Deep in the period of American architectural history considered the halcyon days of High Modernism, Nov. 17, 1962, is when President John F. Kennedy dedicated Washington Dulles International Airport, which was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen and completed a year after his untimely death. Named for John Foster Dulles, former U.S. Secretary of State and noted spymaster, IAD is the fourth largest by land area in the U.S., straddling two counties, and welcomes more than 20 million people annually (about the population of New York) who all pass under the graceful, inverted catenary arches of the main terminal. Landing sites for the first jumbo jets, the fabled Concorde, space shuttles, and the SR-71 “Blackbird,” Dulles has been the cinematic darling of more than two dozen films, television shows, and documentaries. (“Die Hard 2” ostensibly takes place there, although none of it was actually filmed there.) Its mobile lounges remain a quirk of the industry, connecting concourses across the tarmac, having once served cocktails to jetsetters and business travelers alike. Its sculptural forms and innovative use of cast concrete (evidenced especially at the departures curb, pictured) has inspired airport designers around the world. And, in 2023, airport authorities began construction on an on-site solar power plant in partnership with Virginia’s largest electric company, to create enough juice for the facility and to cover the needs of 37,000 Northern Virginia homes — not a bad way to kick-off its next chapter. Image courtesy APK via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED.
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