In recent years, names of well-known establishments have changed thanks to, essentially, the highest bidder. Case in point, the Orlando Magic’s home, Amway Center, just changed to the Kia Center because Amway’s 13-year contract was completed. Similar name changes have happened to Stockton’s Stockton Arena (now Adventist Health Arena) and the San Antonio’s Spurs’ AT&T Arena (now Frost Bank Center).
Name changes can also happen simply due to more modern open-mindedness about our country’s past and present problems with racism and stereotypes. A popular ski resort changed its name so it wouldn’t be offensive. In recent years, Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix and Uncle Ben’s rice were reimagined not to evoke slavery. And, of course, South of the Border‘s famous roadside signage no longer includes so-called “Mexican-Speak.”
Airports are also not immune to name changes. There have been some notable changes (and almost changes) over the years, for various reasons:
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) was “just” Newark International Airport in its pre-9/11 days. In 2002, the name of the airport was changed to, “honor defenders of freedom and the heroes of Sept. 11.”
- In the aftermath of the 2020 election, there was talk of a petition to change the name of Glasgow Prestwick Airport to “Joe Biden International Airport,” in an attempt to troll ex-president Donald Trump when he’d land at Prestwick to go to his golf resort in Scotland
- For a few years, Bogota Colombia’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) changed its name from ‘El Dorado’ (in reference to the mythical golden city in the prehispanic Americas) to ‘El Rosado’ (loosely translated to ‘the pink one’) during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
- An airport in New York changed its name in response to Black Lives Matter, while one in Nevada got a new name so as not to honor a leader with a long history of racist ideas.
In much more recent history, there’s a petition to change the name of Key West’s airport to honor Jimmy Buffett. And now there’s some conversation going on to name the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport after the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein died in September at the age of 90. Some of her accomplishments included being the first female mayor of San Francisco and the first woman U.S. senator from California, the latter of which she held for 32 years. With that, some of her friends and fans are working together to get several places – including some biking/hiking trails and a U.S. Navy ship, named after her.
However, the group, which calls itself the Dianne Feinstein 100-Plus Committee (because they had over 100 members in the first 6 weeks after the senator’s death), is also forging ahead to get the terminal named after her.
According to their website, the group (which includes the likes of former San Francisco International Airport Director John L. Martin, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalaki, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed) submitted a renaming application to the Airport Commission in November. The next Airport Commission hearing is scheduled for January 16, 2024.
Should Feinstein’s name be adorned on SFO’s international terminal, she would be in good company. Other U.S. politicians who have had airports, terminals or runways named or re-named for them include Ronald Reagan, Harvey Milk, Bill and Hillary Clinton, John F. Kennedy, Byron Dorgan, Barbara Jordan, George Bush, Fiorello LaGuardia, Roy Blunt, and Tom Bradley, among others.
Feature Image (cropped) Freedom To Marry / flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
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8 comments
Feinstein was an honorable mayor and Senator but I do not think the terminal or airport should be named after her. Although not suggested, neither do I think the Presidio of San Francisco or Golden Gate Park should be named after her.
Appropriate things to name after her would be a federal building or a street. Main Street in the Financial District would be a good gesture. Feinstein Street or Dianne Feinstein Avenue.
If they name a terminal, it may be hard for foreigners. How easy would it be if you flew into a foreign airport with 3 terminals named Yong Loo Lin Terminal, Mikhail Bulgakov Terminal, and the Ali Bongo Ondimba Terminal? Wouldn’t it be easier if it were Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3?
Frankly, I think it’d still be colloquially known as the International terminal, just as the Harvey Milk terminal is also known as Terminal 1. And as NYC’s Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge is still informally known as the Queensboro Bridge, same as it’s always been.
If the international terminal would still be colloquially known as the international terminal, then less honor is bestowed on Senator Feinstein. It’s like “we name it after you but nobody will use the name”. That’s why Feinstein Avenue instead of Main Street makes better sense.
It should not be named Dianne Feinstein San Francisco International Airport or, worse yet, Dianne Feinstein Harvey Milk George Moscone San Francisco International Airport like Atlanta or Baltimore having a long name.
Airports, other than JFK, should generally be named after Jeppeson, Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright, Chuck Yeager, Neil Armstrong, Charles Lindbergh, Igor Sikorsky, Santos Dumont, etc.
Understood. But since the people who name places like that don’t listen to people like us… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I never understood the obsession with naming anything after public officials, especially those who enriched themselves while in office. The Senator never held a job outside of public office for almost 50 years, but was able to grow her wealth to an estimated 88 million USD at her death. I find it hard to honor her (or anyone like her in politics) for her public service, when really they were just making money off the people they served.
I have a lot of respect for Feinstein but think that it’s way too soon to consider this move. I think there should be a 20 year cooling off period after someone dies before any public place is named after them. Just look at the mess of a name that ATL is stuck with.
Albert, I agree with you!!!~
Definite “no” on naming a Navy ship after her. IMO, she did nothing for the Navy. She did everything she could to keep the Navy and its ships out of Hunter’s Point back in the ’90s