There are those moments which form the core of your urban memory. For some, they serve as reminders of why they left everything to move to New York City. For others they reinforce why they never left. As an architecture buff, my moments all have to do with the incredible spaces that capture the spirit of our city.
On a scouting trip, I had another one of those transcendent moments. I was on a one-on-one tour of the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport. The terminal was open to the public for Open House New York last year, but I’ll be showing you some spots that were off limits. Standing alone in the terminal lobby will go down as one of my top 10 NYC moments.
Every curve and detail of the TWA flight center was thought out by architect Eero Saarinen, with the terminal being one of his last works, completed posthumously. The National Trust for Historic Preservation was a partner in the effort to save it from the wrecking ball in 2003, and is now highlighting the terminal as one of the 24 most inspiring preservation stories in the 24 years of its 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List.
More than designing space, Saarinen clearly conceived of different scenes and experiences that would take place as one moved through the terminal, despite its free-form design. This is not out-of-the-box architecture—upon visiting in the present, you feel transported not only to another time, but also to an ethereal place. This was the cathedral to aviation, if there ever was one, and you feel through the design the pride and optimism the aviation industry had then.
That sense of pride still remains today, if you look closely, as the terminal sits empty awaiting approval for adaptive reuse. Upwards of 14 agencies are involved in the preservation and adaptation of the flight center, which will likely become a hotel (new wings will be built for the rooms so the original space will not be tampered with). James Steven, manager of JFK Physical Plant and Redevelopment tells me of the painstaking renovation he has overseen with Beyer Blinder Belle, down to the details of each circular tile and the years of sourcing materials all over the globe.
It is clear that James and those that maintain the building feel an immense sense of pride about the flight center, and are in fact rather in awe of it. “It’s a beautiful building, isn’t it?” one of the men said to me as I took the photographs. This speaks to the power of architecture, as the three of us from different backgrounds felt simultaneously moved in the hallowed spaces of the building.
The main lounge was rebuilt according to Saarinen’s original design. During the use of the terminal, it had been replaced by ticket counters. The men in the photograph are scouting for illegal taxis hustling unsuspecting tourists.
Leonardo DiCaprio ran down this flight tube in the film Catch Me If You Can.
A framed, spontaneous moment–one of my favorite spots in the flight center.
The still-lit Duty Free sign, around which are the baggage carousels. This whole area is off-limits.
James calls this the Austin Powers lounge, which was inaccessible during OHNY. Saarinen designed all the decor, harkening back to his start in the furniture business.
Shelves for magazines and newspapers were built into the furniture (on the right).
A James Bond-like spot in the First Class lounge
Another view of the First Class lounge. The view once opened out to the jetbridges and runways but many new terminals have been built at JFK since, lessening the impact of the view.
A modern upgrade, it shows current flights even though the terminal is not in use.
A shoe-shine station was built into the design
The TWA Flight Center is truly a place not to be missed. James believes the terminal should be open for Open House New York again this fall–last year he personally worked the event along with a very small staff–so here at Untapped we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Get in touch with the author @untappedmich.
Fantastic. Love it. Would love to go and take some photographs. Nice story!
Thanks Phil! Hopefully it’ll be open for OHNY again this year!
Great post and spectacular photos! A small note: the award-winning recent restoration work was carried out by the New York architecture and preservation firm Beyer Blinder Belle.
Thanks Nate! I’ve updated the text to show Beyer Blinder Belle’s work. Really incredible work by the firm.
((gasp)) This is just an awe-inspiring place and you’ve captured it in an amazing way. I hope to get to see it one day. Thank you for sharing its beauty with us. Wow.
Thank you Melanie! Everyone involved has done such an amazing job restoring it and making sure it’s going to be there for everyone to enjoy in the future. Just needs one final push to get approval for adaptive reuse!
Superb job, Michelle! And the photos flood me with fond memories and the thrill of such irreplaceable architecture and design. I worked for Pan Am in NYC from June ’64 to ’67, then in San Francisco till 1983 and on a number of occasions I flew in on TWA, while we still didn’t have domestic traffic rights, homesick for New York. I thought I knew most of the Terminal and was always sad, when I saw some of the tile work damaged for all the high traffic. But seeing the deeply inspired architecture in this bare state permits true appreciation of shapes and harmonies. A building almost too lovingly/personally designed building to be an air terminal, at least by today’s mass travel standards. I really did not know what had happened to it. Will pass it on to some old Pan Am colleagues. Heike
Thank you Heike for the lovely comments and insider perspective on the terminal in its hey day! You’ll be glad to know that the tile work has all been rehabilitated and I hope you’ll be able to see it sometime soon when it’s open to the public again!
