The Pan American Seaplane Base in Coconut Grove, Florida, is important in
the history of the aviation industry. Dinner Key was a small island in Biscayne
Bay, and was joined to the mainland during World War I to provide a training
field for the U.S. Navy. After the war, the base was used by non-scheduled
commercial fliers, until the Navy facility was destroyed by the 1926 hurricane.
In 1930, a newly formed airline company, known as Pan American Airways (Pan
Am), symbolized by eagles and globes, acquired the New York-Rio-Buenos Aires
Airline which flew twin-engine Commodore flying boats between Miami and
Buenos Aires. The former naval air base at Dinner Key was selected by Pan
Am as the base for its inter-American operations with the inaugural flight
from Dinner Key to Panama taking place on December 1, 1930. Charles
Lindbergh, who was a technical advisor to Pan Am, surveyed some of the
early air routes. Because of inadequate landing facilities along the South
American route, flying clipper ships were utilized by Pan Am, forming a
vital link between North and South America.
Pan American Terminal Building, now Miami City Hall
Photo courtesy of Miami
Pan American opened the first hangar in 1931. The first passenger "terminal"
at the Dinner Key seaplane base was a houseboat obtained in Havana, Cuba,
towed by tugs to Miami and anchored to pilings with barges at each end.
That same year expansion of the facilities at Dinner Key was undertaken.
Additional land was filled in, and a deeper channel, one mile long and 700
feet wide was dredged. The dredging of the channel was a significant event,
marking the first time an appropriation was approved by the Congressional
Rivers and Harbors Committee "expressly for dredging to create a navigable
channel for marine aircraft." The present terminal building and several
additional hangars were also constructed during this period of expansion.
By 1938, all major structures called for in the plans were completed and
operative. During World War II, the Key again served as a base for the U.S.
Navy, as well as continuing to serve the needs of international air travelers.
With the appearance of landing fields in Latin America came a decrease in
the need for seaplanes. Pan Am's final flight to Dinner Key took place August
Interior of Pan American Terminal
Building, c. 1940
Photo courtesy of Library
of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American
Buildings Survey, Reproduction Number HABS FLA,13-MIAM,2-9
The two-story terminal building is rectangular in shape with one-story extensions
on each side, white stucco exterior walls and a flat roof. Extending around
the building just below the cornice is a frieze of winged globes and rising
suns, connected at the corners by sculptured eagles. A restaurant and cocktail
lounge originally existed in the building, and takesoffs and landings were
observed from an outer promenade on the second floor. At the first-floor
level were waiting rooms, an international mail office, customs, public
health offices, immigration and ticket counters. A giant, three-and-one-half
ton revolving world globe in the lobby once attracted thousands of visitors
to the building. In 1946, the City of Miami purchased 39 acres of the Dinner
Key site. In 1954, the terminal building was adapted for use as the Miami
City Hall. Recent renovations to the building include restoring the original
decorative features of the terminal including the beams, wall murals and
ceiling, which consisted of panels depicting the signs of the zodiac painted
in a modern style. The murals near the ceiling depict the history of flight
from Leonardo Da Vinci's designs to the Clipper planes flown by Pan American.
Historic postcard of Pan Am Terminal and Airport
Photo courtesy of www.panamair.org
The Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building is located at
3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. Now Miami City Hall,
the building is open during normal business hours.