The airport consisted of a terminal building, two hard surfaced runways, concrete aprons and two hangar buildings. The terminal was the first modern passenger terminal built in the United States. The high domed roof structure of glass and stucco was the first truly elegant airport passenger terminal built during a time when other airport passenger facilities were merely small rooms attached to the sides of aircraft maintenance hangars. Miami's first terminal incorporated a separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, offices, a restaurant, pilot's facilities, customs, immigration and a public health office. Within a year, Miami had become the number one port of entry by air.

The official dedication ceremony was held on January 9, 1929. The day was highlighted with the departure of a Sikorsky S-38 piloted by Charles Lindbergh to inaugurate regular mail and passenger service to San Juan. Miami became the third official airport of entry in the U.S.

MIAMI TOWER - May 1941

"Old Number One" was initially erected annually by the City of Miami to serve as the judge’s stand and timing tower for the "All American Air Maneuvers" held during the month of January. Due to a rapid increase in air traffic by 1941, the tower was left intact. Because of the increase, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered than an airport traffic control tower be commissioned at the Miami Municipal Airport or National and Pan American Airlines would no longer be authorized to operate passenger flight into Miami Municipal. The control tower with only light guns available to control traffic was commissioned on May 1, 1941. Radios were installed by the following month. The CAA assumed operation of the control tower on January 1, 1946.

MIAMI TOWER - February 1942

Build by the City of Miami on what would become "Masters Field", then being constructed on a vast area bounded by the Seaboard Coastline Railway, NW 27^th Avenue, NW 103^rd Street and NW 119the Street. The new airport was to have five runways, some as long as six thousand feet, with the passenger terminal on the east side of the airport connecting directly with the Pan American Seaplane Base at Dinner Key via 27^th Avenue. This structure was the first actually designed as a control tower, but, unfortunately, had a partial glass roof with no ventilation or air conditioning. The CAA staff occupied this facility in February 1942, and maintained it until it was turned over to the U.S. Navy as part of the Opa Locka Naval Complex in August 1942.

MIAMI TOWER - August 1942

In late 1941, through early 1942, Pan American World Airways, with funding by the Air Corps Airport Development Program, expanded the Pan American 36^th Street Airport and constructed a control tower atop the passenger terminal. The Pan Am tower was commissioned June 1942, and staffed by the CAA on august 3, 1942. The old airport was renamed Masters Field and turned over to the Navy. All commercial activities were moved to Pan Am’s 36^th Street Airport and general aviation operations were sent to the Sunny South Airport. The tower structure was later moved from atop the terminal and relocated to the Dinner Key Seaplane Base where it served the U.S. Coast Guard until the activity was relocated to the Opa Locka Airport.

MIAMI TOWER -October 1943

This building was constructed by the U.S. Army Air Corps to serve the Miami Army AirField, located immediately south of the 36^th Street Airport. Because of wartime shortages, the entire structure was build of wood. This facility was occupied by the CAA staff on October 3, 1943, and utilized multiple telephone/radio frequencies. Between 1943 and 1948, the tower was damaged several times by hurricanes. This photo, taken in the spring of 1946, shows a completely refurbished tower after sever damage caused by the hurricane of September 1945.

MIAMI TOWER - October 1948

The Dade County Port Authority broke ground for this facility in June 1947; however, construction progressed very slowly and the tower was not turned over to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) until late 1948. The most unique feature of this tower is that it later became number 7, after it had to be moved due to construction to lengthen Runway 9L/27R. It was relocated to an area adjacent to the 20^th Street Terminal, a building used largely by non-scheduled air carriers. Today that area is immediately off the end of Concourse "F".

MIAMI TOWER - September 1952

A unique facility that was constructed as a temporary facility to be used during the move of Tower Number 5 (in background) to new location. It was opened in September 1952. The photo shows a historic moment when Tower Number 6 cleared Tower Number 5 to cross an active runway. The temporary tower was in operation until December 1952, when operations were transferred back to "Old Number Five", now Tower Number 7.

On April 7, 1973, the Dade County Port Authority changed its name to the Metropolitan Dade County Aviation Department. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, two major rebuilding programs were launched, Program 70's and Program 80's. These programs called for major expansion and modernization of the airport to provide critically necessary aviation facilities so important to this region's economy.

Miami International Airport has evolved from a small 116 acre facility. The facility handled 8,600 passengers and 20 tons of cargo in 1930. Today, the 3,230 acre complex has become a multi-billion dollar industry handling over 26 million passengers and over one million tons of cargo. Offering over 3,000 flights weekly to 180 cities across the world. Miami International is the second busiest international passenger and cargo hub in the U.S.

Mia airport 1990's compared to 1930.

MIAMI TOWER - December 1952

"Old Tower Number Five" has now become Tower Number Seven. Old towers never die and when this facility was replaced by Tower Number Eight it was dismantled and stored along the southwest area of Perimeter Road. At the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis it was reassembled at the "old" Tamiami Airport and used until the "new" Tamiami Airport became operational.

Tower Now