Still the same basic structure as the original:
Long Beach may have been incorporated in1897 but the plans for this airport wasn’t started until 1923, with the first airport operator’s lease in 1925 and the art deco terminal building completed in 1941.
There are several historical exhibits which give the history of the airport, aviation, and Long Beach aerospace industry.
Above: barnstormer and aviation pioneer, Earl S. Daugherty who convinced the City council to build this airport. In 1919, he started the world’s first flight school.
The Collier Trophy was awarded to Douglas Aircraft in in1939 for the DC-2 calling it “The greatest achievement in aviation in America." The DC-2 reduced travel time of the DC-1 from 2 day to 18 hours. The Douglas Historical Foundation has a restored DC-2 based at the Long Beach Airport and it is available to charitable groups and interested parties for use.
Below: Jean Brundidge was the first woman in the United States Douglas and later became the President of the Retired Workers chapter at the UAW local 14.
Their website says, “Three federally funded mosaic masterworks created by Grace Clements under the Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP) served as the finishing touches on the building.” The Zodiac circle in front of the second floor restaurant must be one of them...
...and perhaps the landings on the North and South stairways. Notice the same 1910 poster from the first American Aviation Meet, I posted when we went to the Centennial (Link to: Aviation Day Centennial).
Upstairs is a small restaurant with a bar and an observation patio.
It’s a bit of a walk from the gate to the plan, and then up ramps or stairs to access it.
There are plans to modernize the facility without sacrificing its historic Art Deco terminal (which has been declared a Historic Building). They recently completed a new 1,989-space parking structure; below is a rendering of the new concourse which would be located behind the original terminal.
My art shot for the day:
