AUSTIN ROBERT MUELLER
MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
An aerial view of Austin-Mueller in its final 1990s configuration. Note the surrounding neighborhoods and development.
Robert Mueller Airport opened its new 'jet age' passenger terminal in 1960 to replace a much older temporary building. Although jet service from the airlines serving AUS - Braniff, Trans-Texas and Continental - was
still many years off, the terminal was hailed as a modern showplace for the fast new aircraft. Never mind that the 707 and DC8 aircraft couldn't operate from the short runways at the airport!
The building was single-story, with ticketing at the north end and baggage claim to the south. A full-service restaurant, passenger lobby, newsstand and gift shop were located in between the two. This design seems to be typical
of mid-size terminals from this era. Extending across the apron from the lobby was an open-air passenger pier with parking for 8-10 aircraft. All boarding was at ground level.
The architecture of the buiding, in contrast to the layout, was definitely eye catching. The main terminal featured a series of waving roof trusses designed to mimic clouds. Glass walls and landscaped planters
inside created a pleasant atmosphere for departing and arriving passengers. Perhaps the most notable feature of the building, however, was the control tower - a graceful, curved structure paneled in blue and white, with the cab at the top. The
tower quickly became the terminal's - and one of the city's - most recognizable features.
The new AUS terminal under construction in early 1960. The building itself is complete, although work is still underway on the apron and gate pier.
Austin Mayor Lester Palmer (left) speaks at the dedication of the terminal in 1961, while actor Gregory Peck (right) visits in 1964. In both pictures, note the observation deck on the roof of the passenger boarding pier.
Photos courtesy of Juan Garcia
A view across the parking lot towards the terminal early in the 1960s. Note the 'futuristic' design of the building.
A close-up of the modern style control tower at Austin-Mueller.
By the end of the 1960s, all three airlines had introduced jet services at the airport, Braniff with 727s and Texas International with DC9s. Continental operated a mix of the two types. In the early 1970s, the airport underwent its
first major expansion, in the form of a second-floor boaring area over the airside pier. A new sloping ramp was built connecting the main terminal with six upper-level gate holdrooms, all equipped with jetway loading bridges. Braniff operated
from the three gates on the south side of the pier, while Continental and TI shared the three north-side gates. The baggage claim area was also extended and carousels installed.
Braniff 727s at AUS before (left) and after (right) the addition of an upper-level boarding concourse in the mid-1970s. Both 727s appear in the two-tone color scheme introduced in 1971. Braniff was Austin's largest carrier in the 1960s and 1970s.
Traffic really started to grow after deregulation in 1978. Southwest Airlines began service that year, with flights to Dallas, Houston and Midland. Following the Continental/Texas International merger and collapse of
Braniff in 1982, a slew of new airlines opened up routes to Austin - Delta, American, United, USAir, Piedmont, America West, TWA, Ozark and Republic, among others. A five gate 'rotunda' was added to the end of the passenger pier
in the early 1980s to accommodate the extra airlines. American and Delta took over this addition and remained its primary tenants until the terminal closed in 1999.
An aerial view of AUS in the early 1980s, showing the new rotunda gate area at the end of the boarding concourse and the baggage claim hall built in the 1970s.
Another view of Mueller in the early 1980s, this time showing the entire airfield. Note how development has hemmed in the single jet runway. Construction work has not started on the East Terminal.
Photo courtesy of Juan Garcia
It was also becoming clear that Mueller was nearing the end of its useful life as an airport. In the mid-1980s, the city of Austin abandoned plans to construct a new terminal and parallel runway (a project that would have
required demolishing hundreds of homes and businesses around Mueller) and instead began searching for a site to build a second airport. In the meantime, they approved a 'stopgap' bond package to allow for improvements at Mueller. Southwest, which had
become the airport's largest carrier, opened its own 'unit terminal' in 1988. Known as the East Terminal, it featured four jetway-equipped gates and a single large departure lounge, constructed above new ticket counters and operations offices. The
arrival and departure roadways were also widened and redesigned.
Diagrams of AUS before (left) and after (right) the 1988 renovation project, showing the addition of the Southwest's East Terminal and expanded concession space along the main concourse.
Officials were beginning to acquire land for a new airport in Manor, northeast of the city, when the US Air Force decided to close Bergstrom Air Force Base south of town. The city quickly purchased the base and began converting it to a civilian airport, with
a targeted completion date of early 1999.
Austin-Mueller during the 1990s. Although grainy, the rotunda and East Terminal additions are visible at the bottom of the photo.
Taking off from Austin in a small aircraft in the early 1990s. The entire terminal is visible, including a United 727, Delta 737 and the top of a Northwest DC9. The distinctive control tower is hidden behind the wing strut.
The 1990s were a heady time for air travel and Mueller went out in a blaze of glory. As single-runway airports go, it was extremely busy. For a time during the early 1990s, American even operated DC10s on the Austin-DFW run, although these were later
replaced by 757s and MD80s. The East Terminal was bursting at the seams with Southwest flights - Austin had some of WN's fastest turnarounds as a result of pressure to accommodate incoming flights.
I made my first and only flight to AUS in January 1991, on a Southwest 737 from El Paso. My family and I had a 50-minute layover in Austin before we had to catch our flight back home to Dallas. I remember the extremely exciting descent and approach, as houses and
shopping centers came closer and closer to the wingtip, then finally the plane skimmed over I-35 (so low I thought we'd hit the traffic!) and touched down at AUS. The terminal building looked very modern for its time - it had just been renovated and expanded back in 1988,
then only three years before. I do recall, though, that the single waiting area in the East Terminal was absolutely PACKED with passengers. I can also remember the flight announcements echoing up and down the main corridor of the ticketing wing as I explored the entire building.
It wasn't a luxurious terminal by any standards, but it was easy to use. It was obvious even to a ten-year-old (me) that the city needed a new airport.
After almost 40 years of operations, Austin-Mueller finally closed its doors in March of 1999 and all operations transferred to Bergstrom. It was the first major airport opening in the US since Denver was completed in 1995, although the "new" Bergstrom utilized a former air force
runway and thus wasn't a completely new airfield.
These two photos of AUS were taken the week before commercial service ended. The East Terminal addition is visible in the photo at left.
Photos by Paul Provence
Two photos of the terminal interior during its last week of operations, including a Texas bluebonnet sculpture above the entrance to the main concourse (left) and the ticket counters (right).
Photos by Paul Provence
For several years after the closure, as the city finalized redevelopment plans, the terminal area and runways sat completely abandoned:
Photos courtesy of Austin Explorer, Shane Deemer and Jason Knutson
The photos above show the deserted Mueller terminal area in 2000 and 2001. The empty jetways on the American/Delta rotunda are visible in the last photo.
The abandoned terminal complex at Austin-Mueller in 2001, just before demolition of the terminal area began. Jetways on the main pier and East Terminal have been removed, although they are still attached to the rotunda.
Major demolition and redevelopment of the Mueller site finally got underway in 2002. The main pier and rotunda came down first, although Southwest's East Terminal has supposedly been removed as well. The control tower will remain on the site as
a memorial to the airport, just as at Denver-Stapleton. I passed Austin Mueller while on approach to the new AUS (known as Bergstrom International) in September 2002. There was no trace of the pier area, and the touchdown marks on the runways
were beginning to fade as well. The redevelopment plan calls for mixed-use zoning (homes, businesses, parks, schools, etc.) to be added over a 25-year period.
The passenger pier comes down at Austin-Mueller in early 2002. A sad day in the former airport's history.
Got more info on Austin-Mueller? Let me know at j-sullivan2@northwestern.edu.
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