Wham, Bam, Pan Am

When ABC aired Pan Am, its now-defunct series about the glory days of air travel in the '60s, we wondered if it would include Miami. After all, the airline began and ended in our city despite living out its heyday at its NYC headquarters. It was established on Miami's Dinner...

By Amanda McCorquodale

June 23, 2011

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When ABC aired Pan Am, its now-defunct series about the glory days of air travel in the '60s, we wondered if it would include Miami. After all, the airline began and ended in our city despite living out its heyday at its NYC headquarters. It was established on Miami's Dinner Key in 1927 to carry mail and passengers between Key West and Havana. And Pan Am landed its last plane at Miami International Airport in 1991. But the Magic City's engagement with aviation doesn't stop there. Three other airlines — Eastern, National, and Delta — were also headquartered here. And in 1937, Amelia Earhart launched her ill-fated attempt to circumnavigate the globe at the Equator from our swampy terrain.

And it was exactly a century ago that the first plane soared over our pineapple farms and mango trees when aviator Howard Gill piloted a biplane furnished by the Wright brothers. HistoryMiami is marking this notable anniversary with "Aviation in Miami: The First Hundred Years." The exhibit includes artifacts from famous aviators such as Glenn Curtiss, Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Earhart, as well as from Pan Am and Eastern. It will be on view through July 22, 2012.
Thu., June 30, 5:30 p.m.; Tuesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m. Starts: June 30. Continues through July 22, 2011

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