Please join SAH/SCC Past President John Berley, as he presents the remarkable history of Glendale’s Grand Central Air Terminal (Henry Gogerty, AIA, 1930) and the process of it's spectacular rebirth. This is an online event hosted via Zoom.
The Glendale airport (GCAT) was the first commercial airport for Los Angeles, and home of Trans World Airlines (TWA), the first transcontinental airline that counted Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) as a pilot and advisor. It was also home to early aviation exploits of Howard Hughes (1905-1976)—who later owned TWA—and a frequent stop for pioneer aviatrixes, including Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), who learned to fly there.
After the airport closed in 1959, the land that comprised the airport was redeveloped into a light industrial business park. Over time, the building fell in disrepair and was eventually abandoned in 1990. The Walt Disney Company purchased the business park in 1997 and in early 2012, Frederick Fisher & Partners was selected to transform the derelict, boarded-up terminal building into an special events center for Disney. Berley, formerly a Senior Associate at the firm, ran the project and along with preservation architect John LoCascio of HRG, directed the building’s restoration and adaptive reuse. Grand Central Air Terminal is now on the National Register of Historical Places.
A Forgotten Icon Reborn: Grand Central Passenger Air Terminal—Sunday, August 4, 2024; 1-2:30 PM; $5. Go to https://www.sahscc.org/site/index.php?function=event_details&id=514 and pay via PayPal; or mail in order form with check; Zoom link sent upon registration.
