Pan American Airway's Dinner Key Terminal Opens

1934: A Streamlined Gateway to the World

Eighty years ago today Pan American Airways opened its new terminal at Dinner Key in Miami, a gleaming Art Deco portal to the world with a massive globe in its lobby and flying boats in the bay outside.

The terminal, known as the International Pan American Airport, marks an intensely romantic chapter in Miami's history -- a time when sleek airboats, Pan Am's "clippers" -- carried smartly dressed passengers to exotic destinations.

Until 1945, when advances in aviation rendered airboats obsolete, the International Pan American Airport provided vital -- and glamorous -- air service to Central and South America. In early 1954, about sixty years ago, the former terminal became Miami's City Hall. It's still the seat of Miami's municipal government, and if controversy has largely replaced glamor, the building has been renovated, restoring much of its 1930s elan.

Our clip begins with footage that's actually older than the terminal itself. Produced in the late 1920s or early 1930s to promote Pan Am's inter-American service, this film features fascinating images of Jazz Age air passengers and some stunning aerial shots of Miami and the bay.

Next up is an excerpt from a 1941 travel film, "June in January in Miami Beach," presented by the Surfside Hotel in glorious color. In addition to shots of the exterior of the building this footage includes shots of flying boats in action.

The final part of this clip returns to prosaic black and white to document the Pan Am terminal's transition Miami City Hall in 1954. City Manager Abe Goldman comments on the move in a sound segment.

This video and audio is copyrighted/owned by the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives.

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