LaGuardia Airport, Circa 1941: Home to Luxury Transatlantic Flying Boats

A glimpse back to the early 1940s reveals a part of New York’s LaGuardia Airport that left a significant mark on the history of air travel in a way that seems fantastical today. Known as the Marine Air Terminal, it provided the world’s first transatlantic passenger service, and it did so through the operation of Pan American Airways’ iconic flying boats.

Both the aircraft and the terminal were legendary for their style: while the Boeing Clipper flying boats provided luxury in the form of dining rooms and sleeping berths, the terminal was defined by an offshoot of Art Deco known as Streamline Moderne. With terra-cotta depictions of golden flying fish and a rooftop observation deck, it provided a gateway to a form of air travel that, today, would be most closely matched by ultra-long-range private jets.

Fortunately, this chapter of air travel has been preserved. As both a New York City and a National Register of Historic Places landmark, it stands today with restored elements that highlight its significance in aviation history.