  Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3051 Registered: 10-2003 |
Last time I flew out of Metro, I noticed the new terminal going up. What's the current plan there? What's up with that old International terminal? That place is like a cold war military bunker. Tell me that's coming down soon. The new terminal is wonderful. It even makes McCarran look a little dated. I found this Dave Barry blog post about it. http://blogs.herald.com/dave_b arrys_blog/2006/04/celebrity_u pdat.html "I am sitting in the Detroit airport (that's what I do with my spare time; sit in airports) and I am reporting that Mr. Stevie Wonder just walked by. UPDATE: I am also reporting that the Detroit airport is WAY nicer than the Miami airport. Maybe we should steal it. " | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1578 Registered: 11-2003 |
Both the Smith Terminal and the Berry (International) Terminal will be torn down once the new North Terminal is completed. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3054 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thanks Bob. Good riddance to both of them. | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1579 Registered: 11-2003 |
I agree. Being in the Smith terminal makes me feel like I am back in time. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1505 Registered: 07-2004 |
Back in Time? Isn't that a song by Huey Lewis and the News? | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 524 Registered: 08-2007 |
Both the Smith Terminal and the Berry (International) Terminal will be torn down once the new North Terminal is completed. Aahhh, I get why Detroit is now referred to as "The D"...it stands for demolition. | ||
Deandub11 Member Username: Deandub11 Post Number: 156 Registered: 05-2006 |
Yea the smith terminal is extremely embarrassing. I always hope people who visit don't fly into that terminal. Really gives off a bad impression. It makes me feel like i've landed in a third world country. | ||
River_rat Member Username: River_rat Post Number: 301 Registered: 02-2006 |
You have. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 214 Registered: 06-2007 |
Hey, you guys didn't even notice that a national media figure like Dave Barry had something NICE to say about it. Ok, so its an airport. At least its saying we can do SOMETHING right. Not like the villified chick in columbus | ||
Raptor56 Member Username: Raptor56 Post Number: 132 Registered: 05-2007 |
North Terminal Project Home Page http://metroairport.com/projec t/ Construction Photos http://metroairport.com/projec t/NTRPhotosPDF/WEBSITE_UPDATE_ SLIDESHOW_10-09-07.pdf I believe they set some world record too for continuous cement pour when they were laying the foundation for he terminal. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3056 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Aahhh, I get why Detroit is now referred to as "The D"...it stands for demolition." Oak... You make it sound like it's a tragedy to lose these places. Have you been? They are garbage. No really, complete garbage. No redeeming features. They're built out of cinderblocks and ear wax. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5510 Registered: 08-2004 |
I thought the International Terminal wasn't too bad. Those metal panel screens inside of it were beautiful works of art. I wonder what is to become of them? | ||
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity Post Number: 941 Registered: 01-2005 |
I fly out of the Smith terminal 20 or more times a year. Tearing it down and wasting $400+million on a new one is ridiculous. All the new one will do is raise ticket costs. The Smith is no work of art, that's for sure. However, it's very functional and you don't have to walk a mile to your gate. There are no (or very few) passengers making connections so there's little need for restaurants etc; people go in the terminal, catch their planes, and upon returning go straight out to their cars. There's plenty of parking in the deck at all hours. It's a very efficient arrangement. The new terminal was rammed down the airline's throats by the crooked Wayne County Commissioners and the administration, many of whom in the McNamara tradition will get their taste of the construction/service contracts, for sure. River_rat: Loved your comment. | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 391 Registered: 08-2004 |
I find the baggage claim at the Smith terminal quite depressing and claustrophobic. That area is definitely a relic of the past and I took no pleasure having to walk from one end of the terminal to the other. I've always looked forward to going to the Barry Terminal b/c that meant I was heading to England. I didn't think it was too bad either. I architecturally, I liked the main building for the Barry Terminal it was very 60's in a good way with the tall windows and everything. The worst experience I remember is checking in at NWA @ the Barry and having to walk all the way to the very last satellite gate at Smith to catch a prop jet. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1815 Registered: 10-2006 |
That really is a pretty wimpy sized terminal. I'm sure that they did a bunch of studies to determine how many gates that it needed. Does it leave room for expansion? "The worst experience I remember is checking in at NWA @ the Barry and having to walk all the way to the very last satellite gate at Smith to catch a prop jet." Wasn't that the extended concourse C? | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 392 Registered: 08-2004 |
Nope, it was all the way down at the very end of the Smith. | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 1025 Registered: 06-2004 |
Oh, I must say, as a guy who flies weekly a LOVE DTW and can't wait for the North Terminal. That airport is the shinning citadel example of regional thinking and action in southeast Michigan. It is glorious, the best and smartest investment our local government has made in 40 years. It restores my faith in the region whenever I come home, which is good because the 45 ride home promptly weakens it. PLUS... millions of people swing through that airport and it's their sole (and very positive)exposure to Detroit. Saturday I came in with a woman flying from SFO to London, who had never been to Detroit. When we walked off the plane, she said, 'what a great airport, this is totally different than I expected." Love it. Love it. Love it. | ||
Taj920 Member Username: Taj920 Post Number: 260 Registered: 01-2004 |
Regional thinking and action? I think it was Ed McNamara and Wayne County that made the airport what it is. | ||
One_shot Member Username: One_shot Post Number: 336 Registered: 11-2003 |
Smith terminal reminds me of a scene out of the movie Airplane! I always thought it was a cool experience right out of the 60's. I just flew out and back into that terminal which may have been my last time and didn't have any complaints! | ||
Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn Post Number: 328 Registered: 10-2003 |
The lone architectural element in the Smith terminal I enjoyed was the use of Roman brick. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1371 Registered: 02-2006 |
The Smith Terminal reminds me of LaGuardia. Except upon leaving LaGuardia (well, and suffering through Astoria and LIC) is that you are in New York. Romulus? Not so much. Good riddance. | ||
Gsgeorge Member Username: Gsgeorge Post Number: 241 Registered: 08-2006 |
The Smith Terminal is the coolest. It should be an historic landmark. Move it brick-by-brick, formica panel-by-formica panel to Greenfield Village. | ||
Downtown_dave Member Username: Downtown_dave Post Number: 206 Registered: 07-2005 |
Since Miami was mentioned earlier, the new South Terminal there is a very confusing, curved-tunnnel, overhead-mad-angled-walkways, air conditioning-run-amok affair that only affirms the great clean design and layout of Detroit's terminal. I've traveled the world over, and we have THE BEST here. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 506 Registered: 08-2006 |
Was Smith the first terminal in which passengers boarded via "jetways" rather than stairs from the tarmac? | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3085 Registered: 10-2003 |
Last time I flew out the Smith Terminal, I stopped in there at B.B. King's Cafe. Apparently, ol' B.B. King really likes fruit flies. After about five minutes of trying to swat the fruit flies out of my face while drinking my coffee, I said enough is enough and proceeded to wander the empty earwax hallways admiring the broken ceiling and floor tiles and playing "name that smell." Yeah, lovely place. How could they ever think of replacing it. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3086 Registered: 10-2003 |
P.S. the security reminded me of getting past the bouncers at a rave in some abandoned warehouse in the early 90's, only with equipment. | ||
Elsuperbob Member Username: Elsuperbob Post Number: 85 Registered: 03-2007 |
I'll miss the Smith Terminal when it goes. It has a kind of quirky charm in todays world and it's unique in that way. Sure the McNamara Terminal is convenient and modern but, other than the psychadelic tunnel, it's pretty generic looking (As the new North Terminal will also be). The Smith is definitely unique in todays world but I completely understand why it needs to go. | ||
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity Post Number: 944 Registered: 01-2005 |
Charlottepaul: "...wasn't that the extended Concourse C?" Yes. Downtown_dave: "I've traveled the world and we have the best one here." Oh, please. Ever been to the AA terminals at DFW, especially Terminal D? If so, you wouldn't say what you did. ORD is far better than DFW as well. | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 1032 Registered: 06-2004 |
I'm with dowtown dave. I am on the damn plane weekly and I LOVE DTW. I haven't been to the AA terminals in DFW, but boy I've logged a lot of time in ORD and I think the Northwest Terminal at DTW rules over ORD on three fronts: 1. the train inside the terminal 2. the cheap, covered parking adjacent to the terminal 3. much fewer weather delays (less traffic and great runway infrastructure) The great thing about Chicago (both MDW and ORD) is that the range of flights is dazzling. 40 non-stops a day to the bay area, for example (to DTW's 4). And in with the one hour difference, the trips out west are easier. |
