SEATAC, Wash. — A piece of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport history that was featured in "Sleepless in Seattle" is now closed for good. It's part of a major $658 million renovation project that could mean you will board your next flight from the tarmac.
Port of Seattle employees held a small ceremony at Gate N7 on Friday. It’s a gate you've probably seen even if you never used it thanks to the movie "Sleepless in Seattle."
Right in front of N7 Tom Hanks’ character had the memorable line, “Everybody's an adjustment, nobody's perfect. There's no such thing as a perfect ….” That’s when Hanks first sees Meg Ryan’s character.
A Port of Seattle employee made the announcement to Alaska Airlines passengers waiting for their flights.
“I just perked up when they said the announcement about 'Sleepless in Seattle,'” Krista Carbone, of Tacoma, said. “And I was like, 'Oh, my goodness.'”
Carbone loved the movie and gladly accepted the airport's tribute to the gates closing down in the north satellite. The port gave away socks that match the tacky carpet from the 1973-era construction.
“The design, interesting,” Carbone said with skepticism. “Not quite my fashion, but I'm going to sport them.”
The $658 million remodel of the North Satellite which will take two more years. Part of the renovations are already done, and 10 more gates will open the new section next week as the older portion is shut down.
KIRO 7 asked project manager Ken Warren to point out the highlights.
“We're going to be building this large marketplace, which is going to have a signature restaurant up top,” Warren said. “And we're going to end up with 17 restaurants here, with a total of 23 new restaurants when we're done in the facility, with 20 gates serving the north satellite.”
You might have to board your next flight from right out on the tarmac. For the next two years of construction they're losing some of the gates. They will have 25-30 more boardings per day.
You'll take a shuttle bus from the D gates over to the North Satellite and you'll board right from the tarmac.
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Click here to see a time-lapse of the renovations.
Click here to see an exterior animation.
Click here to see an interior animation.
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