JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Just a quick post today (well, pretty quick) to point out a feature at the new Kansas City International Airport that I think will be a big hit with travelers from here and elsewhere.

Many times when you’re traveling and land at an airport, there aren’t a lot of distinguishing features from one city to the next. Although it’s usually not as bad as, “Where am I,” you’re not really paying much attention to exactly where you are. So, I’ve always appreciated good and proud signage that lets travelers know where they are and, in some cases, what’s special about this particular place.

We’ll have to see how Kansas City’s special features are advertised and promoted at KCI, but I was very pleased — and a bit surprised — to learn that people pulling up at the departure level will be greeted by two large LED signs that simply say, “KANSAS CITY.”

Justin Meyer, deputy aviation director for Kansas City, told me the colorful, vertical signs will be inside “both stair towers of the parking garage…facing the departure-level curb.”

I think that is fantastic. We should all be proud of our city and proud that, after all these years, we’re finally getting a modern terminal. It is appropriate that we put the name of our city in large letters and do a little chest thumping.

This first came to my attention when The Kansas City Beacon published a story a few weeks ago about progress on the new terminal.

The photo that caught my eye in that story was taken by Christopher Smith, who is either a staff photographer for The Beacon or a freelancer.

I sent an email to Jennifer Hack Wolf, interim publisher of The Beacon, asking for permission to use Smith’s photo in my blog, assuring her I would credit the photographer and the publication. Jennifer graciously obliged, and here it is…

It looks like this photo was taken shortly before dusk, which gives the letters a warm glow. Nice, eh?

Before getting The Beacon’s permission to run that photo, I asked Justin Meyer if he would take a photo of the sign for me.

He did, and here’s what he sent…

You can see that in full daylight the sign is not as prominent, but it is still very impressive.

**

I first learned that an airport sign could be magical more than 50 years ago, when I would fly in and out of my hometown of Louisville.

At the time, the airport was named Standiford Field. (Years later, it was greatly expanded and renamed Louisville International Airport. Now it’s Muhammad Ali Louisville International Airport. But, as is traditional with airports, regardless of rebuilds and renovations, it retained its call letters, SDF.)

Back in those days, there were no jetways — the portable bridge-like tunnels all major airlines us to get passengers on and off the planes. Portable stairs were placed against the airplane door at the arrival area, and passengers would use them to get on or off right in the gate area.

At Standiford, when arriving planes pulled up to the gate area, passengers would see a red — or maybe pink — neon sign that said “LOUISVILLE.”

I loved that sign, partly because it announced that I was home.

When the airport was being expanded — many years after I had moved to Kansas City — I was very concerned that that sign would disappear…and it did. I have no idea what happened to it — whether it is is still around somewhere or if it was destroyed. I suspect the latter.

But now, more than a half century later, there’s a new sign, right here in Kansas City, that I expect will warm my heart when I see it at the airport. I think there’s a good chance that sign will become iconic, just like that one in Louisville.