PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT



Phoenix's Terminal 1 seen sometime in the 1950s, shortly after its opening.

The city of Phoenix opened its new airport terminal in 1952. The facility was one of the most modern airport terminals in the Southwest at that time, and was the largest fully air-conditioned structure in Arizona upon its completion. Constructed from brown adobe-style brick and topped off by a 100-foot control tower, the building quickly became a Phoenix icon. The tower itself was notable - it was built from steel drainage pipes welded together. A narrow spiral staircase went from the terminal lobby up to the control cab at the top.


A view of Terminal 1 in 1952, right before completion. At this time the building had only one departure gate; traffic through Phoenix was not very heavy. Note the small windows on the terminal, intended to minimize the amount of sunlight that entered the air-conditioned building.

The terminal was arranged in somewhat semicircular shape on a single-level plan. Airline ticket offices and baggage reclaim were all located along the main hall, which was punctuated in the center by the passageway to the single departure gate. Aircraft parked on the apron beyond this gate, although traffic through Phoenix was quite slow in the 1950s. When the building opened, Phoenix was served by American, TWA, Western, Continental, Bonanza and Frontier Airlines.


Looking toward the main entrance of the new PHX terminal in the late 1950s.


Two views of Terminal 1 in the late 1950s, showing an American Convair 340 at the sole departure gate (left) and an overview of the then-new terminal (right.)

Traffic through the airport grew by leaps and bounds during the latter half of the 1950s, however, particularly after the introduction of 707 jet aircraft on many routes through Phoenix. Construction on a second terminal immediately adjacent to the original building began in 1958. In the meantime, to provide space, an outdoor 'arcade' was built along Terminal 1's frontage, increasing the number of loading gates from one to five.


An aerial view of Sky Harbor in the mid-1960s, after the opening of the East Wing/Terminal 2. Aside from a Frontier CV340 and a few business aircraft, Terminal 1 is deserted.

When the second terminal was finally ready for service in 1961, it became known as the "East Wing." Mainline carriers American, TWA and Western, along with Bonanza, relocated into the new building, leaving Continental and Frontier in the original terminal (now called the "West Wing".) The two buildings were joined by a covered outdoor walkway.

By the late 1960s Terminal 1 was again becoming strained. Continental received additional routes through Phoenix and began sending larger aircraft - such as the Boeing 720 and 727-200 - through Sky Harbor. Delta was also granted authority on the Dallas-Phoenix route in 1969; soon its DC8s and DC9s were calling at the West Wing as well. To accommodate the increase in traffic, three enclosed air-conditioned holdrooms were built along the covered arcade fronting Terminal 1's apron. Each of the three major carriers operated from one of the holdrooms, which replaced the large central departure lounge in the main building.


A view of Sky Harbor's terminal area in 1970. The three new gate holdrooms are visible on Terminal 1's airside, along with a Frontier propjet and an unmarked DC9. Also note that widebodies have arrived at PHX, as evidenced by the American 747 parked next door at the East Wing/Terminal 2.


Another 1970 shot of the PHX terminal area. A Delta DC8 and Frontier CV580 are parked at the West Wing/Terminal 1.

Jumping forward to 1977, Terminal 1 can be seen behind this TWA L1011 boarding at its Terminal 2 gate. Note Continental's holdroom in the background, with the old Continental logo on it.

By the early 1970s it was obvious that Sky Harbor was again in dire need of terminal expansion. Both terminals were straining to handle the rising passenger numbers, particulary once widebody aircraft were introduced. Construction began in 1975 on a third, much larger terminal building. Once it was completed, airport officials hoped to reshuffle the airlines, then permanently close and demolish Terminal 1.


A detailed diagram of Terminal 1 (then called the West Terminal) in 1975.

Alas, it was not to be - by the time the much-needed Terminal 3 opened in 1979, airline deregulation had sent a flood of new-entrant carriers into Phoenix. Continental and Delta moved over to Terminal 3 (along with American and Western, who moved from Terminal 2) but there was still a long list of carriers clamoring for gates. The city reluctantly agreed to keep Terminal 1 open until the two newer terminals could be expanded sufficiently. From 1979 until Terminal 3 was expanded in 1984, the original building, now "officially" known as Terminal 1, was jam-packed with airlines: Frontier, Braniff, United, Eastern, Northwest Orient and USAir, to name a few. More significantly, low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines began service from Terminal 1 in 1982.


Two views of PHX taken on the same day in the early 1980s. Terminal 3 is now complete and can be seen in the background of both shots. Upper-level gates are slowly being added Terminal 2. Terminal 1 looks about the same as it has for the past 15 years. A Frontier 737 and Eastern 727 are parked at Terminal 1.


A map of PHX in 1981, showing airline locations in Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
From a United Airlines services guide courtesy of Tom Moore

Terminal 3 was enlarged in 1984, allowing Northwest, Frontier and Eastern to move out of Terminal 1. United moved into former Hughes Airwest gates in Terminal 2 shortly thereafter. Southwest Airlines, however, began aggressively developing its Phoenix operation, and requested that it be allowed to stay in Terminal 1 permanently. Once it received permission, the airline made more than $1 million in improvements to the building, adding a second baggage claim area, renovating the ticket counter area, and consolidating the three gate holdrooms into one continuous departure lobby. Southwest also installed nine jetway loading bridges at Terminal 1.


Three photos of Terminal 1 taken in March 1987, after Southwest finished renovating Terminal 1. The first two shots were taken from the control tower and show the jetbridges added to the building (note the USAir 737 parked at the far end of the building; USAir stayed at Terminal 1 until late 1987, when it acquired PSA's gates in Terminal 2.) The third picture shows the arrival/departure roadway in front of Terminal 1. Photos by Thomas Moore

Despite the additions, however, Southwest's growth was more than the building could handle. When the city of Phoenix began construction on the Barry Goldwater Terminal 4 in 1988 for hub carrier America West, Southwest requested that two concourses be added to the design to accommodate its operations. Southwest transferred services from Terminal 1 to the new facility in November of 1990.


A map of PHX in 1987 - only Southwest, USAir, and commuter carriers remain in Terminal 1.

Shortly after the opening of T4, the city moved in and demolished Terminal 1. Today the old terminal site is used for general aviation parking, while its old infield parking lot is used as a remote shuttle parking facility. There are long-range plans to build a "new" Terminal 1 (along with near-complete reconstruction of Terminal 2); however, this is probably decades away.


The Terminal 1 site as it appeared in 2001. The outline of the former building is still visible, as are the docking stations for four of the gates at the southern end of the site.

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