Love Field Airport history: A post-war boom and a $13 million expansion

Love Field’s leaders saw the Postwar boom of the civil aviation industry and did not want to fall behind. It wasn’t just the 1940s terminal that was facing capacity issues, but the 1917 property and the 1930s runway layout.

To make the needed changes, it was the areas around the airport that would first see reconfiguration.

Lemmon Avenue originally started as an east-west road after what is now Harry Hines and before Denton Drive. It turned southeast at Webb Chapel and then crossed over Bachman Lake.

In 1957, it was decided to rename the east-west segment Lombardy Lane, make the southeast running segment north of the airport part of Webb Chapel, and then shift Lemmon Avenue to the east where it ran along the airport and connect it to Marsh Lane. The old Lemmon Avenue would be removed, and airport property would expand.

Lemmon’s former bridge over Bachman Lake still remains. It is the southernmost part of Webb Chapel and dead ends into Shorecrest Drive. Airport-related development would now be spread along Lemmon rather than Love Field Drive and Hangar Row at the north end of the airport.

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, much of the original Hangar Row buildings and homes in between Love and Bachman were demolished to extend Runway 13L/31R to the north and then to build a new runway: 13R/31L.

Airport property also began creeping south toward Mockingbird Lane, and it was decided that a new terminal would be built along what was then the southern edge of the field.

To accommodate the larger aircraft and the larger demand for air travel, this structure would be way larger than the 1940 Lemmon Avenue terminal.

At the time, the airlines serving Love Field were American, Braniff, Central, Continental, Delta and Trans-Texas (known today as Texas International).

The third terminal, designed by Donald S. Nelson, opened on Jan. 20, 1958. American Airlines Flight 119 from Washington D.C. was the first to arrive. Braniff had the first departure from the new terminal and the last arrival into the old terminal.

Five million dollars were spent on remodeling and expanding the property (especially the runways) and $8 million on the terminal.

A 1958 article from The Dallas Morning News perfectly describes the foresight by Dallas’ leaders to acquire Love Field in the first place and then continue to construct world class facilities:

“This magnificent asset — one of the few major airports of the world located so closely and conveniently to the heart of the community — did not just happen. It is the logical flowering of the dreams of far-sighted civic and business leaders, some of them of a generation ago.”

The terminal featured a large departures/arrivals hall in the center and three concourses (west, center and east). This terminal was the first to have moving walkways. Apparently, everything operated “with watch-like efficiency” on its first day, except for a 2-year-old boy getting his finger bruised in a moving walkway.

In a letter to The Dallas Morning News, Dallas resident Horace Ainsworth noted, “The new Dallas Love Field Terminal is wonderful. From the minute you park your car on the big parking lot directly in front of the terminal to the time you walk out of the heated loading fingers [concourses], every minute inside the terminal adds to your anticipation of a fine trip ahead. Truly, smooth flying and happy landings now begin and end at Dallas Love Field. Congratulations to everyone concerned.”

In the 1960s, many three letter acronyms would change the history and course of Love Field: JFK, LBJ, SWA and DFW.

On what appeared to be a routine visit in November 1963, President John F. Kennedy landed aboard Air Force One, a modified Boeing 707, at Love Field in what would end up being the last hours of his life. His assassination in Dealey Plaza led to a historic set of firsts involving Love Field.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in onboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field. It was the first time a president was sworn in on an airplane, by a woman and in the state of Texas. Truly, it was a special moment for Love Field on what is arguably one of the most historic and tragic days in American history.

Texas was a modern, booming state in this era full of grand ideas. In the eyes of two men, travel between cities in Texas was not modern, not booming like it should and needed grand ideas.

Those two men were Rollin King, described as an “amateur pilot and dreamer extraordinaire,” and Herb Kelleher, a lawyer who was “always a big-picture thinker.” These two men believed they could improve travel in Texas by creating an intrastate airline, which would not be subject to economic regulations by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Prior to airline deregulation in 1978, airlines serving multiple states needed CAB approval for routes, fares, schedules and market entry or exit.

In a meeting at the St. Anthony’s Club, King made history when he sketched out The Texas Triangle (consisting of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio) on a cocktail napkin.

The new airline founded on March 9, 1967, Southwest Airlines, would be drastically different than the rest. Cheap fares, efficient schedules, tight turnaround times and mustard-colored Boeing 737s defined the new carrier. Flights began from Love Field in 1971.

Just as the 1940s terminal expanded a decade after opening, the same would happen again. In 1968, American Airlines widened the original part of the western concourse and added a north-south extension with 14 gates. Around the same time Texas International added a stinger concourse towards the east end and would use seven gates.

The most notable of the terminal expansions was Braniff, which constructed a new terminal to the east of the 1958 building in 1968. The “Terminal of the Future,” designed by Jack Corgan, had jetbridges, a large rotunda and stylish interior features, including bright colors, natural wood and reflective flags hanging from the ceiling. Braniff was an airline known for its style, claiming that “your trip through the terminal should be a travel experience in itself.”

Delta expanded the central concourse in 1970 to include 13 gates, and the same year, the Jetrail opened. It was the world’s first fully automatic monorail system, and it transported passengers from their terminal to the far end of the parking lot.

Around the same time the ideas for Southwest Airlines were brewing, ideas for a new combined airport for Dallas and Fort Worth were on the horizon.

This was not a new idea, as two decades earlier, talks took place. Dallas Mayor Woodall Rodgers had meetings with officials from the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) and Fort Worth in 1943 to discuss a new Midway Airport. Rodgers was not convinced, and Dallas pulled out of the project.

He believed oilman Amon Carter, a strong force for Fort Worth and large shareholder of American Airlines, had the favor of the feds. The project continued without the support of Dallas.

Amon Carter Field, later called Greater Southwest International Airport, opened on April 25, 1943. It was located at what is today the intersection of State Highways 183 and 360. Drivers on the northernmost part of Amon Carter Boulevard pass over a former runway.

The location, far from both cities, caused the airport to have low passenger numbers and high operating costs. The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) in September 1964 said that both cities needed to return to the negotiation table to agree on a single facility in 180 days.

This time, the result was different. As they always had, Dallas aviation leaders looked towards the future. They realized that the 1917 Love Field, albeit with expansions and updates, was just too small to handle jumbo jets in large numbers (DAL received some into its rather narrow concourses), supersonic transport and the growth of the airlines.

A location northeast of Greater Southwest was chosen, and ground was broken on what would become Dallas Fort Worth Regional (later International) Airport on Dec. 11, 1968.

The airlines of Love Field were happy about this idea, all except one. That one would be the rebel Southwest Airlines, and their unhappiness would lead to decades of disputes, legal battles and legislation. Herb, a lawyer at heart, was ready for a challenge.

This is part 2 of a series on Love Field.