FlyingTalkers By Geoffrey Arend

What Happend To American Airlines Hangar 1 At LaGuardia?

01.12.2022 - By Geoffrey ArendPlay

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Just came across an announcement that American Airlines Hangar 3-5  have been cleaned up at LaGuardia Airport

That caught my eye as the notice also  mentioned that the original AA domestic passenger facility at LGA Hangar 1 one of the most historically significant buildings on any airport anywhere had been demolished.

Hangars 3 an 5 look OK  in the style of the late 1930s and for sure have a lot of history. But to compare them in value historically with Hangar 1 is like trying to match up  some pseudo paste with the Hope Diamond.

This is the place that guaranteed that there would be a LaGuardia with airplanes in New York City in 1939.

As the airport was building in 1938 at North  Beach , Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia  still needed an anchor tenant so he set aboutconvincing American Airlines founder CR Smith and the brilliant negotiator CR had just coaxed away from Braniff OM “Red” Red Mosier to move AA's  entire corporate headquarters operation  from Chicago to  New York's new North Beach Airport Hangar1 in Flushing Queens.

Mosier made the deal,New York City awarded American "pole position" in Hangar One at the new airport, and AA set up shop in New York City. LaGuardia emerged as the busiest airport in the world.

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