Ultra-rare images of Memphis Airport in the early 1960s

During our recent digs in the AirportHistory.org archives, we stumbled upon a  batch of amazing images of Memphis Airport's brand new Jet-Age terminal, taken shortly after its opening in 1963. Better still, most of the images are in full color!

For this blog post, we want to show you a selection of these ultra-rare images. Now, without further ado, let's go back in time and explore Memphis Airport in 1963!

A fantastic interior view of Memphis Airport's brand new terminal building, looking toward the airline ticketing desks. The terminal was inaugurated on June 7th, 1963. On the occasion, Memphis Municipal Airport was renamed Memphis Metropolitan Airport. In 1969, it was renamed Memphis International Airport.

An exterior view of the new terminal looking south. It was designed by Memphis-based architect Roy Harrover and cost USD 5.5 million to build. The original plan had provisions for additional terminal modules to the left and right of the main building. These were built in the early 1970s along with new boarding concourses.

The modern and stylish Delta Air Lines ticketing desk. The six other airlines that served Memphis in 1963 were: American, Braniff, United, Eastern, Southern and Trans-Texas--the latter two being local service carriers.

A few passengers are waiting for their flights. The Coke slogan is very apt for an airport terminal. 

An exterior close-up view of the terminal, whose design was notable due to its distinctive martini glass-shaped columns. How appropriate a theme for the early Jet-Age! 

An aerial view taken looking south. The main part of the "Y"-shaped boarding concourse boasted seven gates equipped with boarding bridges. The two upper sections of the "Y" concourse featured simple, single-level structures with an another 15 gates. Note that all visiting aircraft are propeller aircraft. In 1963, Memphis Metropolitan Airport handled just over 1 million passengers.

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The American Airlines ticketing desk.

As this enlargement of the flight schedule shows, American was a sizeable player in Memphis in the days before deregulation. 

The Memphis Airport terminal was one of the first airport terminals that separated arrivals and departures on different levels.

A model of the terminal which is displayed inside the terminal building. It even has little lights inside.

Looking toward the boarding concourse. Contrary to nowadays, boarding concourses in those days were mere corridors, containing just some seats. All commercial facilities were located in the main building.

Last but not least--an American Airlines Boeing 707-120 pulls up to Gate 1. Memphis was one of the first airports in the US that was designed with jets and boarding bridges in mind. The gentleman up on the roof terrace is getting quite the view!

We hope you enjoyed our little glimpse of Memphis Airport in 1963! We will soon be offering a selection of these images as well as interesting documents pertaining to Memphis Airport's history as high-quality downloads in the AirportHistory Digital Library. Have a look at our other airport articles here.

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