When I was young the idea of flight, flying and aeroplanes filled me with excitement and wonder.  I was severely disappointed when I went to my first airport. Why? Well because I imagined that if you were going to fly, then the place you went from would be some sort of temple, palace to celebrate the whole fantastic idea. 

Still now I am older and used to the souless ultilitarian people processing plants known as airports.  This article on WNBC.com reminded me that perhaps other people thought the same at one point. 

It was called the longest window in the world when its red, sapphire and purple panels were unveiled to airport travelers in 1960. Artists called the window -- longer than a football field and more than 20 feet high -- one of the most important stained-glass works in the U.S.
But American Airlines quietly began dismantling the window's 900 panels last week at its old John F. Kennedy International Airport terminal, after years of debate and pleas by employees and artists to find a way to keep the abstract, multicolored piece intact.
Many museums asked to display the window -- over 300 feet long and 23 feet high -- said it was too large. And the airline said that removing it in one piece, moving it and storing it would cost many millions.

Go to the full and facinating story here