From the vault: 5 vintage PDX photos in color

Following last week's very popular Memphis post, we want to share some more very rare images with you, this time of Portland International Airport in 1963.

They were part of the same batch as the Memphis images. This time it concerns all exterior shots. There is relatively little historical material on "PDX" out there from the early days--let alone in full color--with the exception of the obligatory postcard.

Even if it's just a few images, they are so unique that we thought it was worth a little standalone post. Now, let's have a look! You can click the images to enlarge.

An exterior view of Portland's terminal building, which opened in 1959. The terminal cost USD 4.25 million and  took two years to build.

A view of the airport parking lot taken from the airport control tower. Parking was a breeze in those days!

A ramp view looking toward the terminal building. A Northwest DC-4 is parked at the concourse. Other major operators at PDX were United Airlines, Western Airlines, and West Coast Airlines, the last of which served local feeder routes. I just love those ramp lights!

A view of the northern concourse, which was used by United Airlines. Later on in the 1960s the concourses were fitted with boarding bridges.

We end with this view looking west toward the southern concourse. This concourse was completely rebuilt in 1973.

We hope you enjoyed these vintage images of Portland Airport. There's a LOT more where that came from so make sure you sign up for the newsletter to know when new content goes online!

If you're interested in purchasing large, high-quality versions of some of the images above, then please visit the AirportHistory Digital Library.

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