ATLANTA'S 1961 TERMINAL CLOSES
Despite the enormous size of the 1961 terminal at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, it reached its design capacity shortly after opening and had become hopelessly overcrowded by the late 1970s. Time Magazine succinctly summed things up in 1980: "The old terminal, built to handle 18 million passengers annually, last year had to accommodate 42 million. Mobs at the ticket counters, long treks to the planes and indefinite delays on the runways made Hartsfield notorious as a dispenser of Southern discomfort." The city had considered the idea of a large terminal located between the parallel runways as early as 1964 but the new complex didn't begin to take shape until the late 1970s. By 1980 it was complete and the old terminal's last day of operation was September 20, 1980, after which it sat abandoned. Over the next few years most of the building was demolished piecemeal to make way for Atlanta's fourth runway. The old tower was imploded in 1984 and the last section of the building, concourse A, which had been converted into office space, was demolished in 1990.
The following page is from the October 1980 issue of the Delta Digest which was a company publication for employees of the airline. This was part of a two page before/after comparison. The irony of this is that they juxtaposed some of the best features of the old terminal (the spacious modern architecture and areas full of natural light) with some of the worst features of the new terminal (the cramped windowless gates and the general blandness of the design).
The following page is from the October 1980 issue of the Delta Digest which was a company publication for employees of the airline. This was part of a two page before/after comparison. The irony of this is that they juxtaposed some of the best features of the old terminal (the spacious modern architecture and areas full of natural light) with some of the worst features of the new terminal (the cramped windowless gates and the general blandness of the design).
After the opening of Atlanta Hartsfield's new midfield complex on September 21, 1980, the old terminal sat empty although the city maintained offices in the old tower for awhile. There were various proposals to convert the building to office space or even a shopping mall, but the decision to build a fourth parallel runway on the north side of the airport made it clear that the terminal would have to be demolished. The "Y" shaped concourses C and D stood directly in the path of the proposed runway and were the first to be removed in 1982. Concourse B was demolished soon after but the rest of the building remained standing for the time being.
The following 11 photos were taken by Bob Van Hemert in March 1981, roughly six months after the terminal closed. Bob says he simply parked at the front door, asked security if he could take a few photos and was allowed access to the main lobby.
This first photo shows the entire length of the 500 foot ticket lobby. The curbside entrances are at left and the central corridor to the concourses is just beyond the Eastern counters at right. A security guard is stationed at the old flight insurance booth and the escalators leading to the ground floor baggage claim are to the immediate right of him in the partially enclosed structure diving the lobby. The escalators leading up to Delta's concourse F can be seen at the far end of the lobby just to the left of the security guard.
This first photo shows the entire length of the 500 foot ticket lobby. The curbside entrances are at left and the central corridor to the concourses is just beyond the Eastern counters at right. A security guard is stationed at the old flight insurance booth and the escalators leading to the ground floor baggage claim are to the immediate right of him in the partially enclosed structure diving the lobby. The escalators leading up to Delta's concourse F can be seen at the far end of the lobby just to the left of the security guard.
Another view from the far west end of the ticket lobby.
Here's the view of the same area taken from near the main entrance at the center of the lobby.
The Delta and Republic Airlines ticket counters as seen from the edge of the baggage claim escalator in the middle of the lobby.
The view from the east end of the ticket lobby.
A great (and slightly disorienting!) view of the administration tower through the windows of the main lobby.
The famed Phoenix mobile above the empty central lobby with an advertisement for the 1980 terminal in the background.
The abandoned airport news stand.
These doors led to the "Y" shaped concourses C and D. Delta's concourses E and F (gates 41 through 72) were off to the left and Eastern's concourses A and B were to the right. Bob said the concourses were off-limits during his visit in March 1981.
This is the view in the opposite direction from approximately the same spot as the previous photo. The escalators to baggage claim are straight ahead and the central curbside entrance is seen just beyond that. The Eastern tickets counters were around the corner to the left of the escalators from this perspective while the Delta counters were around to the right. This is directly beneath the old turquoise tower.
The last of Bob Van Hemert's ATL photos from 1981 shows Delta's rotunda on concourse F sitting empty and abandoned.
A detail from an aerial photo taken March 26, 1981 shows the lifeless 1961 terminal with vacant ramps and empty parking lots. A pair of retired Delta DC-8-51s are seen stored near concourse F while they await delivery to their new owner. Eastern's "mobile lounges", vehicles that carried passengers from the terminal to remote aircraft parking, can be seen parked along the north side of concourse A at left.
A wider view from the same 1981 infrared aerial photo shows bustling activity at the new midfield terminal. If you look to the right of the old terminal, you can see that grading for Atlanta's fourth runway had already begun.
This is a combination of three photos taken by Tom Moore in 1982 that originally appeared on the dearly departed Old Terminals website. All six concourses were still intact but the jetways had been removed. Click HERE for the large version.
A Delta 727 passing the old terminal on November 26, 1983. Concourse B was still intact to the left of the aircraft while concourses C/D, just to the right of the 727, had been removed up to the common bridge that went over the employee parking lot. The ramp that once led to the old observation deck is visible just to the right of the nose of the aircraft. Photo courtesy of George Hamlin.
A Zantop cargo DC-6 taxiing past the old terminal circa early 1984 with the old concourse E visible to the right. Construction of the 4th runway was well underway.
Here's a panorama I made of the 1961 terminal as it sat empty in May 1984, less than two months before the demolition of the main tower.
Here's a photo I took from the area that used to be the exit ramp, May 1984.
Airside view of the tower being prepped for its imminent implosion.
Concourse A remained in place until 1990, 6 years after the rest of the facility was demolished. Upstart airline Air Atlanta converted the concourse to office space during the mid-1980s. This 727 is seen on the south side of the former Eastern Airlines concourse in February 1984. While Air Atlanta aircraft were regularly parked here, the building was not used by passengers after the terminal closed in 1980.
Follow the link below to watch the dramatic demise of one of Atlanta's most recognizable landmarks, the famed turquoise control tower.
