Summer Reading List...

(Photo: Michael Manning)

My Summer Reading List

While not a particularly voracious reader, my favorite books tend to be memoirs and biographies. People have always fascinated me, and I've always enjoyed learning new things from a variety of other viewpoints and  shared experiences. As a college student, I majored in Psychology, and to this day I'm fascinated with what motivates people to pursue their dreams. Most all of my high school teachers had summer reading lists. Pictured above are some of the books I've removed from my library shelf at home to read this summer, as well. Growing up, I was surrounded by great friends and neighbors. I was lucky.  

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Among my fondest recollections of growing up in the Mid-West, I always enjoyed the elderly neighbors who lived on my street. They amazed me with their knowledge, gained through many years of experience. Asking them to share some of that knowledge was always accepted as the compliment it was, and fortunately for me, I soaked in so many of these stories like a sponge. These gems served me well by giving me new ideas for a variety of purposes: school assignments, athletics, and problem-solving to cite but a few. I was a gregarious kid, and still retain a sense of humor and a healthy curiosity today as an adult.  I often describe the neighborhood I grew up in as very similar to the television comedy series "That 70's Show". I have many good memories of those days. 

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One elderly man on my street sadly became a widower, and he commuted to work by bus from the suburbs to his office downtown, where he worked as a jeweler. He was short in stature with a hunched back. But from his strong brisk walk, it wasn't difficult to tell that he was probably a determined athlete in his youth. My best friend and I would meet this neighbor at the top of our street, when the Trailways bus would drop off passengers at 6 p.m. like clockwork. Sitting on our bicycles, we would slowly push ourselves along coasting slowly behind him, talking with him as he walked. He was always happy to see us, and when he would disembark from the bus and see us waiting across the roadway, he'd wave and smile.

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We felt badly about him losing his wife, and at dusk on summer nights, we would pull our bicycles into his driveway whenever we saw him seated on his small front porch listening to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game broadcast on his AM radio. He would often treat us to ice cream cones, and after a long visit, we'd pedal our bicycles back home.  

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(Photo: GM) 

The Trailways bus that traveled down a simple two lane highway near my parent's home was funded by a federal subsidy. When the Feds pulled the funding in the early 1970's, my best friend and I watched the last 1950's era bus pull away from the curb with a puff of diesel smoke. Just the same, that bus represented an adventure for we kids to travel downtown with one of our parents for a "getaway". We were on tight budgets, so a dollar had to be stretched like taffy--so to speak. This was a far easier task back then, with the smaller independent toy shops downtown that managed to have a thriving business with loyal customers. It's a far cry from the lackluster WalMarts and non-descript department stores of today--most of them amalgamations of smaller stores of my youth that could no longer compete as independents. The giant department stores of today pale in comparison to the personable service and marketing displays that appealed to our young imaginations inside the independent retail stores. It's ironic that I recall the old Trailways bus, as Continental Trailways was itself purchased by Greyhound Bus Lines in 1987. Virtually every business today is a by-product of massive consolidation, with the goal of controling market share.

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Of course, none of these considerations were apparent to we kids at the ages of 7 or 8. To coin a phrase that has often become cliche', "it was a simpler, more innocent time". It's impossible for me to imagine parents today paying a fifty-cent one-way bus ticket to travel into any downtown area in the United States to avoid using their car. Remembering those summers so long ago brings back the sense of simpler joys and excitement. While perhaps not on the same scale as watching a television episode of "The Brady Bunch" boarding a United Airlines flight for a family vacation to Hawaii, I'll gladly keep my Mid-West memories. For now, I'm catching up on some memoirs and biographies of some fascinating people who have influenced a part of American culture. Thankfully, some things never change. 

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The Intersection of Opportunity and Circumstances...

(Photo Courtesy of Jamie Sluder/Digital Motion)

What surprises you the most? For me, it's whenever someone remembers an article I've published, or a broadcast appearance that was meaningful to them for one reason or another. Long after it slipped my mind, this past week, I was asked to be a keynote speaker at a private function in New Mexico. The subject I've been asked to speak about is "The Challenges Facing Communication Professionals in the Age of Social Media". At first glance, I admit that this sounds like the most boring subject imaginable. But I'm not your average keynote speaker and I've decided that this will be anything but a boring hour. It's going to be relaxed and fun.  

