Florida's Airport Boom: From 5 to 79 in Just 7 Years

Pan Am invests in Flying Boats, shifts operations to Miami’s Dinner Key

A legendary era in commercial aviation is launched from the shores of Biscayne Bay

Following its merger with the New York Rio Buenos Aires line (NYRBA) in August 1930, Pan American Airways lost no time taking up residence at Miami’s Dinner Key. The months of contentious long-term lease negotiations that had characterized so much of the earlier part of the year were finally over and Pan Am was free to begin its shift from land-based to seaplane operations.

Amphibians and Flying Clippers expand routes

The shift was a seismic one for Pan Am and for commercial aviation history, signaling the beginning of a Golden Age of Pan Am flying boats, or, as Pan Am preferred to call them, flying Clippers. This was a necessary step because the lack of landing fields and airport facilities across Latin America was a major impediment to developing commercial aviation on the continent. Many of the ports of call served by Pan Am were only accessible by water.

Below: Aerial view of Pan Am Dinner Key base, 1931. The houseboat brought to Miami from Havana in late 1930 can be seen just offshore. It served as Pan Am’s terminal and immigration checkpoint. Also to be seen is the first hangar built by Pan Am, completed in May 1931. Work on a second hangar began in November of the same year. Photo courtesy Florida Memory State Archives.

Facilities are readied and ground is broken on Miami’s iconic seaplane base

One of Pan Am’s first moves, after conducting an inspection tour of NYRBA’s fleet and facilities in Latin America, was to tow the 118-foot barge used by NYRBA in Havana Harbor to Miami. The barge arrived at Dinner Key on November 27, 1930, where it was set up for use as a passenger terminal and customs and immigration checkpoint. Over the ensuing months, NYRBA airplanes and equipment were overhauled and repainted with Pan Am livery, and plans were announced for the construction of a major $600K seaplane base that would equal if not outshine any other in the world. “No expense will be spared in transforming the site into a perfectly equipped air terminus,” Pan American president Juan Trippe declared.

On February 22, 1931, ground at Dinner Key was formally broken at a festive ceremony attended by Miami Mayor C. H. Reeder, Pan Am and city officials and other civic boosters. Construction was begun on what was then believed to be the first of six or seven hangars to be built at the base.

By May 30, the first hangar, measuring 140 feet x 140 feet (the largest in Miami) was ready for use. Work on a second hangar, situated immediately east of the first and also measuring 140 feet x 140 feet, was undertaken in November of the same year and completed by April 1932.

At left: Groundbreaking ceremonies, Miami Herald, February 23, 1931.

Below: Architect’s rendering of the original plans for the seaplane base, with hangars shown on both sides of the terminal. These plans were later abandoned.

Art deco “Crown jewel” is inaugurated

Though the seaplane base became operational almost immediately, it wasn’t until June 1933 that work began in earnest on its crown jewel, a two story art deco terminal building complete with ticketing and customs offices, a sumptuous passenger lounge featuring a massive revolving globe of the world, offices, a mezzanine restaurant and observation decks that would soon become filled with sightseers eager to watch Pan Am’s luxurious Clippers take off and land on the sparkling waters of Biscayne Bay. The dazzling new terminal was completed and publicly opened for business on May 27, 1934.

The terminal was arguably the most popular sightseeing venue in the City of Miami for the remainder of the 1930s and much of the 1940s. As many as 30,000 people a month visited the base. Today, it proudly serves as Miami’s City Hall.

Last hangars are built

In October 1937 construction began on the last, and largest, hangar to be built at the base. The hangar and an adjacent motor shop were both completed in 1938. One of the reasons for the delay in building the last hangar is said to have been the evolving (and increasing) size of Pan Am’s Clipper fleet, making it hard to predict the size that would be needed for the hangar.

The “Flying Clippers”

When Pan Am first arrived at Dinner Key in late 1930, the largest planes in its fleet were the 20-passenger Consolidated Commodores inherited from NYRBA.

At left: The Consolidated Commodore. Photo courtesy UM Richter Library, Pan Am Collection.

In 1931, Pan Am introduced the first of its flying Clippers, the Sikorsky S-40, which could carry up to 38 passengers in luxurious wood paneled compartments. The first S-40, the American Clipper, was delivered to Dinner Key in late November 1931 for its maiden voyage to Cristobal, Panama. Piloted by famed aviator and Pan Am Technical Advisor Charles Lindbergh, the event drew thousands of spectators to the base to bid Lindbergh and his co-pilot Basil Rowe a safe journey.

Miami Herald, November 21, 1931. American Clipper soars over Miami

The successor to the S-40 was the Sikorsky S-42, also designed to Pan Am’s specifications by aircraft manufacturer Igor Sikorsky. The S-42’s all-metal construction enabled it to carry a heavier payload of passengers and mail than the S-40 and it incorporated other advanced features such as hydraulic flaps to lower takeoff and landing speeds and variable pitch propellers to provide both high power during takeoff and fuel efficiency when cruising. The first S-42 was the Brazilian Clipper, put into service between Dinner Key and Buenos Aires on August 16, 1934. While in Rio de Janeiro, it was christened by the wife of Brazilian president Getulio Vargas. It set speed records, cutting travel time to Buenos Aires to just five days compared to the S-40’s eight. The S-42 accommodated 32 passengers in four separate compartments with eight seats each.

