Photos, Objects Pay Tribute to Phoenix Sky Harbor’s 80th Anniversary

(Phoenix, Ariz.) – Images of the airport’s first administration building, hangar and control tower are among a collection of photographs chronicling the 80 years of growth of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in an exhibition titled Moving Forward: 80 Years of World Class Service.  

The exhibition, curated from the Phoenix Airport Museum’s Aviation History Collection, is located on the south side just west of the food court in Terminal 4 on level 3 and features the airport’s evolution through eight decades. In addition, the Museum is displaying vintage airline amenities that added a level of comfort and fun to air travel through the years, including playing cards, real china place settings and gourmet menus, as well as grooming kits that contained hand lotion, toothbrushes and other amenities. 

Passengers traveling through Terminal 4 can see how the airport’s development adjusted to the growth of air travel and needs of the time.   For example, in the section titled Moving Toward War, an aerial image depicts a military-style triangular configuration of three runways in the 1940s that allowed aircraft to take off and land no matter what the wind direction.  In the 1970s Moving On Up section, photos illustrate the building and opening of the 186-foot tall Federal Aviation Administration tower and Terminal 3.

The last section, titled Moving to the Future, includes architectural renderings of the Terminal 3 Modernization effort, which will offer amazing views and create a more efficient way for passengers to get through the terminal.

The Phoenix Airport Museum is one of the largest airport art museums in the U.S. The museum includes an art collection of approximately 900 artworks, 35 exhibition spaces in six buildings and the Aviation History Collection.

For more information, visit https://skyharbor.com/Museum/