Wonderful story and pictures. As a former TWA F/A I ran down those red carpeted tubes many times! I also always felt as if i was entering a cathedral to flight when I walked in. Thank you for the memories! Insidentally the First Class Lounge was called, “The Constellation Club,” and the other photo titled “Another view of the Frst Class Lounge is actually “The Ambassadors Club.” Nit Picky I know…but there was so much thought and detail put into every inch of that building I thought I would mention it. Thanks again!
Thanks Grant! It’s so great to know the real names of the places I walked through. It was a really incredible experience and I wish I had seen it when it was buzzing with activity in its heyday!
Michele,
OH MY! The memories flood my heart. TWA, In-Flight, 1967 to 1998. This terminal was a static wealth of energy at any time of the day. It had a “pulse” and a “heart”. I loved flying to or through New York. “Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end……..” and they don’t as long as folks like you keep the memory alive. Thank you, Me smiling!
Trisha – retired 1998 ,living in Newport Beach
now with Prudential California Real Estate.:))
Hi Michele,
Great pics! How were you able to arrange a tour? I’m so jealous!
As a 33 year TWA pilot I saw these images and had a sad feeling of remorse. I first saw this beautiful terminal in 1966 while appling for work as a TWA pilot. Thank you from tjhe bottom of my heart for a beautiful tribute.
HI Gary,
That was one of the most beautiful buildings in New York,
and that is saying a lot since Ny has so many beautiful buildings.
Great times.
Ed Duenes
Wonderful photo’s. The article omits the year it was opened!
Thanks! It was opened in 1962, a year after Saarinen’s death.
Thank you so much for these beautiful pictures. My 12 year old son couldn’t get enough of the pictures. He loves architecture!
, my Dad tells me we flew out of JFK a few times when I was young (I am 45) so unfortunately I don’t remember much.
I remember very little of the terminal
Please please, how can we find out if you have another Open house? My son wants to see it.
I have a question. Was the terminal pretty much in the condition of the pictures or was a lot of work done to get it into that shape?
Thanks again. I have to tell you. This sounds silly or crazy. But when I see architecture like this, I wish I could hug it. It just so beautiful…
Michelle, these pictures took my breath away. They’re the first thing to ever make me wish I were at an airport. Isn’t it ironic that now that we’re in the future that this building foretold, nobody would ever build anything like it? Thanks for the great work…
Thank you Mitch! I think you captured it exactly, the failed promise, the beauty, and the misplaced foresight to all of our common detriment.
As a former international flight atendant for TWA, this was my home base. You captured the essnce of this memorable building. miss it and I miss my wonderful, world trotting way of life. NJS
Thank you Nancy for your kind words! It has been so nice to hear from so many TWA employees through this article.
Thanks for the wonderful pictures…you lift up my heart …as a former TWA employee…I am flooded with the pride I felt walking through this building. Would be grateful to hear of the next OHNY.
I was a F/A with TWA also and was extremely proud of this magnificent edifice. Thank you Ms. Young, for the fine photos, and for helping keep alive all the memories we members of the TWA “family” cherish.
As a retired TWA Pilot, I was always amazed at the
incredible span of this inspired architecture! I marveled at it each time I traveled through it.
To me, it was a visual feeling that permeated the airline. As one person said, it has a heart and soul
the same as the airline which lives in each of us
today. Thanks for the tribute to something that will not die!
WONDERFUL MEMORIES
The JFK Flight Center was literally, the cross-roads of the world. The first day I walked in as a perspective employee in 1973 and looked up at the Solari arrivals/departures board, I knew I was in the heart of the heart of the world of international travel. Thank you for the pictures that remind us all of what a privilege it was to work with such great people and for such a great airline.
Thanks for your nice comment Gary!
A brief moment in time. It was an era before the world was crowded and TWA was the connection to that world. TWA was my family. I loved coming to work and being part of it! I spent many hours in the cafeterria looking down on the lobby. Many memories of mine live in this building. Thanks to all involved in the preservation.
John Eastman TWA
Working overseas for this Beautiful Airliner , it was A Great moment to walk for the first time on that Amazing Terminal ! What a joy ! The smell of hot coffee , smiling faces , I’m in America ……….. Thank You TWA !!! Still here after 32 years ! Thank You America !!!