While I've spoken passionately about the causes I support (that are listed at the bottom of this blog page) this audience will be composed entirely of business leaders. Exactly how this engagement came about deserves a brief explanation for perspective, primarily because I'm surprised that the invitation materialized at all!

The leader of this esteemed group is a semi-retired oil executive who tuned in religiously to a wild and fun cultural affairs music magazine program that I created, hosted, produced, and promoted out of sheer necessity called "The Saturday Main Event", when I lived in Texas. This short story is worth telling, because it relates to what my CPA calls "the intersection of Opportunity and Circumstances".

Years ago, my Director of Production asked me into his office at a prominent FM radio station. We had expanded our signal to 100,000 watts and of course, we were always looking for ways to increase ratings. As I sat down, I looked across the desk of my supervisor. We were both musicians who had known each other from our early twenties, and we were friends. He played keyboards and sang in a rock band. I played guitar and sang in another. In fact, he was responsible for luring me to the radio station from television, which is itself an unusual journey, and a funny story for another time.

He had a wild sense of humor, but when circumstances required it, he could adapt to almost any serious challenge--and believe me, he looked serious. I had no idea what the purpose was for the meeting until he handed me a calendar of our broadcast programming. "We have a problem and you're just the guy to fix it", he said. As crazy as this sounds today, for years, the station had been mailing listeners a schedule with a program listed in the Saturday night lineup. It had a predictable name too: "The Saturday Main Event". The 'problem' my friend and colleague alluded to was that the program existed in name only! This was tantamount to having the frame of a new house built without plaster walls, insulation, bricks and mortar, locking doors and windows. In other words, it was meaningless. But for too long no one said anything about it, until the General Manager took notice and started asking my friend some hard questions.  

With this scenario in mind, my new assignment was to create a two hour cultural affairs program with music and artist interviews from scratch. Though he never said so, I sensed immediately that no one else at the station was particularly excited about taking on the task. As a caveat, I was offered "complete creative control" to design a program of guests and music that would build an audience, and provide our sales department with a product to canvass the marketplace for advertising clients. This source of income still drives television and radio stations to this day. There was nothing complicated about that. I would be reporting regularly to my DP--as we referred to him, and he would be carefully listening in to the show. Our meeting took place on a late Thursday afternoon. I was given a deadline of drafting a proposal for the show by the following Monday morning. It was an exciting challenge, but it also made me a bit tense. 

The station received boxes of compact discs from a variety of artists for us to consider playing. While the inventory of about eleven thousand compact discs were never owned by us, no one seemed to ask us to ship them back. There were stacks of music CD's everywhere--atop filing cabinets, in chairs, on the floor, on table tops. It was a mess!

I knew immediately that no one would be compelled to tune in if the show wasn't irreverent and fun. In the production studio, we had an incredible library of sound effects, and I felt like a kid in a candy store exploding with ideas to promote the show as if it were the most exciting event since sliced bread. So, I decided to host the show and script it as if I were having a one-sided conversation with a close friend. I would delve into stories about the musical artists, how the concept for their CD came about, and "behind the scenes" anecdotes about the recording sessions. Occasionally, I would even record an interview by telephone, or have the artist stop in for a "live and unscripted" appearance, if they were in town. I've always preferred to "visit" with guests instead of interviewing them as everyone else did. This just made life a lot more interesting.

For six days, listeners were bombarded with a series of increasingly urgent promos, each ending with a loud bell reminiscent of a boxing ring, followed by my tongue in cheek pronunciation of the show's title. This drama eventually wore thin and drew the ire of listeners. Finally, the General Manager--a man entering his late sixties--ordered my Director of Production to have me "kill the boxing bell". It was driving people nuts. But I was smiling because I knew that we were at least creating some awareness. Looking back, I can't believe I ever became involved in this project. But I digress.  