Historic black-and-white photograph of a seaplane docked at a waterfront, with multiple aircraft in the background and individuals in white attire nearby.

A vintage postcard depicting a Pan American Airways 32 passenger 'Flying Clipper Ship' seaplane on calm waters, with lush greenery in the background.

L-R: (1) Pan Am’s Sikorsky S-42 flagship, the Brazilian Clipper, stationed at Dinner Key. The Brazilian Clipper inaugurated passenger service between Miami and Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro on August 16, 1934. Photo courtesy Miami-Dade Public Library, Gleason Romer Collection. (2) Vintage Post Card featuring an S-42 heading out into the Bay for takeoff to South America. Photo by Richard B. Hoit. Courtesy UM Richter Library Digital Collections.

As Pan Am expanded its aerial empire even further, three Martin M-130 flying boats were added to its Pacific fleet. The most famous was the China Clipper. Not many people are aware that prior to its history-making transpacific crossing on November 22, 1935, the China Clipper spent several days at Miami’s Dinner Key where it underwent a series of test flights prior to proceeding to San Francisco via Mexico. The famous China Clipper was eventually to return to Miami. Following World War II, it was transferred to Dinner Key and put into service in September 1943 between Miami and Leopoldville in the Belgian Congo. Sadly, its illustrious history came to an end in January 1945 when it crashed into the bay in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Although the last of the great flying boats to be developed by Pan Am — the magnificent Boeing B-314 — did not fly a regularly scheduled route from Miami, any discussion of the era would be incomplete without including it. Launched in 1939, the Boeing B-314 was used over Pan Am’s transatlantic and transpacific routes. The B-314s were twice the size of the S-42s and could carry 74 passengers and 10 crew members. They had three decks which included luxurious sleeping cabins, a 14-seat dining room and even a honeymoon suite in the tail of the plane. The B-314s also boasted a singular safety feature: an upper companionway that permitted crew members to make engine repairs during flight.

Mysterious “Mr. Jones” makes wartime history

Though Dinner Key was not included in the B-314’s route system it can nevertheless claim the distinction of having been the port of departure and return for one of the most famous wartime flights of World War II. After the war broke out, the military invoked its sweeping powers to commandeer commercial aircraft for military use. Pan Am’s huge B-314s were stripped down, painted over with dull grey camouflage paint and used to ferry important passengers and supplies to and from war zones around the world. In January 1943, two B314s — the Dixie Clipper and the Atlantic Clipper — were ordered to be brought to Miami under a cloak of strict secrecy. On January 11th, a mysterious Mr. Jones in his wheelchair was lifted aboard the Dixie Clipper, followed by his retinue. Piloting the Dixie Clipper was Capt. Howard Cone. The secrecy surrounding the trip had been such that neither Capt. Cone nor any of the other crewmembers present had any advance idea of who their passengers were to be. As Cone recognized President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he was barely able to nervously snap out a salute and manage to say “Mr. President, I’m glad to have you aboard, sir.” President Roosevelt quickly put everyone at ease and the flight took off before sunrise. Following in the second plane were other military officers, aides, newsmen and photographers. The president’s destination? Casablanca, Morocco, where he was scheduled to have a crucial meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of the war. It was the first time an American president had ever flown in an airplane.

Advances in technology signal return to land planes

By 1940, advances in aviation technology and an increase in available airport facilities had resulted in a renewal of Pan Am’s interest in landplanes. Though Pan Am’s seaplane operations at Dinner Key continued into the new decade, by the end of 1945 it had agreed to turn the base over to the City of Miami. A first down payment of $25k on the site was made to Pan Am on December 29, 1945. Two days later, on December 31, 1945, Pan Am also transferred its NW 36th Street Airport to the County’s Port Authority. At the time, Pan Am stated that it wanted to return to its core business of running an airline, not running airports.

Aerial view of a coastal area featuring a harbor, several large buildings, and a marina with boats. The surrounding landscape includes trees and land, with a distant city skyline visible.

At left: A World War II–era aerial view of Dinner Key. In December 1943, the Navy opened a new naval air facility on the key to support Naval Air Transport Command operations already underway at the station. The expanded base included enlisted men’s barracks, a galley, extensive fueling installations, and a flight control tower. By April 1944, the large double hangar visible in the foreground had been completed. After the war, the City of Miami purchased the property, and in 1948 the twin hangars were converted into a convention hall.

Image courtesy UM Richter Library Special Collections, Florida Photographs Collection.

Last ties are severed

Though the terminal building was abandoned in early 1946, Pan Am continued to maintain a district reservations office there. The last ties were severed on August 28, 1948, when Pan Am announced the district office was being moved to Pan American Field at NW 36th Street.

1930-1940