History
Albany International was the first, and remains the oldest, municipal airport in the United States. In 1908 the airstrip was located on a former polo field on Loudonville Road, three miles (5 km) north of the city in the town of Colonie. In 1909, the airport was moved to Westerlo Island, which is in the city of Albany, but at that time was in the town of Bethlehem; the airport was named at this time. The airport was named after Teddy Roosevelt's son, Quentin, a fighter pilot during World War I. A $10,000 prize was established for sustained flight between Albany and New York City; Glen Curtiss achieved this feat on May 29, 1910. Other early pioneers of aviation that stopped at this early field were Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and James Doolittle.
Mayor John Boyd Thacher II once said "a city without the foresight to build an airport for the new traffic may soon be left behind in the race for competition". He therefore decided to build in 1928 a new modern airport on the Shaker site near Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie, not far from the original polo fields used as the first site of the municipal airport. The Shakers not only sold the land used but also loaned the use of tractors and tools.
The early Albany Airport was often closed and threatened with closure which prompted repeated improvements in the late 1930s and 1940s. The airport was closed from January 1939 until December 1940, when it reopened to traffic during daylight hours only, and then with no restrictions since January 1942. The airport has not been closed (other than for weather related reasons and emergency landings) since.
The airport up until 1960 had been jointly owned and managed by the city and county of Albany. It was in 1960 that Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd ended the city's stake.
In 1962, a new terminal building was opened. There was a landside building that contained ticket counters, a coffee shop, and baggage claim on the first floor, and a restaurant, offices and viewing area on the second floor. A single-story boarding concourse extended outwards from this building. In 1968, this concourse was widened to allow more concessions and boarding space. The terminal was expanded again in 1979, with the addition of a new two-story building attached diagonally to the northwest. It contained boarding gates for Allegheny Airlines on the second floor, and baggage carousels on the first floor.
The Albany County Airport Authority was created by the county in 1993 with a 40 year lease to operate the airport in 1996. A new terminal was begun on May 16, 1996, officially opening June 1998. It was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills and Stracher-Roth-Gilmore, and it was built around the existing terminal, most of which was demolished upon its completion. Only the 1979 extension remains from the old terminal building.
Read more about this topic: Albany International Airport
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