Immediately after my 10 O'clock newscast, I ran a series of commercials, promos to other programs on our schedule, and public service announcements before launching into a seamless cold start that was clearly "over the top". "Good evening everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of The Saturday Main Event. If you haven't tuned in before, this is our weekend cultural affairs music magazine where we debut the most exciting CD releases long before you'll ever be able to put your hands on them. So, if you need to mix your favorite drink, go ahead and do it now, while I tell about our incredible lineup tonight". 

My regular listeners who called into the station included a woman who ran a chain of restaurants with an ailing cat at home. The cat eventually died and I believe the woman suffered the same fate months later. We also received calls from a young woman who dropped out of the academic world and drove her motorcycle across the state (and eventually across the country) without any solid plans. Then there was the key punch operator, and others who fit the phase "from the sublime to the ridiculous". Anything could happen, and listeners loved that we were a scrappy entrepreneurial group of on-air personalities--each with our own programs and style. This was the perception we created anyway. The show was edgy, but always in good taste, combining my comedic references with serious guest artist interviews. I was no Casey Kasem, and this was no ordinary program. On the other hand, it also allowed listeners to unwind from a tough week.

One of my listeners was a thoughtful guy who called every month or two to inquire about a song he heard, a vacation trip we were promoting for two lucky listeners, or something fairly ordinary. He was a major player in the oil business and enjoyed the show. Our ratings started climbing as the show slowly found an audience. By the second year, we attracted a whopping 386,000 people who otherwise never bothered to tune in. Our sales reps were very happy from their commission checks earned by selling air time on the show. At the end of the third year, I was promoted into management before returning to television in another market. 

This past Monday, I received an e-mail from the oil executive who tuned in so long ago. I was surprised that he--or anyone else for that matter--remembered me so long after I had left the Texas market. Now semi-retired, he relocated to New Mexico and led a business group who invited me (at his suggestion) to become their featured speaker. This opportunity reminded me so much of my assignment to create and host a show in a large market that existed for too long in name only.  Looking back, that show required a phenomenal amount of work. But it was rewarding to be nominated at the NAB convention, even if we didn't win in any of the categories. I've been asked to speak off the cuff about Social Media and the challenges that face business people whose job is to communicate with clients.

When singer Richie Havens passed away recently, I was surprised to read his quotation that "I'm in the communications business". He was a guitarist,  a singer and composer--yes. But  at the core, he was a "communicator". 

With this in mind, at the outset, I've decided that my talk will be candid and informal. It will also be fun. Like my old radio program, I want the audience to feel relaxed. There have been so many crazy trends that have changed how people think and act since my program aired. A lot of these changes are not for the best. But this fact only motivates me to seize the opportunity to make a connection with a message that is at once hopeful with an eye on the future.

Public speaking for me is fun, and I admit that it's something I used to do with more regularity in the past. But to me, the past was only yesterday.

What surprises me the most? Again, it's circumstances like the one I've just described when someone tells you that they remembered you, and something you did or said affected them in a positive way to make them feel better about life. 

I have a theory that most of us generally affect other people positively--certainly more than we may be aware of. It's easy to take so much for granted. But in a given day, consider the number of people you encounter in a hallway, on an elevator, at a cross walk, or at the grocery store. The chances are very good that something you did or said may have lifted someone else's spirits when they needed it most.

Something as simple as a brief smile can make the difference in how another person feels. I'll be talking about all of this in the context of how Facebook, Twitter, Blogging--and endless texting on cell phones can take us to the intersection my CPA often mentions, in a folksy sort of way. It's what he calls "the intersection of Opportunity and Circumstances", where we can choose hope over negativity in most any situation. That's what I'll be discussing from my background in media. It's a unique opportunity, and I'm looking forward to it.
Michael   

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A Traffic Stopper

 

 

(Photos: Michael Manning) 

Blogger Stephen Hayes recently asked me to write about some of my more interesting experiences in television and radio broadcasting. While I'm still mulling that prospect over, I will share a subject that was briefly mentioned in my previous post about an automobile I briefly owned when I lived in Texas. It was a beautiful MGB GT hatchback, and a true "traffic stopper".

