LaGuardia has been on a mission to go from the worst airport in America to the best airport in America after Joe Biden’s criticism in 2015.
In 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden said, “If I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you’d think I must be in some third-world country.”
According to travelers, LaGuardia was among the most outdated, nosiest, and less accessible airports in the United States.
The redevelopment is 80% done, and it is slated to be completed in 2022. Three out of four terminals will be completely redeveloped.
$8 billion has been spent on the redevelopment so far, and Terminal B is nearly complete. There is a beautiful Laura Owens 25,000-square-foot mosaic mural, “I NY”, that covers the entire back wall of Terminal B. There is also a huge aviation-themed sculpture by Sarah Sze, “Shorter than the Day,” hanging in mid-air.
There is an eye-catching water feature in the terminal that projects images of New York icons such as the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge onto a cascading fountain.
The Connector area contains a modern stained glass installation pairing over 1,100 photos of New York City into a cityscape in honor of the airport founder and former NYC mayor, Fiorello La Guardia. The stain glass installation is known as Sabine Hornig’s “La Guardia Vistas.”
70 steel balloons dangle from the ceiling throughout the terminal courtesy of Jeppe Hein.
In an effort to attract passengers back the airport is offering free Covid tests alongside the art.
Prior to these upgrades Terminal B hadn’t changed much since it was built in 1964.
Passengers for Air Canada, American Airlines, Southwest, and United have been enjoying the new upgrades since the summer.
The redevelopment is the largest public-private partnership in US aviation history.
It’s about time LaGuardia gets redeveloped because I remember seeing pigeons on the bottom level inside the airport walking around on wet carpet years ago. I’ve also talked to other people that had LaGuardia horror stories.
Do you have a LaGuardia horror story?
Source: CNN
