JOURNALING: An 85-year old piece of air travel history may be doomed to the wrecking ball. A group working to restore the original Port Columbus (OH) Airport terminal is trying to raise the nearly $2.5 million estimated necessary to renovate the building, located at 4920 E. 5th Ave.
The building, on a site selected by Charles Lindbergh, was the first stop when westbound transcontinental passenger service was inaugurated by Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) on July 7, 1929. On that date, 19 passengers, including Amelia Earhart, left New York City by railroad, bound for Columbus OH. There they boarded one of two Ford Tri-Motor aircraft on July 8 for the flight to Waynoka OK. Another train ride, to Clovis NM, was followed by the short plane hop to Los Angeles, completing the 48 hour journey.
By 1930, TAT merged with Western Air, Inc. to form TWA and true transcontinental air service replaced the train/plane version, but the old terminal building continued to service air travelers until 1958, when the current Port Columbus terminal opened.
The old building was converted to offices. In the late 1980's, a $600,000 investment restored the building which was under the threat of demolition. The building has been vacant for about 6 years and has fallen into disrepair, with a leaking roof and mold damage. Just repairing the damage is estimated to cost $250,000.
As of the old terminal's 85th birthday, no funding has been located and the city and nation may soon lose this link to history.
CREDITS: KIT: 100 Days of Happy by North Meets South Studios. FONT: Wizards Magic; Arial. PHOTOS: 1 & 3 are from web, 2 is by me from 2012.