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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Spokane International Airport

Present day: The upswept roofline of the ticketing hall at Spokane International Airport’s 1965 terminal as drawn in the 1960s by noted modern architects Warren Heylman and William Trogdon can still be seen by approaching passengers along West Airport Drive, but the central cavernous rotunda with shopping and restaurants, which ushers passengers to and from their gates, is hidden from the street by newer construction. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Present day: The upswept roofline of the ticketing hall at Spokane International Airport’s 1965 terminal as drawn in the 1960s by noted modern architects Warren Heylman and William Trogdon can still be seen by approaching passengers along West Airport Drive, but the central cavernous rotunda with shopping and restaurants, which ushers passengers to and from their gates, is hidden from the street by newer construction. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

Spokane is well-known for many examples of midcentury modern architecture and the creative minds that designed them. Midcentury is often characterized by utilitarian exposed concrete walls and beams framing curtains of windows.

But the futuristic swooping rooflines of the Spokane International Airport, designed by William Trogdon and Warren Heylman, opened in 1965 can be called Googie architecture, combining the optimism of Space Age progress with sweeping curves that hint at atomic particle or planetary orbits.

Spokane’s airport was a Depression-era project started when Spokane County bought 2 square miles in 1938 to be called Sunset Airport.

Planners believed that commercial air travel would outgrow the small airport at Felts Field.

Spokane County built a concrete airstrip and a modest terminal building with two gates. Depression-era city leaders were reluctant to spend city tax money.

With World War II on the horizon, the U.S. War Department purchased Sunset Field for a B-17 training base in June of 1941. The War Department liked Spokane’s weather and distance from the coast.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, construction also began nearby on the Spokane Army Air Depot, which is now Fairchild Air Force Base.

After the war, the city of Spokane took ownership of the field now called Geiger Field in 1948. Commercial airlines began the move from Felts Field.

In 1960, the city and the county sought federal money for improvements. The old terminal building handled 270,000 passengers that year but could only park two airplanes at a time. Newer jets were too big.

A new tower was built. The name changed to Spokane International Airport when Air Canada started service to Calgary in 1960.

In 1962, city voters turned down a bond issue to build a new terminal but the city and county raised enough to qualify for $1 million in federal funds for a modern air terminal, which opened in May 1965.

Since then, additions to the facility include parking garages, expanded A and B concourses, a new C Concourse, a new control tower, and new facilities for baggage and rental cars. Spokane’s airport today handles more than 4 million arrivals and departures annually.

The airport’s Wikipedia entry observes that some new additions to the air terminal have extended Heylman and Trogdon’s “curvy forms” while other projects have “returned to more rectilinear forms.”