CHARLESTON AFB/MUNICIPAL AIRPORT



A Delta C&S propliner on the apron of the old CHS in the mid-1950s.

Armed with a $240,000 grant from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Charleston began planning for a new terminal building at its airport (which had served during World War II as the Charleston Army Airfield) in 1946. With the war over, the city took back the airfield and accommodated civilian flights in temporary quarters until the permanent terminal was opened in 1949.

Upon completion, the terminal consisted of a three-story central building, flanked by a two-level wing on each side. Architects designed the building with a Southern touch, including Georgian-style windows and doors, red clay brick masonry and an ornate columned entrance.

At the time, Charleston was an important stop on the Northeast-to-Florida route, served by Eastern, Delta and National Airlines. Fledgling local-service carriers Piedmont and Southern joined the lineup in the early 1950s.

For the first two decades this setup provided more than enough capacity, although by 1970, with passenger numbers growing, the building underwent its first major expansion. A T-shaped departure lounge protruding onto the apron was constructed, increasing the number of gates from one to three. A new baggage claim wing with an automated belt was added to the south end of the building, along with a dedicated arrival gate feeding directly into the new baggage claim hall.


Four of the five airlines serving Charleston are visible in this mid-1970s postcard, which also shows the new additions to the terminal - the main departure lounge (at center) and the arrival gate and baggage claim wing (at left).


A view of the CHS landside in the late 1970s.

After Deregulation in 1978, city planners began surveying sites for a new terminal complex. The existing facility offered limited opportunities for expansion - the site was hemmed in by hangars and was close to the primary runway. Work began in the early 1980s, and operations were transferred to the new terminal building in April 1985.

The old CHS terminal was left standing for almost 15 years after it closed, but was finally demolished in the late 1990s to make way for more general aviation hangars. Today there is no trace of it left.


Satellite views of the former Charleston terminal before (left) and after (right) it was demolished in the late 1990s.

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