 

In fact, one evening around dusk, I was making a left hand turn at a busy intersection when the engine stalled. I tried desperately to get the car started. For the uninitiated, MG's had a complicated electrical system that was highly unreliable, at least in the United States. My experience with the car was rather straight forward. If it rained, the engine wouldn't start. If it was too hot or too cold outside, the engine wouldn't start. During the three months I owned the car, it stranded me 16 times.

 

On this particular night, I looked in my rear view mirror as my battery was dying and noticed a middle aged couple laughing hysterically in their Lincoln Town Car. The man had silver hair and was dressed in a tuxedo. His wife was dressed in a formal long-length dinner gown. They both reminded me of models for a Caribbean vacation print ad. To my surprise, they both got out of their Lincoln Towncar just as I opened my car door to begin trying to push the MG out of the intersection. The husband spoke up. "We're laughing because we used to own one of these in college. Ours stalled all the time too. Here, we'll give you a push". With that, they both started to push my car with their hands on the trunk lid. The man's wife was in high heels, and traffic was backing up considerably by now. I soon managed to gain enough speed to jump back into the drivers seat and pop the clutch in gear to start the engine. This enabled me to drive the car about twenty feet into a parking lot before the engine died out. By now, the dapper couple drove up behind me into the parking lot and asked if they could give me a lift home. Frankly, I was so embarrassed that I declined and assured them that I would telephone a friend to pick me up. With a brief thank you and an exchange of laughs, they took off for their dinner date.    

 

 

 

The next day, I posted a national ad for the car. Two brothers who were businessmen from Wisconsin flew into Dallas to inspect three MGB GT's. As it turned out, on a whim, they decided it would be fun to have the car professionally restored--a prospect today that could cost upwards of $50,000 (US). I didn't know what to make of their idea; I was just desperate to rid myself of a beautiful sports car that stranded me a lot. They bought the car, in spite of the fact that they had to have it transported back to Wisconsin on a trailer. I lost about six-hundred dollars on the deal, but felt fortunate to have found a buyer! To my credit, I sold the car to new owners with full disclosure about the many mechanical issues. They seemed to care less that the car ran for only a few minutes before it stalled out. To them, this was a new adventure. In my short time with the car, automotive electricians offered to pay me not to have the car towed back to their shop!

 

On a positive note, I'm sure that Jay Leno would agree with me that the MG had plenty of charm, power and personality. Even without power steering it handled well and was a solid car--when it ran. Many months later, the brothers from Wisconsin mailed me photographs of the car fully restored. They re-sold it, and presumably moved on to another adventure.

 

The MGB GT was a unique automobile that was built with a great deal of pride and sporting sensibilities. It handled the road well. I can't speak for the experience of others outside the U.S., but to be fair, this was a vintage car with dual carburetors that had to be synchronized in weather climates that differed significantly from England. Today, cars have electronic fuel injection and modern computers that eliminate many of the mechanical headaches I experienced. Still, it had style and truth be told, it managed to be a traffic stopper even when it was running properly. It was something else. MG ceased production in 1980.      

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Arizona Springtime Photos...

(All Photos: Michael Manning)

Some of you may know of my life-long love of automobiles. Many years ago, I dared to buy a beautiful 1972 MGB GT fastback, a two-seat sports car. A friend suggested that I take the day off to enjoy driving the vintage car around for fun. If you know anything about old MG's, you're probably laughing by now at this post. I sold the car within three months, after it stranded me sixteen times. Automotive electricians offered to pay me not to have the car towed to their shop! Old MG's have a history of electrical issues. I sold the MG to two brothers who flew in from Wisconsin, eager to find a model in good shape to carry out a full off-frame restoration. When the car failed to start, they trailered it back to Wisconsin, where they later restored it for fun and then re-sold it. Hopefully, I'll have better luck with my new camera.

This past Memorial Day was an opportunity to take the camera "out for a spin". After brunch, I decided to hike around Old Town in Scottsdale, Arizona to see what interesting places I could find.

The Sugar Bowl is a colorful ice cream parlor

 

You're looking at a true historic monument: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. In 2000, Father Thomas Hever and a group of parishioners formed a committee to carefully restore the original church to serve both the community and tourists with a place of quiet and serenity. The Old Mission reminded me of the Clint Eastwood Western film "Joe Kidd". Just the same, this beautiful church made me feel as if I were standing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

 

In the film "Joe Kidd", Clint Eastwood scales down a bell tower somewhat similar to this one. This beautiful church, with its simplicity of design gave me a peaceful feeling.

