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All the United States Virginia Arlington Ronald Reagan National Airport's Historic Terminal A

Ronald Reagan National Airport's Historic Terminal A

The romance of early commercial flight still fills this Art Deco destination.

Arlington, Virginia

Added By
Ruben Stemple
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View from the Exhibit Hall looking into the waiting area.   Michael E. Grass
Front entrance to Terminal A, in 2015.   Famartin
The Terminal in 1941, around the time it opened.   Jack Delano (Library of Congress/LC-USF33-021032-M5)
Display of the airlines once serviced at Washington National Airport.   Glenn Beltz
Display of the old Capital Airlines that merged with United in 1961.   Mr.TinDC
Original Glass Balustrade.   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Over the Door to the Old Passenger Lounge.   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
An example of the original window decoration   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Plaque commemorating the construction of the Terminal.   R Stemple (Atlas Obscura User)
The curved back wall of the waiting areas was once the ticket counters, now displaying historic photos.   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Inside historic Terminal A.   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
The airline ticket counters around 1945.   Vintage Postcard (Boston Public Library Collection)
Inside a waiting room, around 1950.   Theodor Horydczak (Library of Congress/LC-H824-T-A02-014)
Washington National Airport in 1970, when Terminal A was the only terminal.   Roger Wollstadt
Terminal C   albastarr / Atlas Obscura User
Historic Terminal   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
National Airlines   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Reagan National Airport   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In the early days of commercial air travel, planes in and out of the U.S. capital had to rely on a traffic cop. It was the 1930s, and the single, unpaved runway at the woefully inadequate Washington-Hoover Airport was cut in two by a major boulevard. To let the planes take off and land, the cars had to be stopped by a police officer swinging a lantern.

By the end of the decade, Washington-Hoover had outlived its brief usefulness, and surrendered to the wrecking ball. In 1941, just down the road, Washington’s brand new airport opened its Terminal A.

For the next five-and-a-half decades, Terminal A serviced the District with style, grace, and just a touch of travel romance. Even though its art deco ticket counters and passenger gates no longer cater to travelers (that all moved in the late 1990s to the modern Terminals B and C), it is still open to visitors as part of the airport’s history, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The old waiting area has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the runways, and several of the original architectural details remain in place. There are exhibits of long-gone airlines, and the curved back wall, where the ticket counters use to be, now displays old photographs and a large commemorative plaque of the building’s 1940 groundbreaking.

In 1998 the airport changed it official name to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and there is a large bronze sculpture of the former president as you drive up. But old habits die hard, and to most Washingtonians it’s still just called “National.” No cops with lanterns, though, are needed to mind the modern runways.

Related Tags

Airports Aircraft History Transportation

Know Before You Go

National Airport is accessible on both the Blue and Yellow Metro lines (www.wmata.com). Terminal A is an easy walk from the platform, and you don't have to go through security screening to visit. Or you can get there from Terminal B via a passageway connecting the two. Some spaces in the old Terminal are also available for events.

Community Contributors

Added By

R Stemple

Edited By

AF, MagnumPI, albastarr, Jason Michael Walker

  • AF
  • MagnumPI
  • albastarr
  • Jason Michael Walker

Published

May 1, 2017

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  • http://www.flyreagan.com/dca/history-reagan-national-airport
  • http://www.adsw.org/buildings/%E2%80%9Chistoric-terminal-a%E2%80%9D-ronald-reagan-washington-national-airport#ad-image-4
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington-Hoover_Airport
Ronald Reagan National Airport's Historic Terminal A
Arlington, Virginia, 22202
United States
38.849221, -77.04148
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