Denver Airport is home to plenty of unique and unusual art. However, one of the airport’s defining traits is its massive, white tents over the Jeppesen terminal. Visible from miles away, these white peaks have created one of the most distinguished airport terminals in the world. But what exactly do they represent, and how did they come to exist?
When it was decided that Stapleton International Airport would have to close in favor of a new gateway, the city had many important choices to make regarding the new airport. The first decision involved selecting the appropriate location for the new gateway.
However, Stapleton was plagued with noise complaints from adjacent neighborhoods for years. This, combined with the fact that the airport had no room to grow, created a problematic situation tricky enough to justify building a new airport altogether. Thus, planners were trying to avoid the same problems by putting the replacement airport on the plains east of Denver.
Today, United Airlines uses a large portion of Concourse A and the entirety of Concourse B. Southwest Airlines uses almost all of Concourse C, but shares the space with American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and a handful of regional carriers. The rest of Denver’s carriers (including international airlines) use Concourse A. Regardless of airline, all international arrivals must use Concourse A so passengers can be directed to customs.
The tents are made of woven fiberglass fabric covered with a polytetrafluorethylene membrane, allowing them to withstand temperatures as low as negative 100 degrees and as high as 450 degrees. They are immune to UV damage and easily cleaned by rain, making them durable and long-lasting.
When it was officially decided that a new airport would replace Stapleton International Airport, the then-Mayor of Denver, Frederico Peña, established a panel of important Denver community leaders to help shape the facility's future. It was dubbed the “blue ribbon panel,” and it selected August Perez, from New Orleans, to design the new central terminal.
According to Colorado Central Magazine, Perez’s vision for the space was grand: He wanted to design it to look like a 19th-century train station, featuring large, riveted beams and huge skylights. Meanwhile, a different firm, Fentress Bradburn, was appointed production architect. In this role, Fentress Bradburn created the budget and instructions (like blueprints) and would be responsible for overseeing the entire construction phase.
However, many problems rendered Perez’s plans simply unfeasible after closer examination. The design proposal was over $54 million over budget and could not be completed in the required time.
“I pictured an encampment of Native Americans on a bluff. I wanted our architecture to acknowledge the original inhabitants’ architecture and be sympathetic to the regional environment.”
The new design was unanimously approved by the blue ribbon panel, but not without some hesitancy from Frederico Peña. The mayor worried that some would be offended by the tents' Native American motif and instead suggested that they should be likened to the peaks of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. This idea was accepted, and the terminal was built with massive “mountain peaks” as its rooftop.
Before Denver International Airport was opened in 1995, the Mile High City was served by Stapleton International Airport. The airport was a bustling facility, and when the decision to close Stapleton for a new airport was announced, many were confused about why it was necessary. But ultimately, several important factors made the decision to close Stapleton a logical one:
- Noise complaints
- Building height restrictions
- No room to expand
As the name implies, Stapleton Airport was located in the Denver neighborhood of Stapleton (which has since been renamed Central Park). Given its proximity to residential neighborhoods, the airport faced constant noise complaints as massive jets lifted off from it every day. Being a hub for United Airlines, Continental Airlines, and the original Frontier Airlines, the airport was almost always busy.
Stapleton’s close-in location also meant that downtown Denver was on the final approach path for the airport, limiting how high the buildings in the downtown area could be. This stifled growth for the city, and moving the airport would mean these restrictions could be lifted.
Lastly, though Stapleton continued to see increased coverage from its airline partners, the airport had no room to expand. This led to more congestion and worse delays, making any itinerary involving Stapleton undesirable.
Denver is now the third busiest airport in the United States, trailing Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The airport’s rise is largely due to United, which made consistent investments in the Mile High City even before Denver International Airport opened in 1995.
While Denver offers an impressive network overall via its airline partners, the airport is primarily a domestic hub. Though long-haul flights to Europe and Asia are offered, the bulk of its service is to other destinations within the US. Its busiest routes (in descending order) are listed below:
Southwest is the largest operator on Denver’s two busiest routes to Arizona and Nevada, while United dominates services to O’Hare and Los Angeles. United's importance to Denver has only increased over time, with the airline offering expanded services and more facilities in Colorado.
In addition to being the sole operator of Denver Airport’s Concourse B (the largest concourse at DEN), the airline has just acquired brand new gates out of Concourse A, solidifying its position as Denver’s most dominant airline. Beyond increasing its daily flights, United has been expanding its network from Denver. Most notably, the carrier recently announced a new nonstop service to Rome, Italy, among several domestic additions.
Denver will undoubtedly play an essential role in the US aviation industry. As more and more passengers pass beneath its massive tents, the fiberglass mountain peaks remind everyone of what makes the state of Colorado and its heritage so unique.
