A FLIGHT BACK in Time

Art Deco Design Lives on at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport

The sounds of piston engines and propellers filled the sky. Stylishly dressed passengers walked directly to awaiting aircraft – a Lockheed Vega, Curtiss Condor or Douglas DC-3 airliner – with hardly a fence in their way. The terminal buzzed with excitement and with the chatter of those awaiting the arrival of their loved ones on rocking chairs sprawled throughout. Glasses clinked in celebration at the terminal’s restaurant and ballroom…

In 1933, just 30 years after the Wright Brothers’ famous first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, New Orleans opened its first airport, a state-of-the-art facility on a filled-in area of Lake Pontchartrain. At the time of its opening, the Shushan Airport was the largest airport in the U.S. and was the first combined land and seaplane air terminal in the world.

A year after its opening, it hosted the 1934 Pan-American Air Races as part of its opening ceremonies and just a few years later would become one of Amelia Earhart’s last-known stops – her second during her 1937 attempt to fly around the world. “I’ve flown over your airport here numerous times, and it looked so nice from the air that I decided to land and see how it looked from the ground,” she was reported having told the crowd of curious citizens and reporters who had assembled at the tarmac to catch a glimpse of the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

From its opening through 1946, the Shushan Airport was host to every airline serving New Orleans. Since then, the airport – twice renamed, New Orleans Airport in 1940 and New Orleans Lakefront in 1964 – has consistently remained one of the most active business and recreational airports in the country.

A First of Its Kind

The Shushan Airport’s terminal was characterized by its unique and impressive Art Deco style, designed by the same team that built the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. No details were spared, with rich yet subtle ornamentation throughout, all intentionally envisioned to highlight the symbols of both aviation and of the human ingenuity that made the endeavor possible.

In 1936, an extensive $250,000 beautification project funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) added additional landscaping, paving and the installation of a sculpture by Enrique Alférez. The Fountain of the Four Winds, featuring four nude sculptures, represents the nation’s recovery from the Great Depression.

Additionally, visitors walking into the airport during these early years would’ve also been greeted by eight distinctive murals. Designed by Spanish painter and sculptor, Xavier Gonzalez, a favorite of the New Deal-era agencies that commissioned artists to decorate public buildings, these 10-by-10-foot murals were arranged in a circular display around the terminal, positioned to coincide with the terrazzo compass inlaid in the center of the waiting area’s floor.

Nearby, at the Walnut Room, a bustling entertainment venue tucked within the terminal, visitors and awaiting passengers alike, delighted in dancing, dining and drinking – evoking the lively spirit of New Orleans in the late 1930s.

A Portal into the Past

Today, the historically restored Art Deco terminal building offers a one-of-a-kind portal into commercial aviation in both its infancy and, arguably, its finest.

To recapture the building’s beauty, craftsmen and artisans from around the country were hired to ensure that every detail mirrored its original appearance. Every aspect was painstakingly researched. From door frames and pay phone signs to frescos and marble and granite floors and walls, no diligence was spared in bringing back the airport’s original and distinctive 1930s allure.

"Few restored Art Deco airport terminals exist in the United States. The Shushan Airport terminal is by all indicators and its early completion date, possibly the oldest surviving Art Deco terminal in the nation restored to its true original grandeur. This restoration also reminds Louisiana citizens and visiting passengers of the vision of prosperity that inspired so many individuals to find strength on the road to recovery during one of our nation's darkest periods, the Great Depression."

– NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE

September 2013

A New Era

In 1964, the airport, now named New Orleans Lakefront Airport, received a makeover (or, rather, under) that tragically covered up its 1933 Art Deco look. The building’s original façade was encased in a steel frame and white stucco, and its opulent interior was redesigned.

When Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in 2005, the airport was severely damaged. According to news reports, when FEMA saw what lay hidden beneath the now destroyed façade, they agreed to return the terminal building to its Art Deco design.

After an extensive $18-million historic restoration, what was once old became new again when the terminal reopened in September 2013 in all of its original 1933 glory. Ninety years after its monumental opening, the airport now offers travelers and visitors alike the opportunity to step back into the 1930s in a thoughtful and elegant style.

The original panels on the exterior of the building depict the story of man’s mastery of flight. Indoors, the main waiting room is a vast, light-filled two-story space, with a mezzanine balcony wrapped around the second floor. The walls are adorned with colorful marble, and the painted, coffered ceiling is enhanced with a band depicting 1930s-era airplane designs.

Colorful marble adorns the walls, while a painted coffered ceiling soars above. A frieze bands the space just below the ceiling and depicts 1930s-era design and construction of airplanes.

Most notably, seven of the original eight aviation murals by Gonzalez are proudly displayed in the terminal, and Alférez’s symbolic sculpture has also been restored. And of course, the iconic Walnut Room is welcoming back travelers and visitors for a bite, a drink or a private celebration.

Fittingly, a visit to New Orleans Lakefront transports visitors back in time while propelling them to new heights.

A special thanks to the team at New Orleans Lakefront Airport for allowing NOAG to capture the images featured in this catalogue in this inspiring Art Deco space. We could dream up no more fitting backdrop for our July Estates Auction than a snapshot of 1930s New Orleans.