Happy Birthday, Logan Airport
Today marks 91 years since the grand opening of Logan Airport. On September 8, 1923, Boston’s first airfield formally opened as The Boston Municipal Airport.
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To commemorate the day, the Boston City Archives posted an airport pamphlet from the time period to its Tumblr account today, showing just how different the now-international airport was in the roaring ‘20s.
“Boston Airport’’ was primarily an airfield for the Massachusetts National Guard and US mail services until 1927, when American Airlines began chartering regular commercial flights between Boston and New York. Even then, only the most affluent Americans utilized air travel during this time period.
This could explain why the pamphlet also advocates the airport as a tourist attraction of sorts, welcoming visitors to the airfield’s Adminstration Building and commercial plane hangars before encouraging them to dine at “The Airport Restaurant.’’ Another attraction featured in the pamphlet is the airport’s Radio Beacon— communication towers for pilots.
Fast-forward to 2014 and Boston Logan International Airport has become an artery of international travel and host to a haven of consumerism. The airport now includes a Vineyard Vines clothing store, an Apple store, four different Legal Seafood restaurants, a Dunkin’ Donuts in every terminal, a spa, a hair salon, and much more. But perhaps Bostonians circa 1923 were excited enough by the rise of commercial air travel alone to want to pay the airport a visit.
Now, 91 years later, you can view the entire Boston Airport visitors pamphlet online. Click here to see it.
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