SHREVEPORT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT




A linen postcard depicting the new SHV facility shortly after it was completed in 1952.

The Shreveport Municipal Airport opened July 6, 1952 - a completely new airfield replacing the Shreveport Downtown Airport that had served the city since 1931. The $2.4 million terminal building was situated near the junction of the airport's two runways, offering quick taxi times to either strip.

Designers chose a fairly straightforward layout for the building - a ground-level passenger facility, a second floor housing airport and airline offices, and a control tower on the third level. An open-air passenger arcade protruded out onto the apron, offering parking for up to six aircraft.

Initial airline service was provided by Delta Air Lines, Chicago & Southern Airlines (which merged with Delta in 1955) and Mid-Continent Airlines (absorbed by Braniff shortly after the terminal opened). Local-service airline Trans-Texas Airways began service towards the end of the decade.


A Delta Convair propliner rests on the SHV ramp in the late 1950s.

Jet operations were begun by Braniff and Delta in the mid-1960s, with DC9 and Boeing 727 aircraft. As more and more of the aircraft were introduced, planning began for a replacement terminal complex on a site just north of the existing facility. Work began in 1969, and the terminal was formally opened in 1971.

The 1952 terminal was converted to a fixed-base operator and general aviation terminal, a role it continues to serve today.


An aerial view of the new (top) and old (bottom) Shreveport terminals in 1971.


A satellite view of the old SHV site in the late 1990s, showing the 1952 terminal surrounded by various general aviation craft. The outdoor boarding arcade has been removed, but otherwise the facility is still in its original state.

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