SALT LAKE CITY – A work of art, a historical piece or both is returning to Salt Lake City International Airport and could spark a sense of nostalgia and even travel inspiration among travelers.

The original world map that millions of passengers crossed on their way to their gate in one of the terminals of the old Salt Lake City airport is coming to Hall B.

Designed by Dallas stonemason Julius Bartoli, the map adorned the floor of the former airport for 60 years until the old terminal was demolished in 2020. The map sat in storage for four years until airport authorities decided to bring back the original artwork as part of the new airport’s expansion.

“A lot of people will remember it because it was hanging in the security checkpoint area and was covered with posts after 9/11,” airport spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said. “It’s a very popular piece and a lot of people really wanted us to be able to save the world map.”

Why did the airport decide to restore the map instead of creating a new one?

According to the airport, the project to recover and restore the map was never set in stone, but Volmer said the possibility of restoration has become a reality with the right teams and budget. The total cost of the project is about $250,000.

“Originally we didn’t think we would be able to do it,” Volmer added. “But when we closed the old airport, our engineers, the architects, came and found a way to save it. They dismantled it, stored it and recently reinstalled it here in Hall B in the new space.”

How did airport staff lift the Terrazzo card and bring it to the new airport?

The map consists of 75 individual pieces, each weighing over 400 pounds.

“I’ve been a mason for 45 years, and when I was asked if we could do this, it was quite an accomplishment,” said John Kunz, project manager at Innovative Masonry Systems, a Lindon-based company that helped reinstall the map.

When the original map was recovered four years ago, Kunz said the biggest concern was keeping the stone intact, but he praised the original team of stonemasons and engineers who created the map 60 years ago.

“Underneath the terrazzo is a three-and-a-half-inch layer of dry pack, which is essentially cement and sand,” he explained. “Underneath the dry pack was a fabric separating the soil from the back of the terrazzo pad. When we pulled the piece out and separated it, the terrazzo flooring separated from the landscape fabric.”

This separation made it easier for Kunz and his team to lift the card from its place.

Why is the map only a partial world map?

As passengers walk past the map, they may notice that it is not a complete map of the world, but rather only shows United’s flight routes from the 1960s.

“You can see that there weren’t many nonstop flights back then,” Volmer said. “They had to refuel. Back then, there were smaller planes. From Salt Lake City, you might fly to Washington or New York before you could fly on to Dublin, Paris or Madrid.”

When can the map be viewed publicly?

The map will be available to the public when Phase 3 of the airport opens on October 22.