A virtual tour of the old Stapleton Airport

Before closing in 1995, Stapleton International Airport was Colorado's premier airport for 65 years.
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[@debbiedunn4477]

Stapleton was a great airport. Now there's DIA way out there and so crazy! Remember flying out of Stapleton and going on the runway over traffic... So cool. We use to sit by the fences along the runways and watch the planes land and takeoff. Inside the terminal was great. We'd walk right up to the boarding area and say goodbye to our relatives. One time we even went on plane up to their seat and gave them hugs and ran back off plane. That's when things were still normal... Before 911

[@bobbycv64]

@Debbie Dunn that was Me and my friends from Northglenn. My Father worked for the 60-70's Frontier and you could drive your car just south of the East-West Runaway kind of in a cubby hole, about 300 ft from the runway and watch the planes. Again, you are correct. You could walk to the terminal to say hello or goodbye. 911 screwed everything up. The people after 911 will never know what is true freedom. We lived that life and TODAY, they don't get it, how we have lost so many freedoms. STAPLETON was a GREAT AIRPORT.

[@bushputz]

Denver native and resident of 66 years. I have many fond memories of Stapleton Airport. My dad used to take us kids just outside the fence, where we'd watch the planes go directly over our heads as they took off and landed. Back in the 60's and 70's air travel was less common than it is today. When friends and family flew in or out of Denver, it was kind of a big deal. We'd gather up the family and head out to the airport. In those days, everyone was allowed in the concourses and in the gate areas. We'd always have a decent sized group of people greeting or seeing off the passengers we knew. In the 80's, I worked for Continental Airlines out of the Flight Kitchen on Smith Road. My job was to load the prepared meals onto a truck, then my partner and I would drive out to the planes and cater the flights. Damn, I miss that job. DIA is OK, I guess, but Stapleton will forever be a huge part of my life.

[@RhymesWithCarbon]

Having been a frequent traveler, I can say that there are very few things I miss about Stapleton. While it was nice having the airport close to downtown, the traffic in and around Quebec street was simply bonkers. The airport was fine for a long time, but during the 1980s and 1990s when Denver's population (and the amount of travelers through Denver) increased exponentially, Stapleton wouldn't cut it. There were several aircraft and human logistical nightmares about the airport as well, including runway length, runway orientation and a CRAZY long run in the event you needed to change planes and airlines. At the time of this writing, DIA is mired in a major construction battle but when it's cleaned up on the inside, DIA functions better than almost every major airport in this country and I've been in nearly all of them. Yes it's far away. Stapleton just couldn't hack it anymore and I have many fond memories of traveling through that airport, but I'm absolutely not sad to see it gone and the land redeveloped. DIA is a far superior airport in every possible way but proximity, and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

[@rexdilligam6261]

It’s far from downtown…also DIA is not too far from Stapleton

[@Yaco_Taco]

Imagine building a house next to an airport then suing because jets are loud

[@Analysta654]

Or buying a house next to an airport and complaining about the noise. I live near an airport now, and that's what folks are doing. Madness.

[@bobbycv64]

Yes, STUPID. I am going to go purchase land next to a RAIL YARD, build a community and then SUE the Railroads to move all their equipment for my CRACKER BOX INVESTMENT.

[@mandelstamm]

Most of those homes where complaints were coming from predated the latest Stapleton International Airport. Moreover back in the 80's when the decisions were being made about DIA the homes closest to Stapleton were still mostly owned by the original owners. The neighborhood closest to Stapleton was built right after WWII. As for Park hill......we had only been in the jet age for a little over 20 years at that point. And, it's safe to say many of Park Hill's owners pre-dated the current Stapleton. Additionally with the deregulation of airlines in 1978 brought considerably more traffic through Stapleton in the 80s. Something had to be done. So, DIA was the answer city leaders came up with.

[@chrisstromberg6527]

@@mandelstamm That was a very good explanation, unfortunately I don't think Yaco or Analy have enough comprehension skills between them to understand any of it.

[@krystalMtn]

Fond memories. Even before I70 runway was built. Later watching planes take off over our heads while we drove under them on I70. Takeoffs and landings gave beautifull views of every individual city with space between them. Aurora, Denver, Boulder, Northglenn, Greeley, etc...before they all ran into each other's city limits. The smell of jet fuel as we drove closer to the airport meant we were going somewhere. Walking past the big statue of Jepson as you headed towards baggage claim area always meant you were home again. Times we spent as a family at the end of the runway watching incoming planes land. Before that became illegal. It's time was limited though, by the late 70's it was too small and boxed into the city to function at the capacity it needed to.

