1930’s Registration Desk and Show Case

SALINAS AIRPORT TERMINAL - PROJECT #1

In May of 2016, I was contacted by the manager of the Salinas Municipal Airport. He wanted to refurbish and upgrade the current registration desk and showcase area. The goal was to depict history, showcasing the original registration area from the early 30’s. Originally, the airport was located downtown near the American Legion Post #31; the runway (called Legion Field) ran parallel to Laurel Drive in 1928. The airfield was moved to its current location in the later part of 1941. It was opened to augment Fort Ord during World War II and became known as the Salinas Army Air Field. In 1961, the airfield was returned to civilian control and United Airlines flew commercial flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Taking into consideration when the airport was born, Jeff adopted a plan and construction began. The interiors of the showcases were stripped down and refinished with mahogany panels. Then the registration desk was built. It hosts a lockable hidden compartment to allow visiting pilots to drop envelopes containing the overnight fees for aircraft tie-downs. The walls and partitions were faced with mahogany and the partitions were made to look like columns with fluting embellishments. The look of the registration area was tied together with a frieze laid across the top with a cap rail accenting the top. Finally, a chair rail was used at the waist and a six-inch special base was the last molding applied which is wrapping around the entire foyer

The above image shows the registration desk area and the columns wrapping the corners, frieze and wainscoting.

Below the image shows the inlaid compass rose set in the top of the desk with the nameplate of the maker.