About this Art Collection
Terminal 1 Staircase (pre-security)
Sandcast pays tribute to San Diego’s pivotal role in aviation history in the form of a classical bas-relief sculpture. Artist Charles Faust captures key milestones in the region’s aeronautical innovation—from the birth of naval aviation at North Island in 1911, to the construction of the Spirit of St. Louis by Ryan Aeronautical in 1927, to the city’s wartime aircraft production boom and later contributions to space exploration through the Atlas rocket program. Once known as the “Air Capital of the West,” San Diego is portrayed as a hub of invention, ambition, and flight.
The artwork was created using Faust’s signature sand casting technique—pouring plaster into sand-lined molds to replicate the texture of eroded sandstone. The sculpture consists of nine segments, each weighing 225 pounds. Together, they form an 11-by-18-foot mural that evokes both the physical landscape of Southern California and the enduring legacy of flight that helped shape the region.
