SFO opens Harvey Milk Terminal 1
The exhibit includes more than 400 feet of space devoted to Harvey Milk
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has officially opened Harvey Milk Terminal 1, the first named after a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Milk was the first openly gay elected public official in California. He served on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors for 11 months before he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978.
Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said of the US$2.4 billion facility: “Harvey Milk Terminal 1 sets a new benchmark for the airport experience, and serves as a tribute to the life and legacy of a pioneering civil rights leader. For millions of people around the world, SFO is the first impression of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Harvey Milk Terminal 1 showcases what makes our region great: a spirit of innovation, a focus on the environment, and most importantly, a commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion. I hope travelers around the world are inspired by the story of Harvey Milk in the terminal at SFO that bears his name.”
The new terminal features an exhibit honoring the late politician titled Harvey Milk: Messenger of Hope which includes 100 dramatically blown-up images of Milk – many sourced from the public – as well as art, mementos and ephemera.
The amenities within the terminal include:
- Floor-to-ceiling windows that darken and lighten according to sunlight
- Oculi (circular openings in the ceiling that let light in)
- Gate areas fashioned as lounge rooms, with 2,134 places to sit down on 34 types of seating including leather, plastic, metal and fabric chairs, sofas and banquettes
- The first-ever airport multi-use all gender toilette and an animal relief room
- Exclusive art, including 14 new public artworks
- Self-energizing elevators, moving walkways and Go Slow escalators that reduce the use of grid electricity
- An energy efficient baggage carrier system (Individual Carrier System or ICS), the first of its kind in the United States
