Photo by Glyn Lowe

On Saturday Dulles Airport celebrated 50 years since it was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy. And in those five decades, generations of D.C. residents have dreaded having to either leave or arrive at the airport, which was built 26 miles away from the city. We kid, we kid. Well, kind of.

The airport, designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, was ground-breaking when it first opened, called an “exciting new Jet Age gateway to the Nation’s Capital” by the Post’s architecture critic. Another critic called the imposing structure a “fleeting vision of a White viking boat sailing the rolling meadow.” (Earlier this year, it was named as one of 10 buildings that changed America.) Within a week of its opening, some 25,000 people had driven out merely to catch a glimpse of it, causing traffic backups that delayed actual passengers.

In recent years, the airport has undergone much-needed upgrades—in early 2012, it was listed among the worst airports in the country—including a slow phasing out of the infamous People Movers, which have been replaced by trains connecting the terminals.

Additionally, construction of Metro’s Silver Line is proceeding, with service to Dulles expected in the next few years. If you think that rail service to the distant suburban airport is overdue, you’re not alone—even the planners behind Dulles’ construction advocated for a fast train to the airport, and they pushed for it even before the airport, and Metro, was fully built. (The proposed train would have gone 85 miles an hour!) Check out the Post headline from February 1, 1962:

So here’s to another 50 years of Dulles! Thankfully, it’ll soon become a little less awful to go out there to catch a flight.