 

The side yard featured beautiful flowers blooming just ahead of the high temperatures due to arrive in June. The Spanish architecture is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Welcome!

 

 

This old cart nearby made me wonder how laborers struggled so many years ago to complete tasks we often take for granted today.

 

 

Here's a fitting place for me to leave off, for now. The series will continue shortly.

 

Like my previous camera, the batteries are drained rapidly. But I already love the enhanced zoom. I've decided that cameras are a lot like a favorite brand of jeans, boots, belts or running shoes. I tend to stick to brands that have served me well. What a profound observation!  See you soon.

Michael

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Happy Birthday to Pan Am Worldport Sculptor Milton Hebald!

  

 

 

(Photos of Milton Hebald Courtesy of Linda Carfagno)

Milton Hebald in his L.A. Studio

Self portrait in terracotta

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 (Photo Courtesy of @Jfknewsandviews)

Crews in New York dismantle the Delta Air Lines signage at Terminal 3

on May 29, 2013. The empty frame seen above, once contained the large

contoured glass panels and the famed Zodiac Screen Sculpture 1960-1991.

Fifty-three years to the day it opened, the former Pan Am Worldport airline terminal, an iconic symbol of American pride has shut down forever. Delta Air Lines Flight 0268, a Boeing 747 bound for Tel Aviv, Israel departed last night at 11:55 p.m. as the final flight. But today, we honor sculptor Milton Hebald on the occasion of his 96th birthday.

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Mr. Hebald designed the magnificent "Zodiac Curtain" that once greeted passengers at the entrance of the former Pan Am air terminal. In 1971, novelist Anthony Burgess wrote that Hebald "is without doubt the most important living figure sculptor" of our time".

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(Photo Courtesy of Save The Pan Am Worldport)

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When The Beatles first arrived to America at the International Arrivals Building at JFK International Airport to clear customs on February 7, 1964, it's unlikely that they saw Hebald's masterpiece. However, as they departed New York on February 21st, in the frenzy that followed their U.S. tour and an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show", it's possible that they did see the 220 foot-wide sculpture. Flanked by its multi-pane glass wall--designed to protect passengers from wind gusts--the "Zodiac Screen" contained 12 bronze cast celestial sculptures. Today, Milton Hebald remains active and has created hand-held busts of Johann Sebastian Bach and Albert Einstein, among others.

 

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(Photo courtesy of Lisa Turano Wojcik) 
Miniature bronze cast of Pisces from the Zodiac:

Gift from the artist to Worldport architect, Emanuel N. Turano, FAIA.

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Outside the Stewart M. Ketchum YMCA in downtown Los Angeles, one can enjoy Hebald's sculpture of a young man entitled "Handstand"--modeled after his grandson. " I always want to express human relations, human endeavors", said Hebald. I am certain that in fifty or even a hundred years from now people will be able to relate to my works. We will not have changed that much, little boys will still be doing handstands!" 

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Hebald also created a pair of bronze statues dedicated in New York's Central Park featuring Prospero and his daughter Miranda, from William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest". The statues were dedicated in honor of Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1977, Hebald's sculpture of Romeo and Juliet was dedicated outside the Delacorte Theatre.

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Milton Hebald's modest beginnings in the art world consisted of using the streets of New York to create human figures with colored chalk. At the age of 10, he became the youngest student ever to attend The Art Students League. He went on to study at The National Academy of Design and the Beaux-Arts Institute at the age of 20. In 1955, he was awarded the prestigious "Prix de Rome"--an honor he earned twice in Italy. His earliest public work was for the 1939 World Fair. Hebald's sculptures are prominently displayed in New York's Whitney Museum of American Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania, The Yale University Sterling Library in New Haven, Connecticut, The Tower Museum in Dublin, Ireland, The Tennessee Fine Arts Center in Nashville, The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Tel Aviv Museum, Israel in addition to many prominent institutions.

