Evening star. [volume], August 03, 1941, Image 90

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
GRAVURE SECTION / £ 4t*V*lvV*t AUGUST3,1941
8 PAGES OF PICTURES l/JJJ£ f UHUvlJU liXl 10 CENTS PER COPY
WASHINGTON, D C m
--—~~ ^^mm^mmmmm wm mm
—And Maybe You'll See Yourself Flying! !
14—The show is all theirs for a
dime. Last Sunday, when these
pictures were taken, you hod to
squeeze in a bit to get a rail view
from the observation tier. But
there was generally room for one
more.
^ On the inside looking out through the greot
* 100-foot-wide window of the odministrotion build
ing. For a dime you con join thot even more
air-minded crowd on the outside observation "deck"
and get an unobstructed and much closer view of
the goings-on as the great liners arrive and deport.
QN THE theory that today's spectator is tomorrow's air traveler, the new Washington National J
Airport has made it a policy to encourage visitors. The response augurs a big increase in *
air traffic. Washingtonians and tourists alike have taken to this new $15,000,000 show place
like ducks to water—or rather like birds to air. Still less than two months old, the elaborate oir
terminal, most modern and best-equipped in the world, has played host to an estimated 800,000
persons. Of these the great majority are there just to sit and watch, for hours at a time. For
them the deft handling of the huge airliners, almost as though they were toys, has a fascination
all its own. Thousands of spectators crowd the observation terraces and the spacious main waiting
room day after day. Week-day crowds frequently run above 10,000, and on Sundays as many as
45,000 persons have been counted. For all of its 750 acres, the airport has a parking problem.
Only 1,200 spaces are available now, although several thousand more will be provided later. Over
__I.__* I_J __I *__P _ _« . I .1 • I . .1 ■ •
wccr\ ciiu3, ii 9 UIIHU3I us uuu us vn i siicci. viii.c mere, me siynisccr na> ine uiuiwc
of watching activities on the great pattern of runways from the huge main waiting room, or paying
10 cents for a view from the observation terrace outside the waiting room and directly above the I
loading apron. From the inside, the spectator looks through a great wall of glass 26 feet high '
and 100 feet across. The airport has no objection to the "free" views. But to date, more than 150,
000 persons have elected to pay a dime for the better view afforded by the observation terraces.
The need to separate the curious from the busy was seen by the airport's builders. No general a
access to the field is possible by the spectators, except those wanting to make "flight-seeing" trips *
over the city. To the right and left of the huge window are stairs leading down to the field level. I
Further to the right and left are long, glass-inclosed promenades for air passengers waiting for their |
planes. Passenger traffic is running about 60,000 persons a month, and that means between 180
and 200 planes arriving or leaving each day. So airport officials feel they are putting on a pretty *
big show for a dime. star staff photos ^ KelI(** j
1
B On popular days, such as last Sunday,
B parking is tight. There's hardly a hole in |f
3j that long parking area for visitors. But
™ it won't be that way long. The 1,200 f
^ parking spaces are going to be increased ■
1 to several thousand.