The Port Takes Off

SOME READERS may remember this piece of typical World War II military construction. The snapshot here is included in a Port of Seattle scrapbook kept at the Bellevue Branch of the Washington State Archive. It is captioned "Jan. 31, 1947, First Temporary Terminal Building."

The name of the structure printed on the band between the roof and the door favors slightly in its bold lettering the "owner" — the Port of Seattle. Originally, the federal government nudged the Port toward dividing its energies between the waterfront and a long runway. After agreeing to this unfamiliar dry assignment, both the Port and the U.S. Army recommended that the region's first "super airport" be built on the plateau east of Lake Issaquah. That the Bow Lake acres on the "Highline" were chosen instead had much to do with United Airlines wanting to be close to both Seattle and Tacoma. For chipping in $100,000 of the first million and a half required to spread a swath of concrete on the Highline, Tacoma got half of its name.

U.S. Rep. Warren Magnuson and others ceremonially broke ground on April 18, 1942. Commercial airlines moved over from Boeing Field in 1945, though Sea-Tac was not officially opened until the year of this snowscape, 1947.

This temporary structure greeted planes and passengers until July of 1949, when a "full-service" passenger terminal and administration building was dedicated. Twenty-four years later it was "swallowed" when a greatly expanded passenger terminal was dedicated on top of it.

Recently joined to this is the new Central Terminal shown in the "now." On the other side of its great glass viewing wall are 11 food and beverage outlets.

Paul Dorpat specializes in historical photography and has published several books on early Seattle.