Dulles International Airport promised much but initially struggled to lure passengers from its downtown Washington DC rival. Much has changed in the years since and the Eero Saarinen-designed architectural gem is now shining brightly, as Matt Falcus discovers.
Eero Saarinen’s 1960s-designed terminal still looks modern today. Joe Ravi/Wikimedia Commons
Aviation came to Washington DC relatively late. Although a modest airport had been in operation at Hoover Field, the present-day site of the Pentagon, since before World War Two, its successor was not opened until 1941. National Airport, on the banks of the Potomac River, is known today as Ronald Reagan Washington National and remains the city’s busiest hub.
