Monday, January 18, 2016

January 18, 1945 -- Agreement is Reached on Midway Airport Terminal


January 18, 1945 -- Agreement is reached between Chicago and airline officials in a plan to build a new terminal building at the city airport, today's Midway International Airport. Scaled way back from what once was proposed as an elaborate $1,750,000 terminal, the new proposal called for a building about 1,400 feet long, costing $470,000. The airlines agreed to bear the cost of the new building, along with loading areas, taxiways, and parking places, getting the city to repay the investment by remitting the cost of landing fees over a period of 10 years. The city architect, Paul Gerhardt, Jr., would design the building. Each of the 8 airlines using the airport agreed to rent space at $2 a foot, and a share of the cost of construction would be assessed each air line based on the ratio of its scheduled flights.

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