This menu from the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California, harks back to the 1960s when commercial flight was becoming more affordable and many Americans were taking to the skies for the first time. However, flying was still a big deal. Pilots and flight attendants were treated like celebrities, there were first-class meals of lobster and filet mignon even in coach and there were no security screenings. Passengers could walk right up to the gate, show their tickets and board. The front cover of this menu features a marvelous illustration of two people in a bathtub held aloft by a hot air balloon, a joke about old-fashioned flying, and on the interior menu you will see that the Sky Room offered an extensive menu. This was because people treated a trip to an airport as an occasion – and even if you couldn’t afford to fly, you could go to the airport, watch the planes take off and land and have a delicious meal. The Sky Room Café operated from 1940 to 1967 – this menu is dated 1962. The airport, three miles northwest of downtown Burbank, has had many name changes. It has been United Airport (1930-34) Union Air Terminal (1934-40) Lockheed Air Terminal (1940 – 1967) Hollywood-Burbank airport (1967-1978) Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978- 2003) and Bob Hope Airport ( after comedian British-American comedian Bob Hope, who died in 2003.) In 2017, it was rebranded Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Courtesy Private Collection.