The control tower at the Miami airport in 1959.
Miami Herald File
Some people call Miami International Airport a city. And other things, too. But it wasn’t always a maze of concourses and parking garages.
Miami’s airport started out as a simple airfield and grew into a simple and intimate place to fly commercial before a building boom in the 1960s through today. Yes, there was a time when you could pull right up to the front door of the terminal and park just a few steps away. Try that today, and you might just get a visit from police officers and a tow truck.
Miami’s airport grew along with the surrounding metropolis. Today, you can fly just about anywhere in the world from MIA, and have a four-course dinner and a mojito right before you take off.
Let’s take a look at the old days, when life was captured in black and white and Pan Am and National and Eastern ruled the terminal. And when parking was 25 cents an hour.
We’re taking a trip through the Miami Herald archives to see the airport the ‘50s, ‘60s and into the ‘70s:
1955: Inside the terminal
Crowds at Miami International Airport in 1955. Bob East Miai Herald File
1957: Under construction
View from the Southeast, under an unfinished overhead roadway as a terminal nears completion at the Miami airport in 1957. Bob East Miami Herald File
View of Miami’s airport from the southwest. Bob East Miami Herald File
1958: Airport arrivals and departures
Tourists arrive at Miami International Airport. Bob East Miami Herald File
National Airlines chalks up arrivals and departures at Miami International Airport. Bill Sanders Miami Herald File
A parking lot at Delta area at Miami International Airport. Doug Kennedy Miami Herald Staff
1959: Scenes from the airport
A Northeast airliner at Miami’s airport in 1959. Miami Herald File
A scene at the Miami airport in 1959. Bill Sanders Miami Herald File
Inside the terminal at Miami International Airport. Bill Sanders Miami Herald File
A lot at Miami International Airport where parking was 25 cents an hour in 1959. Bill Kuenzel Miami Herald File
A sign at right, leading from overpass approach to LeJeune Road in 1959. Bill Sanders Miami Herald File
The old Miami airport terminal seen in 1959. Bob East Miami Herald File
1960: In the terminal
Miami International Airport’s at the Delta counter in 1960. Bob East Miami Herald File
1962: Arriving by air and by car
People deplane at the Miami airport in 1962 after waiting for their flight. Mike Smith Miami Herald File
1963: JFK visits
President John F. Kennedy at Miami International Airport on Nov. 18, 1963, where 4,000 people greeted the president. Kennedy is on the raised platform. Bill Sanders
Miami International Airport sign to terminal parking in 1962. John Walther Miami Herald File
1965: Busy at the curb
Cars line up at Miami International Airport in 1965. Eamon Kennedy Miami Herald File
The Miami International Airport Hotel in 1965. Mike Freeman Miami Herald File
1966: Air traffic on the rise
9/2/1966: Jim Birmingham/Miami Herald Staff -- Traffic control personnel handle heavy load at Miami International Airport ...airport inherits noise and congestion woes of jet-era aviation. Jim Birmingham Miami Herlad File
Travelers line up at the Northeast Airlines counter in 1966. Bill Kuenzel Miami Herald File
Flights are jammed at Miami’s airport in 1966. Bob East Miami Herald File
1967: Busy at the counter
Crowds at the National ticket counter in 1967 after the end of an airline strike. Eamon Kennedy Miami Herald File
1972: In the terminal
Shot 12/31/1972: Bill Sanders/Miami Herald Staff -- Delta Air Lines desk, Miami Airport Terminal. Published May 27, 1974. Bill Sanders Miami Herald File
Shot 6/21/1972: Albert Coya/Miami Herald Staff -- Filling out world wide trip insurance forms at Miami International Airport. Published August 18, 1974. Albert Coya Miami Herald File
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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