It’s coming up on travel season. And, whether you’re taking the last trips while the weather is still good, planning a fall break, or even pre-planning for those truly winter holidays, there’s a good chance you’ll need to navigate the Philadelphia International Airport pretty soon.
If you have somehow managed to avoid flying out of or into the travel hub, color us impressed. It’s the only international airport that serves Philly and the region, and has grown from flying 14,000 passengers a year in the 1940s to 30 million today.
When the airport opened in 1940, it was named the Philadelphia Municipal Airport. It wasn’t until 1945 when it started offering flights overseas that it was renamed the Philadelphia International Airport.
In the 1930s the city bought 600 acres of Tinicum Township and a 1,000-acre site called Hog Island for its expansion. Hog Island was previously a major shipyard.
The airport is neighbors to John Heinz National Refuge, which is the first urban refuge in the country and one of the top places to spot wildlife in the city.
The massive mural on the side of the airport’s parking garages is called How Philly Moves. It was created in 2010 by artist Tiziou as part of the Mural Arts program, and features images of local Philly dancers. The 85,000-square-foot mural took two years to make and can be prominently seen from I-95.
The Philadelphia International Airport officially opened in 1940, under the name Philadelphia Municipal Airport. But the massive swath of land had played host to air transportation long before that, when the city provided 125 acres of land in 1925 for aviators in training of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Two years later, the heralded pilot Charles A. Lindburgh touched down here and officially dedicated the site as the Philadelphia Municipal Airport.
By the 1930s, plans were in play to build upon the airport, after the city bought a 1,000-acre site called Hog Island from the federal government to the tune of $3 million. But the Great Depression meant that the city had to put a cork in it for a few years.
Finally, in 1937, construction began on the airport, and it officially opened its doors in 1940. Five years later, it was renamed the Philadelphia International Airport when it started offering flights overseas.
Over its long history, the airport has invested millions upon millions of dollars to add and upgrade its terminals. Most recently, it completed the renovation of terminals F and B.
The airport has been renovating its terminals one by one over the years, but some $900 million in upgrades are still on the way over the next couple decades. Some new things to expect include a new air traffic control tower and a new headhouse that will replace the ticketing areas in terminals B and C.
The airport also wants to freshen up the land around it. It’s currently in the middle of a competition with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) to redesign 130 acres of land and make a more iconic and lasting impression for passengers coming and leaving Philly by air. Five big-time landscape architecture firms are among the finalists.
