PDX Passengers Rejoice! The Old Carpet Pattern is Returning!

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Travelers sometimes have their quirks. And some travelers have their quirks about their favorite airport carpet. Here’s some history about that, and why airports even USE carpet in the first place.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has had the same carpet patterns for years. And since (A) millions of people visit MCO every year on their way to/from vacations to Disney and Universal and (B) many of these people have an emotional investment in those theme parks and, by proxy, the airports that bring these people to the parks, it’s not usual to see people taking pictures of the carpet and posting it online.

It's been a long 4 years since I've traveled…. Let's do this!

Hey @MCO do I get bonus points for shoes that match the best airport carpet?! pic.twitter.com/VAwmixcpMO

— Terri Stanier (@terridoesdisney) October 18, 2023

MCO execs understand their airport’s fans’ love for their carpet and for the past several years have made a limited amount of socks with their carpet’s pattern that they give away via online contests.

They’re still not for sale, but someday…

But if there’s any airport carpet that has legions of fans, it’s Portland International Airport (PDX).

PDX had the same carpet for about 30 years. When they decided to change it to a new pattern in 2013, locals were VERY upset. Even though PDX officials tried to make it up to their fans with lots of merchandise with the old pattern, many still wished the old carpet could return.

And lo and behold, officials listened. The old carpet is coming back!

From PDX:

We love that you love our old carpet.

Truth be told, we love it, too. More than a few of us have the shoe selfies to prove it. We can spot the carpet’s distinctive pattern from across the room, whether it’s on your socks, your keychain, or your T-shirt.

And so, we have a little good news: When the new main terminal opens in 2024, the old carpet is coming back to a few key spaces in the arrivals area.

A little PDX carpet history

When the main terminal opened in 1956, the original floor was brown terrazzo, later covered by a blue carpet patterned with the Port of Portland’s logo. In 1988, PDX swapped that carpet out for the now-iconic one, designed by a local architecture firm.

After almost 30 years, though, the wool carpet—whose color varied from teal to green, depending on the manufacturer—was so threadbare that our maintenance crews used markers to color in the bare spots.

In 2015, Vince Granato, now head of PDX Next special projects, held a press conference announcing the airport was replacing the carpet. He was surprised to find a room filled with reporters. “I don’t think any of us anticipated the response from the community,” he says now, laughing.

The carpet’s absence, it seems, has only made our hearts fonder. You can find the carpet pattern on Moonstruck chocolate bars, Chasin’ Tail Designs dog bandanas, The Athletic’s PDX Airport Socks, and, if you shop vintage sneaker sites, Adidas shoes.

Here’s where the old carpet will be

“We appreciate the fact that everybody in this community has that deep connection to PDX through that carpet,” Vince says. That’s why we decided to bring it back. “I don’t feel like we should lose our history.”

When the expansive, light-filled main terminal opens in 2024, you’ll find PDX’s iconic carpet in the pre-security “meet and greet” areas outside the security exits, along with a few other surprise locations we’ll share along the way.

Sharron van der Meulen, partner and interior design lead at ZGF, says, “I always joke that if we didn’t use the carpet and our name was associated with this terminal project, we’d probably be run out of the city.”

Of course, the current carpet will remain in the concourses. And the areas of the main terminal that visitors travel through will have gray terrazzo floors—a smoother surface that’s easier for wheelchairs, assistive devices, and roller bags to navigate.

AND…for fans who weren’t in the know? There’s still a little bit of the original carpet pattern in the old terminal – it can be found in the “secret listening room” at the Tender Loving Empire store in Concourse E, near Gate E5.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary