Why is Sky Harbor so close to downtown Phoenix? Here's how it happened
Folks driving on Interstate 10 approaching or departing the downtown Phoenix area may notice just how close they are to the planes flying into and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The driving distance between Phoenix's downtown core and its major airport is rare compared to other major American cities.
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau, and according to Google Maps measurements, Phoenix is the largest city with an airport within 5 miles of its downtown area. According to Google Maps, only 2 to 4 miles separate Sky Harbor from downtown Phoenix — the area from Seventh Avenue on the west to Seventh Street on the east, and from the railroad tracks south of Jackson Street on the south to Interstate 10 on the north. The four U.S. cities larger than Phoenix — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston — have airports between 9.5 and 15.5 miles driving distance from their downtowns, according to Google Maps.
Among the 10 largest U.S. cities, only San Diego appears to have an airport closer to its downtown than Phoenix does — a distance of 2.3 miles, Google Maps shows.
The way by which this rarity in proximity unfolded impacted many residents. Here's a little bit about the history of Sky Harbor and its relationship to downtown Phoenix.
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How did Sky Harbor come to be?
Scenic Airlines owner J. Parker Van Zant bought cotton fields in 1928 for a Grand Canyon tourism venture, the book "Desert Wings: A History of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport" detailed, according to a 2001 column in The Arizona Republic.
By 1929, the land was an airport and had "Sky Harbor" in its official name, the book noted, according to the column.
There were three other airports in Phoenix at the time, according to the book, the column mentioned.
By 1930, according to census records, the population in Phoenix was 48,118.
When did Sky Harbor become a municipal airport?
In July 1935, Phoenix purchased Sky Harbor from Acme Investment Co. for $100,000, according to reporting by The Republic at the time.
Sky Harbor Municipal Airport was 285 acres and so isolated from the city that it earned the nickname of “The Farm.”
When did the airport begin to expand?
Sky Harbor opened Terminal 2 in May 1962, the same year it surpassed a million passengers. The second terminal was constructed for $2.7 million and comprised 330,000 square feet and 19 gates. Terminal 2 was closed in 2020.
Terminals 3 and 4 opened in 1976 and 1990, respectively.
A concourse to serve European and Asian travel by 1991 was part of Terminal 4’s addition, which followed the airport offering a few daily flights to Mexico, according to a Nov. 7, 1990, article in The Republic.
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Did the city’s expansion change its proximity to the airport?
The airport was outside city limits by about a mile when it was established, according to Jon Talton, a former columnist for The Republic and an Arizona historian.
Talton explained that in 1950, Phoenix was only about 15 square miles, but the city expanded around the airport until around the year 2000, having grown to its more than 500-square-mile size.
Who was initially most affected by Sky Harbor’s expansion?
The Deck Park Tunnel that bent I-10 south along 20th Street was constructed between 1983 and 1990, with the route leading to the razing of Phoenix barrios, including the historic Golden Gate neighborhood.
According to reporting by The Republic at the time, nearly 6,000 residents and 200 businesses and churches had to be relocated through the city’s West Approach Land Acquisition program, which purchased 800 acres of land and was partially funded by federal dollars.
As Mexican American families faced displacement after living in these neighborhoods for generations, Phoenix business leaders described the area as “the best industrial property in the state,” according to an April 8, 1981, article in The Republic.
Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: This is how Sky Harbor ended up so close to downtown Phoenix
