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Tempelhof Airport, site of historic Berlin airlift, set to close in 2008

BERLIN -- A German court threw out a bid Monday to prevent the closure of the capital's historic Tempelhof Airport, clearing the way for the one-time base of the Berlin airlift to close to passengers next year.

Thirteen companies that use the inner-city airport had sought to block its closure as part of plans to build a new airport hub on the edge of the capital...

Tempelhof opened in 1923 and was expanded under the Nazis into a huge horseshoe-shaped complex. Its massive terminal is one of the most prominent remaining examples of the era's architecture in Berlin.

After the Second World War left the city divided into east and west, Tempelhof became the hub of the nearly year-long U.S.-led Berlin airlift when the Soviets blockaded West Berlin in 1948.

The future of the Tempelhof site remains unclear...
Germany's BUND environment group on Monday suggested turning the grounds into a huge "Airlift Park."
Read entire article at AP