8. Planes Used to Land by Sea at LaGuardia Airport

Yankee Clipper landing at Marine Air Terminal circa 1940. Photo by Hans Groenhoff (Smithsonian Institution) from Wikimedia Commons

The Marine Air Terminal was built in 1939 to 1940 and is the only surviving American airport terminal which dates to “The Golden Age of Flying Boats,” as stated in the New York City landmark preservation report for the terminal. Seaplanes like the Yankee Clipper were luxurious affairs, with two floors, dining rooms and private compartments. They would land on water and be pulled in by boats, which is why the Marine Terminal was located on Bowery Bay. The Yankee Clippers were commissioned for use during World War II but land planes dominated shortly thereafter, making them obsolete.

Learn more and see more photos about the Marine Air Terminal.