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Logan International Airport: Then and Now
For over 85 years, Boston
Logan International Airport has served as the center of aviation
and gateway to New England. It all began in
1922,
when the local business community led the fight for an airport in
Boston. To promote public support for fledgling aviation, it
financed a booster campaign urging businesses to send their mail by
air via a U.S. airmail fleet which, at the time, consisted of just
21 aeroplanes nationwide. Funds were eventually made available by
the Massachusetts Legislature and matched by the Boston Chamber of
Commerce to develop an aircraft landing site on Jeffries Point in
East Boston, Massachusetts. On June 13, 1923, Boston's first
aircraft touched down on a 1,500 foot cinder runway (piloted by Lt.
Kitchell Snow) on the then tiny airfield known as Boston Airport
built by the U.S. Army on 189 acres of tidal flats. On September 8,
1923, Boston Airport was officially dedicated. The original airfield
was used primarily by the Massachusetts Air Guard and the Army Air
Corp (only 20 years after the Wright Brothers historic first
flight). The Boston Aircraft Corporation completed the first
commercial hangar in 1925 and the first regularly scheduled
commercial passenger flights were initiated by Colonial Air
Transport (a predecessor of American Airlines) between Boston and
New York, on April 14, 1927 -- less than one year after launching
airmail service between the two cities.
In 1928, ownership of the airport was transferred from the U.S. Army
to the Massachusetts Legislature. The following year, the City of
Boston stepped in and took control with a 20-year lease from the
state. The City Council placed the airport under the jurisdiction of
the Parks Department, which immediately began a series of
improvements to the spartan military field. Runways were lengthened;
access roads were paved and landscaped; and a new administration
building was added to the hangars and repair shops which bordered
the field.
Despite the advent of The Great Depression of the 1930s, air travel
continued to grow due to long distance intercontinental flights by
pioneer aviators. Almost every flying celebrity from Charles
Lindberg to Amelia Earhart came through Boston, and it was there in
1925 that U.S. Army Air Service officer and airfield manager First
Lieutenant Donald Duke of the Army Air Corps and Boston Airports
first general manager, was credited with coining the term "airport".
The runways were lengthened, an administration building was
constructed and 200 additional acres of land was reclaimed from
Boston Harbor. By the later part of the decade, the demand for air
travel had grown to such a point that American Airlines began
providing daily scheduled service between New York and Boston. Due
to its popularity, in 1939, the State Legislature created the
Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC) to foster air commerce,
encourage the establishment of airports and recommend related
legislation.
www.ifly.com/logan-international-airport
In 1941, (just one week before the United States entered World War
II), the state resumed direct control of Boston Airport and assigned
the Massachusetts Department of Public Works the responsibility of
its' operation and development. The airside land area was expanded
by 1,800 acres by the further filling of Boston Harbor. Additional
runways, apron areas and three new hangars were built to provide
operational support. In June, 1943, the state legislature took up a
proposal for a $4.2 million bond issue for the funding of a new road
to accommodate the airports growth. The proposal also carried an
amendment to rename the airport. The bond issue and the new name -
General Edward Lawrence Logan Airport - were signed into law on June
12, 1943.
Logans namesake, Edward Lawrence Logan, was born in Boston on
January 20, 1875. A highly educated man, who reportedly never flew,
he was a graduate of Boston Latin School - Class of 1894, graduated
from Harvard College in 1898 and Harvard Law School in 1901. During
a distinguished and varied career, General Logan served in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate.
He was chairman of the Metropolitan District Commission, manager of
the George Robert White Fund and later became a judge in the South
Boston District Courts. His military career dates back to November,
1897, when he enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia to
fight in the Spanish-American War and ended when he retired as a
Lieutenant General on March 22, 1928. He was called for active duty
in the Spanish-American War, served as a Colonel commanding the 16th
(Yankee) division and was promoted to the grade of Major General in
March, 1923. He retired on March 22, 1928 and passed away on July 6,
1939 leaving behind his widow, Ceclia, and their two children,
Patricia and Edward L. Jr. For more information about Edward
Lawrence Logan
In 1944, only two airlines operated at the airport (then known as
Commonwealth Airport): Northeast, flying to Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont and Canada; and American Airlines, which flew to New York.
By the end of 1949, the horseshoe-shaped Boutwell Terminal Building
(Terminals B and C are now on the original footprint) was completed
to help accommodate the 471,000 passengers using Boston Airport. A
loop access roadway system was completed in 1952 to support the new
terminal, in 1953 the airport had its first non-stop
transcontinental service from Los Angeles to Boston, and in 1955 an
eight-story control tower was built at the center of the Boutwell
Terminal (the current Old Tower). By the end of the 1950's the
airport had grown to four runways and an expanded terminal with 45
gates. Jet operations began at Logan in 1959 when Pan American
Airways inaugurated daily 707 service to Europe. Two months later,
American Airlines began daily flights from Boston to Los Angeles.
