East Side Airline Terminal

East Side Airline Terminal
General information
LocationNew York, New York
United States
Coordinates40°44′47″N 73°58′22″W / 40.74639°N 73.97278°W / 40.74639; -73.97278
Owned byTriborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
Operated byEast Side Airlines Terminal Corporation
Bus stands15
Bus operatorsCarey Transportation, Inc.
History
OpenedNovember 30, 1953 (1953-11-30)[1][2]
Closed1984, incorporated into The Corinthian
Location
Map

The East Side Airline Terminal was one of three air terminals in Midtown Manhattan. Opening in 1953, and occupying the full block west of 1st Avenue between 37th Street and 38th Street, the East Side Airline Terminal served as a location where passengers could purchase tickets and check baggage before boarding buses that would transport them to JFK Airport, LaGuardia Airport, or Newark Airport.[3][4][5]

History[edit]

Contracts were signed for financing the new terminal on July 3, 1951, and construction began on July 25, 1951. The terminal, which cost $6,841,000 to construct, was built and owned by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) and leased to the East Side Airlines Terminal Corporation, a private entity composed of ten domestic airlines that used the facility.[1][3][6]

The East Side Airline Terminal, with its immediate proximity to the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, replaced bus service from the 42nd Street Airlines Terminal, which was renamed the Airlines Building and became a ticketing-only facility until it was demolished in 1978.[7][8]

At the East Side Airline Terminal, passengers entered from the east or west sides of the building and took escalators or stairs to a rotunda on the second floor, which was a large hall lined with domestic airline ticket counters and bus gates. Buses would enter the western portion of the building from 38th Street, drive up a ramp to a U-shaped roadway around the second floor that contained 15 passenger loading platforms, and descend a ramp to exit the western portion of the building on 37th Street across from the entrance to the Queens–Midtown Tunnel. A mezzanine level above the rotunda included ticket counters for international air carriers and office space. The rooftop included 275 public parking spaces that were accessed by autos via a separate entrance and ramp. A bus garage and repair and servicing facilities were located in the basement.[1][3][4]

Bus service from the East Side Airline Terminal to Newark Airport was discontinued when the West Side Airlines Terminal opened in 1955. The location of the new terminal on the West Side near the Lincoln Tunnel eliminated the need for buses to travel crosstown on 42nd Street and shortened the travel time from 40 minutes to 21 minutes.[9][10]

By the 1970s, most airlines had acquired baggage handling sites at the airports. The West Side terminal closed in 1972 and the East Side terminal was itself threatened with closure the following year when the airlines refused to renew their original 20-year lease.[11][12] Closure of the East Side terminal was opposed by elected officials and civic groups, which led to negotiations by the city to prevent the terminal from closing. The TBTA agreed to keep the terminal open for three additional months while working out plans to continue operations; at that time the terminal was operating at an annual deficit of about $750,000. Bus fares were subsequently increased to enable the facility to break even.[13][14][15]

In 1976, the terminal's rooftop parking was converted to a tennis facility operated by the Murray Hill Racquet Club. The club had ten Har-Tru courts in two pressurized air bubbles.[16][17]

A report issued by New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin in 1982 recommended that the city should negotiate new terms with the TBTA or the agency should relocate the terminal and sell the building because it was producing inadequate revenue.[18] Eventually Carey moved its bus operations to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in 1984, leaving the East Side terminal operating primarily as rental space for various tenants, including the tennis club.[19][20][21]

In 1985 the property was sold to developers for $90.6 million and became the eventual site of the 57-story The Corinthian condominium.[22] Most of the terminal itself was retained and incorporated into the base of the new development as office space.[23][24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Facilities". Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. p. 24. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "New Airlines Center Set For Dedication". The New York Times. November 28, 1953. p. 31. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Schwab Jr., Armand (November 8, 1953). "New York's New Air Terminal". The New York Times. p. X19. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Schwab Jr., Armand (July 18, 1954). "Progress Report; Seven-Month-Old Air Terminal Doing Good Job for Just About Everyone". The New York Times. p. X15.
  5. ^ Grant, Annette (March 1, 1971). "Get Me To The Plane On Time". New York. New York Media, LLC. p. 63.
  6. ^ "Contracts Signed for Airline Depot". The New York Times. July 4, 1951. p. B31.
  7. ^ "Vanished New York City Art Deco: The Airlines Terminal". Driving for Deco. August 5, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Gannon, Devin (June 23, 2017). "The history behind 42nd Street's lost Airlines Terminal Building". 6sqft. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Gilbert, Morris (September 11, 1955). "The West Side Gets Its Own Air Terminal". The New York Times. p. X23. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "New Air Terminal Opens Today; Bus Trip to Newark 21 Minutes". The New York Times. September 15, 1955. p. 35. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "West Side Air Terminal To Be Closed This Month". The New York Times. August 11, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "Airlines May Close Depot On East Side in October". The New York Times. May 8, 1973. p. 30. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  13. ^ "Metropolitan Briefs: Airline Terminal Closing Fought". The New York Times. September 26, 1973. p. 45. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Prial, Frank J. (October 17, 1973). "East Side Airline Terminal To Remain Open, for Now". The New York Times. p. 51. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Dembart, Lee (October 20, 1974). "Follow-Up On The News: Airlines Terminal". The New York Times. p. 39. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Friedman, Charles (November 4, 1976). "Major Indoor Tennis Event Is Difficult to Promote Here". The New York Times. p. 52. ProQuest 122901873.
  17. ^ Lichtenstein, Grace (January 16, 1978). "The Great 8: Terrific Places to Play Indoor Tennis". The New York Times. p. C22. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  18. ^ "The City: Airlines Terminal Assailed By Golden". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 31, 1982. p. B3. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  19. ^ Fein, Esther B. (July 12, 1984). "Bus Service To Begin Today From West Side To Airports". The New York Times. p. B20. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Trouble In Catching A Ride To The Plane". The New York Times. August 21, 1984. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Poor Sports At M.T.A.?". New York. New York Media, LLC. April 16, 1984. p. 13. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Berger, Joseph (February 14, 1985). "Airlines Terminal on East Side Sold for $90.6 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  23. ^ Oser, Alan S. (July 12, 1984). "About Real Estate; Zone Shift Spurs Housing On East Side". The New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  24. ^ "The new Corinthian takes off from the old airline terminal". Daily News. New York. June 5, 1987. p. 165. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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