Disney Plans To Save A Terminal From LA’s Oldest Airport

Disney can finally go ahead with plans to save a terminal from LA’s oldest airport – after 10 years of research and ongoing negotiations. Grand Central Air Terminal is what the company has had it’s heart set on for years, a building located North of Los Angeles in Glendale, California.

Serving as a monument to the city’s oldest commercial airport, which acted as the departure point for the country’s first regular coast-to-coast flight pilot by Charles Lindbergh. Opened in 1929, the building was a trailblazer when it came to architecture – featuring a blend of Art Deco and Spanish Colonial styles.

Despite now being one of LA’s oldest airport terminal buildings, the interior design was an early precursor to modern designs that utilise separate areas for ticketing, eating, and waiting. It even managed to attract a few celebrities in it’s prime – classic names such as Amelia Earhart, and Howard Hughes.

Sadly, the terminal was closed for commercial flights in 1944, with the rest of the Glendale airport following in the late 50s.

It wasn’t until the 90s that multi-faceted entertainment company entered into a development agreement with the City of Glendale, promising to rejuvenate the site by 2015. As part of their plans, Disney wants to demolish a nearby building – part of why it took so long to reach an agreement with city authorities.

Plans include restoring the exterior it’s original magnificence – which included clay roof tiles, and steel windows, as well as stone and stucco ornamentation. The interior will be retrofitted with offices for Disney employees and also contain a visitor center that makes use of media walls to educate guests about the airport’s history.

The designs themselves were carried out by Frederick Fisher Partners architects, as well as landscape architects Pamela Burton + Company.

Do you think Disney’s motivations to save one of LA’s oldest airport terminal buildings are well-intentioned?