MOLINE QUAD CITY AIRPORT
A United DC6 operating on the airline's transcontinental route calls at MLI in the early 1960s.
After voting in 1947 to establish a joint airport authority, the cities of Moline, Davenport, Rock Island and Bettendorf lost little time in constructing a modern new terminal at their joint-use
airfield south of the metropolitan area. The $510,000 edifice was completed in 1954 and was the largest airport terminal in Illinois after Chicago Midway Airport.
The building was sited as the intersection of MLI's three main runways and was arranged in a V-shape, rising to three levels at the point of the V. A central lobby beneath the control tower offered
picture windows for a panoramic view across the airfield. Flanking the main lobby were two one-story wings, housing airline ticket counters, a snack bar, gift shop and newsstand.
An airside view of the MLI terminal not long after it opened in 1954. The distinctive main lobby with its picture windows is visible.
Pages from the official program of the MLI terminal opening in 1954.
Courtesy of Blaine Peters
In its early days the airport was served by United and Braniff, both of whom operated large pistonliners and smaller propliners on routes to major Midwestern cities. Local-service carrier Ozark Air
Lines began service in the late 1950s, connecting Moline to smaller towns in Illinois and Iowa.
The terminal underwent its first expansion in 1961, when a second story was built atop each of the wings adjacent to the main lobby. Administrative and airline offices moved upstairs, freeing up
space on the ground level for more passenger services.
A view of the MLI terminal after a second level was added over most of the facility.
One of United's Vickers Viscounts idles at MLI in the early 1960s.
An aerial view of MLI in 1967.
Braniff pulled out of MLI in the mid-1960s (during a round of service cuts that saw flights to Waterloo, Rochester, Sioux City and Wichita Falls dropped as well) and many of its routes and frequencies
were taken up by Ozark. Both Ozark and United began jet service around the same time, using short-haul DC9s, 727s and 737s.
To give the larger jet aircraft more space, the terminal was expanded again in 1968. Two large additions on the airside of the building housed a total of four new gates, each with its own enclosed
holdroom. The eastern addition also included a new dedicated baggage claim area and a large restaurant replacing the original coffee shop in the main building. The original boarding gate (beneath the
control tower in the main lobby) was retained for commuter and air taxi operations.
This postcard shows an Ozark FH-227 in front of the new western gate holdrooms in the early 1970s. The eastern addition can also be seen on the extreme right of the lower photograph.
A somewhat grainy view of MLI seen from an aircraft on the eastern corner of the apron in 1976.
Several new carriers arrived at MLI after Deregulation in 1978, including Britt Airways, Mississippi Valley Airways and Simmons Airlines, operating commuter services on behalf of American Airlines.
Space was found for the new arrivals in the terminal, although the facility was starting to show its age. A 1980 study revealed that expanding the 1954 terminal would prove to be more costly than simply
constructing a replacmenet facility on an ajacent site. Consequently, work began on a new terminal in 1982.
The MLI terminal from the parking lot as it appeared in the early 1980s. Note that the control tower has been removed and replaced with a radome, following the construction of a new tower elsewhere.
Photo by Blaine Peters
MLI's terminal as seen from a departing aircraft in the early 1980s. An Ozark DC9 is parked at one of the two western gates. Ramp work for the new replacement terminal is underway on the left side of the photo.
Photo by Blaine Peters
Two diagrams of MLI from the early 1980s, showing the general arrangement of terminal facilities.
Left map from a United Airlines service guide, right map courtsey of Blaine Peters
The new terminal was ready for service by 1985, and all passenger operations were transferred that year. The old terminal remained standing for several years (its parking lot was used for overflow parking) but
was finally demolished in the 1990s to make room for an expansion of the 1985 terminal building and its apron.
A postcard from the late 1980s showing both the new (left) and old (right) MLI terminals.
Courtesy of Blaine Peters
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Looking south toward the former terminal in the late 1980s, after the facility had been closed. Note the number of cars in the old infield parking lot.
Photo by Blaine Peters
A satellite view of the MLI terminal area in 1999. The original terminal is long gone, although the curved apron along its former frontage is still visible. The new terminal is at left.
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