In 1956, the State Legislature created the Massachusetts Port
Authority (Massport) which became operational two years and eight
months later on February 17, 1959. Massport was charged with the
operation of the airport, as well as the Mystic River Bridge (Tobin
Bridge), Hanscom Field in Bedford, and the public marine terminals
in the Port of Boston. Developed as a "quasi-state agency", Massport
was formed to be entirely self-sustaining, without cost to the
Massachusetts taxpayer and without pledging state credit; supporting
itself from three primary sources: the sale of revenue bonds,
charges to users of its facilities and income from investments).
After Massport began managing Logan, the airport continued a period
of expansion and development throughout the following decades. In
1961, Logan significantly developed under a $23 million construction
program, including construction of the International Terminal on the
current Terminal C site. Built for $5.9 million, the facility
consisted of four 450ft.finger piers extending from the terminal
building and was completed in 1965. An additional landfill was added
to extend runway 15R/33L, to accommodate the movement toward larger
aircraft. By 1966, international travel had increased by one hundred
percent from 1951. The expansion continued with the start of
construction on the Central Garage, the Terminal Roadway and the New
Taxiway. This expansion was necessary for the further growth of
Logan Airport as it had grown to become the eighth busiest airport
in the United States.
Progress continued throughout the decade with the completion of
three major infrastructure projects between 1973 and 1976 at a cost
of $105 million. Those projects included a new $7.2 million,
22-story, 285 foot control tower in 1973 (at the time the largest in
the world), distinguishable by its twin cylindrical supporting
pylons, the Volpe International Terminal (Terminal E), which opened
in 1974 as well as the South Terminal. The filling of Bird Island
Flats (BIF) was finally completed in 1974, which provided an
additional 234 acres of space for cargo and other facilities to be
developed.
The 1980's continued to see development on the Airport as well as
its surrounding communities. In 1982 the final phase of the Neptune
Road Relocation Program was initiated to relocate the balance of
families to several alternative sites in East Boston. Two years
later, soundproofing work was completed on classrooms in East Boston
schools and thousands of homes. From 1975 through 1984, the
implementation of the airports Master Plan dominated Massport
activity. Noise abatement was a central theme in the Master Plan,
and it provided the framework for the development of noise abatement
efforts, which aggressively continue today.
In 1980 the annual number of passengers flying in and out of Logan
Airport had increased to 15.1 million. To accommodate this passenger
upsurge, the airport undertook a number of internal improvements.
The airport site focused on the construction of the Massachusetts
Technology Center (the present Logan Office Center), Southside cargo
facilities, a new Hyatt Hotel and the Amelia Earhart General
Aviation Terminal on the Bird Island Flats area, which was dedicated
in 1984 to the famous aviatrix and Boston resident. The decade also
saw smaller changes to improve upon the Airport. In 1983, roadway
improvements were made, as well as renovations to Terminal C (former
North Terminal) and the development of the nation's first airport
play area called Kidport in 1987. Kidport was one of the United
States' first airport facilities to entertain children. Designed by
The Children's Museum of Boston, the bright, attractive play areas
featured an interactive cockpit, Brio wooden train toys, and views
of the runways with signs that explain what's happening on the
tarmac
By the late 1990s the number of annual passengers at Logan Airport
had increased to approximately 25 million annually. In response to
this growth, Logan Airport sought to update the facilities and
services rendered by the airport in order to create greater ease and
accessibility for its passengers. In 1994, the Logan Modernization
project was initiated a comprehensive and creative $4.4 billion
program which combined key landside improvements -- focusing on
terminals and roadways -- with innovative airside enhancements. The
ultimate goal of the project was to increase Logan's efficiency
without expanding the airport's borders or compromising on
environmental benefits for its neighbors. Logan Modernization
includes the Logan Landside program, which involves structural
changes to the airport and the Logan Airside program, which involve
various alternatives for reducing current and projected levels of
aircraft delay and enhancing operational safety at Logan.
As the Logan Modernization Project nears the finishing point, nearly
every terminal and roadway at Logan is currently either under
construction or completed. A New Logan is now emerging, with
overhead walkways connecting all terminals from the Central Garage;
a new award-winning International Gateway Arrivals Hall, a new
Airport MBTA Station and a state of the art and environmentally
friendly Terminal A (awarded LEED "Leadership in Energy &
Environmental Design" Certification for Environmental Sustainability
by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2006). Another major airport
change is Logans upper level/departure roadway system. The new
roadway system clearly separates those passengers needing the
arrivals (lower level) from the departures (upper level) roadways.
This two-tiered system simplifies the driving experience through
Logan and provides access to more lanes.
Today, Logan International Airport continues to develop and change
as it strives to provide the latest in first class security,
technology and customer service to all its passengers. Currently New
England’s largest transportation center, Logan ranks 20th in the
nation in passenger volume and 19th in flight movements, employs
approximately 12,000 workers and stimulates the New England regional
economy by approximately $7 billion per year.
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