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The famed "Zodiac Screen" figures prominently in Save The Pan Am Worldport's proposal to have the structure re-installed outside the terminal where it's original steel frame stands empty.

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On May 29th, representatives from Save the Pan Am Worldport will present a comprehensive proposal to The New York and New Jersey Port Authority to preserve the main saucer-shaped terminal building as it was built in 1960. The proposal will also address Delta's need for additional space at JFK international Airport. Several flexible alternatives are contained in the proposal that would enable the former Worldport to be repurposed as a self-sustaining enterprise, and a facility to feed passengers to Delta's nearby Terminal 2 and Terminal 4.

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   (Photo Courtesy of Save the Pan Am Worldport)

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“The creation of this sculpture took the greater part of my life. I felt that it truly related to all people. For some it spoke to astrology, others history, but even more so it spoke of beauty, love, and aesthetic gratification. I have never been more proud of one of my creations. I can happily go to my resting place knowing that people can once again enjoy the Zodiac”. --Milton Hebald

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Happy Birthday, Milton Hebald!

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Sunset for the Former Pan Am Worldport in New York

 

(Photo Courtesy of Radek Turowski)

 

At approximately 10:30 p.m. (EST), the last commercial airline flight will board passengers at JFK Terminal 3 in New York. In 1971,  this same terminal building became known in popular culture as the Pan Am "Worldport". Ironically, Delta Flight 0268 is scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 747--a jet that was created by Pan Am and Boeing in the late 1960's. The development of the 747 brought enormous financial risk to both companies. However, the shared vision of Pan Am founder Juan Trippe and Boeing chief William Allen resulted in one of the safest and most successful aircraft in history. The 747 remains in production today, and was originally developed in response to growing passenger travel that exceeded the capabilities of the Boeing 707's in use at the time. With the final push back and departure, the former "Worldport" terminal will begin winding down, with demolition scheduled for 2015.

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As previously reported on these pages, a group of concerned citizens have formed a non-profit organization called "Save The Pan Am Worldport". One of the co-founders is the daughter of one of the terminal's original architects. On May 29th, the group's leadership will make a presentation to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. More on this in a moment. For now, let's take a look back at an iconic architectural structure that has become familiar to millions of people around the world.

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(Image Courtesy of Beacon Pictures and Saturn Films)

In 2000, "The Family Man" starring Nicholas Cage was  filmed at Terminal 3.

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(Photo Courtesy of Save The Pan Am Worldport)

The interior of Worldport appeared in the 1973 James Bond film, "Live and Let Die", starring Roger Moore as Agent 007.  

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(Image Courtesy of City of New York)

February 7, 1964: The Beatles arrived at JFK Airport aboard a Pan Am flight. Two nights later, their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" launched their month-long U.S. tour, and "The British Invasion" was officially underway.

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(Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

Cary Grant and Doris Day were filmed boarding a plane at the Pan American terminal in the 1962 romantic comedy, "That Touch of Mink".

 

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(Photo: Courtesy of Thomas McCarthy)

With landscaping underway in this June 1960 photo, the Pan American signage was created using venetian glass and backlighting to dramatic effect. The celebrated sculptor Milton Hebald was commissioned to create  what became the "Zodiac Screen"--a  series of bronze carved celestial sculptures that were installed ahead of large glass panels--designed to shield passengers from wind gusts. Here was a revolutionary design that wed artistic sensibilities with function. As a whole, Worldport was, in fact, a bold architectural statement of American  optimism. The architecture spoke to a time period when nothing was beyond the reach of our imagination, and the future was bright.

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Following Pan Am's bankruptcy in 1991, Delta Air Lines assumed operations at the JFK Worldport  terminal. Soon after, the Hebald sculptures were dismantled and placed in storage. The glass panels were also removed with the "Delta Air Lines" signage installed atop the steel frame. The Pan Am "Worldport" became known as Terminal 3.    

