Tampa International Airport Murals – Tampa FL

Description

The seven murals on display in the Airside E Terminal of the Tampa International Airport were commissioned from artist George Snow Hill in 1939 under New Deal sponsorship:

“In the late 1930’s, local artist George Snow Hill was commissioned to create these murals to adorn the walls of Tampa’s newly built Peter O. Knight Airport. Hill artistically interpreted the history of flight through the contributions made by Icarus and Daedalus, Archimedes, The Montgolfier Brothers, Otto Lilienthal, Tony Jannus, The Wright Brothers, and a triptych, capturing the first scheduled airline flight in history.

The murals were removed from the walls of the Peter O. Knight Airport upon demolition in 1965, and restored by George Snow Hill himself. In 1971, they were relocated to the new terminal building, where only the triptych and the Wright Brothers mural hung in the airport’s executive suite. The others were rolled and placed in storage, untouched for years.

Needless to say, the circumstances of their storage had an adverse effect on their condition, and upon rediscovery they were in desperate need of restoration. The airport began discussion of a mural restoration project in 1985. The new Airside E Terminal was designed specifically with these murals in mind as a place for this artwork to be showcased.”   (https://www.tampaairport.com)