Editing Marine Air Terminal (section)

=== Exterior ===
[[File:LaGuardia MarineAirTerminal 1974.jpg|thumb|The entrance pavilion of the Marine Air Terminal in 1974]]
The terminal's main building is a circular two-story structure flanked by a pair of one-story wings facing northwest and northeast toward Bowery Bay.<ref name="nyt-1939-10-01">{{Cite news |date=October 1, 1939 |title=City Airport Ready to Function Oct. 15; Mayor Says Plane Facilities Will Be Completed in Time for Formal Dedication |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/01/archives/city-airport-ready-to-function-oct-15-mayor-says-plane-facilities.html |access-date=August 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809145329/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/01/archives/city-airport-ready-to-function-oct-15-mayor-says-plane-facilities.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1287073164">{{cite news |date=October 15, 1939 |title=North Beach, Dedicated Today, Monument to a Dogged Mayor: $40,000,000 Airport May Become World Flying Center, Or the White Elephant Its Critics Predict, But It's LaGuardia's Dream Come True North Beach Airport, Which Is Being Dedicated Today |page=A1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1287073164}}}}</ref> The main building is approached by a triple-height rectangular pavilion facing south.<ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|ps=.|p=5}}</ref> The entrance pavilion and the rear wings were all intended as access points into the central core, which housed the primary functions of the terminal.<ref name="NYCL pp. 5-6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|ps=.|pp=5–6}}</ref> The brick facade was originally painted [[Buff (colour)|buff]] with black details but, by the 1980s, had been repainted beige with brown details.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The buff and black color scheme has since been restored. A horizontal band runs across the facade between the first and second stories. The terminal's windows are largely oriented horizontally, rather than vertically as in other Art Deco structures; this may be attributed to the fact that the terminal was completed later than other Art Deco buildings and is also relatively short.<ref name="Robins p. 228">{{harvnb|Robins|2017|p=228|ps=.}}</ref>

The circular core measures {{Convert|144|ft}} across.<ref name="nyt-1939-10-01" /><ref name="p1287073164" /> It contains a [[Setback (architecture)|setback]] above the ground story, which makes it appear as though it is designed in a [[wedding-cake style]]. There are dark brick window frames on the ground and second stories, which surround groups of tripartite windows. Faceted brick panels are placed between each group of windows, and there were originally grilles over the windows themselves. A [[cornice]] of stainless steel, as well as a parapet and a rooftop balcony, run above the ground story.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The rooftop balcony originally contained two observation decks.<ref name="nyt-1940-07-21">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=David |date=July 21, 1940 |title=Airport's New Trade; La Guardia Field Is Raised to the Status of A Major Sight-Seeing Attraction Sight-Seeing Flights By Auto or Subway All Aboard, Please" The Floodlit Field The Aviation Terrace |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/07/21/archives/airports-new-trade-la-guardia-field-is-raised-to-the-status-of-a.html |access-date=August 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804014059/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/07/21/archives/airports-new-trade-la-guardia-field-is-raised-to-the-status-of-a.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, the second story is topped by a terracotta [[frieze]], which depicts yellow flying fish against a background of light and dark blue waves.<ref name="Robins p. 228" /><ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The frieze contains 2,200 individual tiles.<ref name="nyt-2004-12-30" /> A similar motif was also used on several of Delano and Aldrich's other structures.<ref name="Robins p. 228" /> There is an attic with a facade of stainless steel panels, as well as a control tower at the rear of the attic.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" />
[[File:Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia, corner.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of flying-fish frieze]]

The three-story rectangular entrance pavilion is flanked by two shorter sections. The entrance, at the center of this pavilion, consists of a doorway with four stainless steel doors, which are topped by [[Transom (architecture)|transom]] panels depicting a pair of winged globes. A curving stainless-steel canopy extends in front of these doors, and a double-height window is placed above the canopy.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The double-height window and the doorway are the same width and are both surrounded by a band of dark bricks.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> Steel [[mullion]]s divide the window into a grid measuring four panes across and five panes high. The shorter sections of the pavilion contain small windows at ground level. The terracotta frieze around the circular core also runs atop the shorter sections of the entrance.<ref name="NYCL pp. 5-6" />

The rear wings measure {{convert|54|by|45|ft}} across.<ref name="p1287073164" /> They are similar in design to the circular core. Passengers boarded seaplanes from the northwest wing and arrived through the northeast wing. There was a copper canopy above the walkway leading to the northeast wing.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> A corridor, flanked by waiting rooms, extended from the northeast wing to a landing float in Bowery Bay.<ref name="p1287073164" /> Originally, [[flying boat]]s and other [[seaplane]]s typically taxied to the landing float, where they were pulled by a small motor boat to allow passengers to disembark into the terminal.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> Marine aircraft could approach the terminal via six operating channels in the bay, each measuring {{convert|9000|by|1000|ft}}.<ref name="nyt-1940-03-24">{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1940 |title=3 Nations to Hail City Seaplane Base; Britain and Portugal and U.S. Cabinet to Be Represented at Opening Sunday |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/03/24/archives/3-nations-to-hail-city-seaplane-base-britain-and-portugal-and-us.html |access-date=August 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803235339/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/03/24/archives/3-nations-to-hail-city-seaplane-base-britain-and-portugal-and-us.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The modern Terminal A leads to gates A1 through A6.<ref name="Airport Maps" />