A large mural - Rejoicing and the Festivals of the Americas - by the famous Brazilian artist Carybé dominates one side of the International Arrivals Building, Terminal 4. Carybé won the commission for two murals which were installed in 1960. The terminal has since undergone massive expansion, and the murals are being installed in Miami International Airport. The new Miami terminal is scheduled to open in June, 2009. Articles here and here. Video here.
The fate of this huge stained-glass façade by Robert Sowers (also unveiled in 1960) on the south side of American Airlines Terminal 8 was not as fortunate. Once the largest stained glass wall in the world, it came down in 2007 to make way for a larger terminal. It proved unfeasable to preserve as a whole, so the seperate tiles were sold and shipped to various places. One report had them being made into keychains. Ouch.This quote from the New York Times says it all: 'John Farrell, another pilot, said: “In this age, you can’t afford too much sentimentality. There are razor-thin margins in this business, and I don’t think anybody ever buys a ticket because American Airlines has a very nice stained window.” ' I'm going out on a limb here and guessing he's no artist... More here and here.
International Customs and Claims area. Note the Eames-esque color sceme of bright yellow, orange and white.
Two Mohawk "Cosmopolitan" Convair 240 26s sit ready in front of the Pan Am Terminal at New York International Airport at Idlewild. A pilot is visible in the nearest plane. The gold and brown color scheme was adapted in 1958.ElectroSpark @ Twitter | Flicker
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Removing that stained glass window was a crime...
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