Old airports find new life, purpose
But it can take decades to fulfill a vision
As cities grow and the role of aviation in society expands, so too does the need for larger airports and airports in different places.
So what can be done with old, unwanted commercial airports? Turns out, quite a bit. Stapleton International Airport, less than 10 miles from downtown Denver, was replaced in February 1995 by the much larger Denver International Airport, which was built 25 miles from the city center. The 7.5 square miles that once housed Stapleton’s runways and terminals is now a mixed-use community that John Karsada, author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next, considers “the most successful repurposing of a former major commercial airport I have observed anywhere in the world.”
Most of the original structures from the former Stapleton airfield were demolished, but the control tower and its building remained. And this month, after sitting vacant for more than 20 years, the tower building reopened as a 32,000 square-foot “eatertainment” concept with six bowling lanes, shuffle board, bocce courts, karaoke rooms, a sports bar and a wide variety of other indoor and outdoor dining, drinking and social gaming opportunities.
“Dozens of ideas for reuse of the tower were presented over the years, including demolition, but there was a desire in the community to preserve the tower in order to visually convey the history of the land as the former Denver airport,” said Robert Thompson, founder and CEO of Punch Bowl Social, the company that turned the control tower building into a fun zone.
It would have been easier for Punch Bowl Social to demolish the old building and create something from scratch. Instead they were able to preserve the his- toric structure, re-using some of the original precast panels that adorned the building exterior. Inside, there are plenty of nods to the golden age of flight.
“The hostess stand is made from a vintage steamer trunk. Reclaimed airplane dials are mounted on the walls, vintage luggage is stacked in shelving around the bowling cage, and we have signage from the original Stapleton International Airport throughout,” Thompson said.
And while the interior walls are covered with what appears to be polka-dot paper, the pattern is actually made from an aerial view of Stapleton from 30,000 feet.
“The air-traffic control tower is the most visible and iconic representation of the history of this area,” said Denver City Councilman Christopher Herndon, whose district includes Stapleton. “The Punch Bowl Social project embodies the spirit of reimagination and reactivation Denver embraced when we envisioned a vibrant neighborhood filling the footprint of the former Stapleton airport.”
The 700-acre Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, which sat just 3 miles from downtown Austin, was replaced in 1999 by Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, about 10 miles from the city center.
Today, the former Mueller airport site is, like Stapleton, a mixed-use community with homes, retail and office space, parks and public art. A farmer’s market is held in the historic 1943 Browning Hangar, the former aviation administration building houses a visitor/welcome center for the community, and Mueller’s historic airport blue-hued control tower remains as well.
In New York, Floyd Bennett Field (named for Floyd Bennett, the first person to fly over the North Pole and the site of the city’s first municipal airport) is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. And historic Hangar B, on the east side of the field, now serves as a restoration and exhibition space for vintage aircraft.
After Berlin-Tempelhof Airport closed in 2008, much of the land was slated for housing and commercial development, but today the giant terminal and hangars remain in use as grand event and concert venues and homes for small businesses. And the vast open spaces are being used by the community for cycling, jogging, running, dogwalking, kite flying, gardening and more.
One of the most creative airport reuse projects has been the upcycling of Hong Kong’s in-city airport, Kai Tak, into a cruise terminal.
Kai Tak Airport, known for the quickturn flight approach into the city that inspired both nail-biting and awe, closed in 1998 and was replaced by a far larger Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok Island.
Hong Kong’s cruise ship market was growing, so the government decided to turn the former airport into a cruise terminal. British architectural design and engineering firm Foster + Partners won the international competition to design the project, and the first cruise ship berthed at what has now become a landmark site in the city in June 2013.
And because cruise terminals have plenty of downtime, the building was designed to accommodate other uses such as car shows, exhibitions, concerts and other events.
And what will become of other airports that become unused or superfluous in the future? Already, “airports often figure in zombie movies as places of last stands,” notes Christopher Schaberg, author of Airportness and an associate professor of English and Environmental Studies at Loyola University New Orleans.