ago more than 13 years closed the former Mariscal Sucre Airport in Quito, Now the control tower and mural of Galo Galecio will be preserved as part of the history of the city and country.
Aviation in the country needs more dissemination spaces, to remember where we come from and where we are going, for it, different aspects of the past must be preserved, So this may not please many who only think about eliminating all traces of history "for the sake of progress.". What we must understand, is that progress can go hand in hand with the past and be integrated organically for the benefit of today and the future.
This is not a personal whim or just a way to "annoy" authority., but it must be an objective as a society to promote aeronautical culture and preserve a legacy of what was a key part of the aerial history of the Ecuador.
Control tower and mural of Galo Galecio will be preserved
a few weeks ago, I generated a video for my social networks in which I showed my concern about what would happen to the two control towers and the beautiful mural that is located in what was the international departure area of the former Marshal Sucre.. That first video generated a lot of noise, thousands of likes and views. Many comments of support and others of rejection, even with insults, but it is part of the daily life of the networks, but the important thing is that a good debate was generated about it. This was the first part:
At that moment, no municipal authority had spoken, But the days passed and the power of social networks had its effect., official information finally coming from Quito Tourism, who confirmed that of the two towers, the history of 1960 would be saved (that of 2005 no longer exists) and that the mural in honor of Telegraph I and Elia Liut would be preserved in the original place where it has been kept for 66 years.
This great news, I celebrate it as a triumph for all of us who love aviation and history., It is an important step to take care of the city's aeronautical legacy and this publication has the objective of leaving a record of the commitment of the Municipality of Quito to history. To complement, I also made a video informing and updating the information with the news, as a means of communication, It is my obligation to tell both sides of the information, that reached very high and it was all thanks to your support.
From airport to park
From a humble airfield to the great green lung in the north of the capital, the history of ancient Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO / FOLLOW) It is also the story of growth, urban transformation and the collective identity of Quito.
Through the timeline captured in the participatory mural of the “Licuadora Gestora” in the facilities of the current Bicentennial Park, We review the most notable milestones that marked aviation in the capital and how this space of 126 hectares went from asphalt tracks to community recreation.
- decade of 1920: The first test fields and flights
- At the beginning of the 20th century, aviation in Quito took its first steps in a rudimentary way. Before the definitive settlement in the El Labrador sector, the city had temporary landing fields:
- 1920: A simple field was prepared for test flights and demonstrations. Emblematic milestones such as the arrival of the Quito plane 1 and the landings in spaces such as La Alameda or La Carolina marked the aeronautical awakening of the city..
- Decades of 1930 a 1950: Consolidation of air service
- 1930: Regular air service formally begins in Ecuador. The civil aviation field was moved to the Cotocollao/El Labrador sector, with a dirt track of less than 2.500 meters and basic infrastructure.
- 1940 – 1950: Connectivity intensifies with the arrival of historical airlines such as Panagra and ANDESA, as well as larger military and commercial aircraft (like the DC-3).
- 1960: Inauguration of the Mariscal Sucre Airport
- 5 august 1960: Under the presidency of Camilo Ponce Enríquez and the management of Sixto Durán Ballén as Minister of Public Works, The air terminal and the aerodrome named as Mariscal Sucre Airport. Along with the airport, the Av.. of the Sesquicentennial (actual Off. Amazonas).
- The modern terminal allowed Quito to enter the reactor age, receiving iconic aircraft such as the Boeing 707 from Air France.
- Decades of 1970 and 1980: Urban explosion and the first relocation plans
- 1970 – 1980: The city grew at a rapid pace, completely enveloping the airport within the urban area. The consolidation of the peripheral neighborhoods around the track brought commercial dynamics, but also urban restrictions (such as the limitation on the height of buildings) and concern for air safety.
- In these years the idea and the technical need to move operations outside the urban plateau began to mature., the Tababela plateau emerging as the future destination.
- decade of 1990 and the 2000: Challenges, park migration and projection
- 1990: A time marked by intense migratory flows (more of 2 millions of Ecuadorians emigrated at this time), where Mariscal Sucre was the scene of the last hug of thousands of families.
- 2000 – 2008: While the volume of passengers exceeded the capacity for which the airport was designed (surpassing the 5 million annual travelers), The project for the construction of the new terminal in Tababela was advancing. By the, the future use of the old airport land was projected, launching design contests under initial names such as “Parque del Lago”.
- 2013: The definitive closure and inauguration of the Bicentennial Park
- 19 February 2013: after almost 53 years of uninterrupted service, the old Mariscal Sucre Airport closed its doors after the last operations took off. The next day, operations were completely moved to the New Quito International Airport in Tababela.
- 2013 onwards: The property of 126 hectares was handed over to the citizens as the Bicentennial Park, transforming the old landing strip 3.120 meters in a recreational space, sports and cultural.
You, what do you think? Do they support the preservation of history or should the entire past be eliminated to make way for progress?.
Credits for the photos in the video to their respective authors.
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