U.S. #2022
1982 20¢ Dulles Airport
American Architecture
- From the fourth and final block of stamps in American Architecture Series
- Tribute to modern architecture of the 20th century
- Marked the 125th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: American Architecture
Value:... more
U.S. #2022
1982 20¢ Dulles Airport
American Architecture
- From the fourth and final block of stamps in American Architecture Series
- Tribute to modern architecture of the 20th century
- Marked the 125th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: American Architecture
Value: 20¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue: September 30, 1982
First Day City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 41,335,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Format: Panes of 40 in sheets of 160
Perforations: 11
Color: Black and brown
Why the stamp was issued: Issued to honor the entire architectural profession, the block of four stamps this comes from features unique architecture by four 20th-century architects. Also marked 125th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects.
About the stamp design: Walter D. Richards designed the 1982 American Architecture stamps as well as all previous stamps in the series. Richards’ intricate black-and-white drawing fills the stamp area, capturing as much of each building’s unique style as possible in such a small space.
Eero Saarinen (1910-61) – Dulles Airport – Washington, DC – Saarinen’s Dulls Airport was the first airport designed with jet travel in mind. The view on the stamp shows the curved roof, air traffic control tower, and a plane speeding away.
First Day City: The First Day ceremony for the American Architecture stamps was held at the headquarters of the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC. The stamp’s issue coincided with the 125th anniversary of that organization.
Unusual fact about the stamp: Some error stamps have been found with the red engraving omitted.
About the American Architecture Series: Introduced on June 4, 1979, the American Architecture Series was created to honor the evolution of American architecture over the last two centuries. Walter D. Richards designed all of the stamps and each includes the name of the architect, their birth and death years, and the name of the building. A total of four blocks were issued between 1949 and 1982. Get the entire set here.
Other stamps in the 1982 American Architecture block feature:
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) – Fallingwater – Mill Run, Pennsylvania – shows Wright’s building, which was dedicated to nature. Built over a stream and waterfall and resting on a massive rock, the home was intended to flow with the natural surroundings.
Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) – Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago, Illinois – This was Mies’ favorite building that he designed – an example, of his “skin and bones” architecture.” The building is one glass-walled room measuring 120 feet by 220 feet surrounded by four large trusses. This was one of the 20 buildings Mies designed for the institute’s 100-acre campus.
Walter Gropius (1883-1969) – Gropius House – Lincoln, Massachusetts – This stamp depicts Gropius’ own home, which he designed with his collaborator Marcel Breuer. The house features white-painted wood and fieldstone, a modern interpretation of the traditional New England architectural style.
History the stamp represents: Architect Eero Saarinen (1910-61) was born in Finland into an artistic family. His father was a well-known architect and his mother was a sculptor and a photographer. In 1923, Saarinen’s family moved to the US. After high school, Saarinen studied sculpture for a year in Paris, then enrolled in the architecture program at Yale. In 1947, Saarinen won a competition to design the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis. His huge, simple arch became the famous “Gateway to the West.”
Saarinen’s greatest architectural work, however, was the TWA Terminal at JFK (known as Idlewild Airport at that time). The free-flowing structure is made from concrete reinforced with steel. Saarinen wanted “...a building in which the architecture itself would express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel.” Few straight lines exist inside or outside the terminal. The shapes of even small details, like the check-in counters, chairs, signs, and telephone booths, echo the building’s soaring, curving shell. Saarinen died a year before the terminal opened.
Saarinen designed the main terminal of the Dulles airport, with its sweeping curved roof, suggestive of flight. The airport was opened in 1962 with three runways. When it was built, it was so far from downtown Washington, DC, critics doubted the investment made in it. As the suburbs grew and jumbo jets replaced prop planes, the airport became more important to the Capital region.
Dulles has expanded significantly since it was first built. Today it stretches over 13,000 acres and has the most international flights of the three major airports in the area. More than 21 million passengers fly in or out of what is now called Washington Dulles International Airport. The airport was named after John Foster Dulles (1888-1959), a diplomat and Secretary of State.
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