National Airport's been in the news for nearly a week, now -- and not in a very happy way. Anyone who has flown into or out of the riverside facility can tell you that it is a throwback to the days of propeller-driven aircraft. The runways are short, for there is no land on which to lengthen them. Traffic is heavy and a mix of executive jets, commercial jets, and the military and police helicopters that fly up and down the Potomac River.
There was an effort to move much of the traffic away from National when Dulles Airport opened in 1962. Designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen, who also designed the TWA terminal at JFK Airport in New York and the St. Louis arch in that city, Dulles truly is a beautiful sight to behold with its sweeping roofline and glass front.
The only problem with Dulles is that it is sited some 30 miles away from DC. For nearly thirty years, no one wanted to go all the way out to Dulles when National was right across the river. Shops, townhouses, and other sites that had been erected in hopes that Dulles would drive people out that way were boarded up. All that changed with the privatization of government in the early 1990s. New faces moved in, and high prices drove old faces to move farther out from DC. It wasn't long before Mr. Saarinen's terminal building had to be enlarged -- and it was, to nearly double its original size. Thankfully, the new architects retained the original style.
So, now, both airports -- as well as Baltimore-Washington International Airport, located north of DC -- are crowded. Will there be a fourth airport? Heaven only knows; after all, the air space is crowded, as well. For now, it seems like all parties to last week's terrible crash need to focus on getting their ducks in a row, for the accident was nothing if not a classic case of contributory negligence.
Read about the history of National Airport. It's a real page turner.
Photo Credits:
Top -- the main terminal building at National Airport as it now appears (Famartin via Wikimedia Commons)
Bottom -- Dulles as it appeared in 1962 (Roger Wollstadt via Wikimedia Commons)
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