[@joezegers]

The new airport (DIA), unlike Stapleton, was designed to be just just like Atlanta’s airport, with the concourses arranged out like ribs connected by a peoplemover. It’s also further away.

[@fansofflight]

I learned about Stapeton's history while staying at the Renaissance hotel!

[@jSyndeoMusic]

It totally explains why there are so many hotels along Quebec St! Putting hotels next to an airport makes total sense, but without my knowing there had been an airport there before, they seemed a bit oddly located to me.

[@Spyke-lz2hl]

Very cool! I love stuff like this!!

[@FeedBackMain]

I Landed lot of times in Western Airlines in Stapleton. Much Memories.

[@enigmathegrayman2953]

Flown out of Stapleton many times back in the 1980s

[@ILSRWY4]

Why did they close the tower to public.. renovated, that could have been a great observation view of Denver and the mountains in the distance.

[@jameyjones8863]

I know you could some nice cardio up and down the stairs

[@ILSRWY4]

@@jameyjones8863 Well install an elevator - i did say renovate...

[@bobbycv64]

@ILSRWY4 you are correct. Should be a touristy thing. Come on, like the Space Needle in Seattle, WA - sell junk, make people pay for the elevator ride and then give the history. COME ON DENVER, you want tourism???

[@j80mar4]

Cool video

[@8avexp]

Stapleton became a bottleneck when it snowed. All arriving flights had to be funneled onto one runway, with only 32 flights per hour being able to land.

[@evelynssye]

@8avexp So interesting. Do you know which runway they used for landings when it was snowing?

[@mattsmith-sq3iq]

thx for that 9news. btw the cars are going backward in the first clip.

[@Afib95]

I lived in West Palm Beach, Florida and every year I would come out to go skiing and I remember this airport very well. Since it closed, I have never flown into DIA. Good old memories.❤

[@kammore6209]

It would be nice to have an airport closer to the city but overall DEN was a great decision. Stapleton could've never been one of the busiest airports in the world and now DEN is

[@Phyrescape]

The Eastern Airlines ticket counter was in Concourse E, between Northwest and Delta 🙂Does anyone know what gate(s) they used?

[@RhymesWithCarbon]

I am 99% sure they used only a couple of the E gates; I remember the sign and the lonely check-in desk way down on one end. I think Eastern served maybe 1, maybe 2 at most destinations from Denver. This was 1980s.

[@zekeonstormpeak4186]

I know Delta used E 2,4,6, and 8. I worked there from 1989-1991.

[@ELcinegatto87]

Planes are quieter than ever. City center airports are so much better and more convenient especially with effective mass transit and public transportation. They finally rebuilt LaGuardia here in NYC and it sits in the middle of a Queens neighborhood. The same would have been possible for Stapleton if there was the will and patience. The irony is environmentalists complain about gas and climate change but want you to drive 10s of miles to an airport in the middle of nowhere. Best one is though people that move in from out of state or elsewhere and buy a house right next to an airport and then complain the planes are too loud and not being able to hear their reality TV show.

[@SeanPGribbons]

I was born in Denver in 1995 lol

[@DougGrinbergs]

1:30 north/south runway over I-70

[@Bammer2001]

Don't forget about what happened in July 1989.

[@joseelmarijuano8794]

That’s nutz

[@dvferyance]

Stapleton is another distant memory kind of like the twin towers in NYC were.

[@johnnyroberts3761]

Stapleton > DIA

[@jSyndeoMusic]

If only for it not being so dang far away. I can’t imagine having the airport only 10-15 min away, rather than 40 or so minutes away like it is now. That drive is annoying as heck.

[@enigmathegrayman2953]

@@jSyndeoMusic Then catch the A line

[@jSyndeoMusic]

@@enigmathegrayman2953 Still have to deal with the distance, even if you’re not driving. And the train can be sketchy depending on what time of day/night it is. I don’t live in Denver anymore though, so it’s no longer my issue 🙃

[@enigmathegrayman2953]

@@jSyndeoMusic Sketchy is everywhere now, we live in an age of disregard and lawlessness. Denver and especially Aurora are at the epicenter of crime. But airports in other major cities have airports far away, Houston, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis come to mind when talking about distance away from the metro area. Having airports on the outskirts of town enables a city to grow and maintain neighborhoods free of noise from oncoming aircrafts.

[@herbertpetrillo485]

dia- satanic

[@bulgingbattery2050]

After it was replaced by DIA, Stalpeton is now used primarily for cargo aircraft.

[@ILSRWY4]

What the hell are you smoking??

[@RingoYote]

It's completely gone dude...are you high?

[@bulgingbattery2050]

@@RingoYote Meaning it was demolished?

[@clewerhillroad]

Only cargo is DHL and FedEx in little vans :)