over groundbreaking ceremonies and construction proceeded rapidly. At 558 acres (226 ha) and with nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) of runways, the $40,000,000 airport was the largest and most expensive in the world to that time. New York Municipal Airport–LaGuardia Field opened on October 15, 1939 and the Marine Air Terminal was dedicated in March 1940.
The first flight from the Marine Air Terminal by a Pan American Clipper departed on March 31, 1940, carrying a crew of 10, nine passengers and over 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of mail. It landed in Lisbon, Portugal 18 hours and 30 minutes later. The Pan American Clippers – with a wing span of 152 feet (46 m), a cruising speed of 200 mph (320 km/h) and a capacity to carry 72 passengers – were luxurious. The two-deck interior featured dining rooms, private compartments and sleeping sections.
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