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 (Photo Courtesy of Kemor 01 at Flickr)

This is an aerial view of the original airline terminal rotunda that Save The Pan Am Worldport proposes to save--as it was constructed in 1960. In the proposal, a series of alternatives are presented that acknowledge the need for selective demolition to provide additional space for Delta Air Lines. This proposal  is highly detailed, with a robust plan to restore the former "Worldport" to its original glory, with upscale restaurants, pubs, a museum, and services to transport passengers to Delta Terminals 2 and 4. These initiatives are designed to enable the original terminal building to be self sustaining. As with any proposal, dialogue amongst all parties will be required to explore current alternatives and new possibilities. At issue is a question of balance.

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(Photo Courtesy of Save The Pan Am Worldport)

Aerial view of the South Concourse behind the original terminal, completed in 1973 to accommodate larger Boeing 747's. Demolition of this structure would free up 15 acres of land for Delta. Additional space occupied by gate structures  and equipment would also be undertaken. 

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From the standpoint of preserving the original rotunda terminal, the iconic architectural design, that has come to epitomize the American spirit, has the potential to be re-purposed as a going concern. On the other hand, JFK is a highly congested airport with restrictive space for expansion--a point acknowledged in all redevelopment proposal alternatives. For Delta to grow its services in New York, the airline must have more room to operate. In addressing this fact, demolition of the South Concourse directly behind the original terminal rotunda (also known as the "Saucer") and redeveloping areas adjacent to Terminal 2 would more than double the available land use for Delta's operations--thereby enhancing the new Terminal 4 building. As one of several options to incorporate its mid-century design into Delta's overall operation at JFK, a unique opportunity exists for a partnership between Delta and the business community to develop the historic air terminal into a commercially viable enterprise. The result would benefit Delta, its passengers, and the public at large.       

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(Image Courtesy of Save The Pan Am Worldport)

From Paper to Reality: A Dream Takes Shape

Construction began in 1958 and concluded in 1960. What emerged was a four acre "flying saucer" roof. It is suspended by outer columns composed of 32 sets of radial pre-stressed steel posts and cables, anchored by a base of 1,750 tons of concrete. The terminal was also designed with an overhead roof extension to allow aircraft to be parked underneath to deplane passengers on new jet bridges. The roof is designed to direct rain water into city drainage reservoirs. The terminal walls were constructed with soundproofing materials.

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With preservation as an issue of consideration, what emerges in any resolution to salvage an iconic symbol of American history is a shared vision. Creative partnerships  can result through dialogue and new perspectives. To that end, this author believes that a mutually beneficial solution to salvaging the original airline terminal rotunda as a going concern has merit, and is entirely achievable.   

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(Photo Courtesy of Save The Pan Am Worldport)

November 1967: Actress Faye Dunaway boards a Pan Am 707 at JFK Terminal.

 

 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ 

 

 

Ray Manzarek 1939-2013

(Photo Courtesy of Simone van den Boom)

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and a co-founder of The Doors died Monday morning in Germany after a battle with cancer. He was a musician of a generation who helped define the sound of one of rock music's most unique and influential bands. God bless him.

 

(Image Courtesy of Elektra Records)

L-R: Drummer John Densmore, Guitarist Robbie Krieger
and Keyboardist Ray Manzarek 

 

One of only two albums recorded in 1971 after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison. The trio decided to disband after their second effort in 1972. They traveled to England in search of a lead singer to replace Morrison, before abandoning the effort and returning to California.

John Densmore: "There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."

Robbie Krieger: "Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison were the two most unusual people I have ever known. It didn't take long to realize this about Jim. He was obviously a genius, and he worked hard at being different. Did a good job of it too. Ray on the other hand, was a late bloomer. I guess it took all of his [and our ] energies to keep Jim in line. The real Ray didn't appear until after Jim was gone. He was constantly doing projects with different people, producing, playing with different poets. He always saw the good side of people, and that was his genius. He was the only guy at UCLA that saw something good about Jim. Everyone else thought of Jim as a phony or worse. He saw the genius of Jim's words and the rest is history. Ray sure did influence my life, and I hope yours to. I'll always be grateful to John for introducing me to Ray and Jim, and I'll never forget them."

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(Image Courtesy of Elektra and Rhino Records)

 

Post Script: The Whisky-A-Go-Go on the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles dimmed their lights, for 10 minutes, in honor of Ray Manzarek. The venue hosted The Doors  at the beginning of their careers.

 

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