These pictures bring many memories of TWA. As a kid in Philadelphia, we spent many an evening at the airport watching the planes come and go… at that time, you could stand right near the planes as people deplaned. One time when we were there, Howard Hughes came off and walked right near us, he was very nice and talked to us kids. I grew up and married a young soldier who served during the Korean Conflict. He came out of the service in 1955 and his job had been abolished, so he walked the streets looking for work… Frank Rinehart who worked for TWA in Philadelphia came to my family Hobby Shop and my Dad mentioned my husband was back from the Army and needed a job. He told my Dad to have him at the airport in the afternoon and he would have a job starting at midnight that night. He was out pounding the pavement and, of course, there were no cell phones, so we could not get ahold of him. Thankfully, he came home soon after, and he went to the airport. He started with TWA that night as a Fleet Service employee (as any old TWA’er will know) one of his jobs was emptying the ‘honey buckets’!! From PHL, we moved on to DAY and ended in PHX where he retired. He never got over the fact that TWA just disappeared!! His name was Larry Gordon for those who may have known him over his 35 TWA years.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that we flew in and out of this awesome terminal several times and always felt proud that we were TWA family. It was the best… we traveled on many carriers over the years, but none could ever hold a candle to TWA and the service provided to the passengers!
I am glad to see that the TWA terminal is being saved. I visited it several times over the years and was always in awe when there.
I love this photo study. My father was an executive with TWA for 40 years…If I recall correctly, when this terminal was opened there were even a few Lockheed Constellations coming through…but the show horse was the 707!
My parents and I spent so much time in that terminal and later on in my professional life I had the joy of relaxing in the Ambassador Club a number of times on the way to Athens and points East.
With all the fuss about Architects such as Kahn and Geary, even Wright Sr, this building must take its proper place as a prime example of absolutely unique 20th Century Architecture.
I thought I knew and remembered all the good photographic angles, but I was wrong – this talented photographer captured, not only the architecture, but also, the soaring spirit of the place.
Thanks to all who are devoted to preserving and revitalizing this gem.
Kalani, thank you for your kind words and incredible personal memory of the building. We have loved hearing from readers about this building. Collectively, we are fortunate that the building has such a supporter in James Steven with the Port Authority.
Michelle,
A dear friend of mine sent me this email with these wonderful pictures of the TWA terminal. I was a flight attendant from 1978 til 2003. Each time I entered this building, I marveled at this architecture. I was very proud to be a part of this legacy airline!
Thank you so much for these wonderful pictures and for all whom are keeping TWA’S spirit alive!! I would love to know if there is another open house, as I would love to “revisit” the spirit of this wonderful place.
Bill Budd, Las Vegas, NV
Hi Bill, thanks so much for your nice comments! I’ve loved hearing from everyone who had been through or worked in the terminal. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Bill
This is Joyce Cannon (formerly Smith) and we worked together on the vision 2000 project in LAX. I too have many remorseful feelings about TWA and its demise. Especially here in the St Louis area. I have a long layover their tomorrow Saturday, October 20th and would love to reconnect. Looks like you live in Las Vegas? I am still in Swansea, IL and remarried 5 years ago. I was also trying to look up Jerry Burton but I think he passed away? Do you know. Send me an email if you can at joyce3805@gmail.com and I will check for your response. Take care! Joyce
I flew my first flight as a TWA pilot from JFK in December ’65. My last flight was in May ’97, back to JFK. Over the years I spent time at ORD & STL, but JFK was always the main event. These fine photos bring the TWA Flight Terminal back to life in its original glory. Congrats to all for a great restoration.
Thanks for all these pictures that brought back many memories, started my career with TWA when the IDL flt center at that time was just being built and we worked out of temporary terminal in feb 1962 until later in the year when the terminal opened and flt wing two was new
but flt wing one was temporary, I remember all the good and not so good times when we had wx delays and o/s being a PRR with twa these pictures are great
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I loved the chance to view the entire building without people ! Although I always appreciated the unusual design, as a flight attendant from 1970 until 2000 I was always in a hurry–running from gate to gate and trying to moved through crowds. I love the clean beautiful lines and am so glad it was saved !!
here are some 360 ° panoramas i shot in terminal 5 back in 2003, prior to jetblue takeover –
http://www.samrohn.com/360-panorama/twa-terminal/
Your 2003 photos confirmed my memory of the building. Big asbestos abatement job there as the acoustical ceiling treatment throughout possessed a high concentration of asbestos.
Would love to know when a tour is availible!
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As a kid I remember walking around with my mother trying to find my father in the upstairs bar with his Irish friends before boarding a flight to Shannon boy was she mad he worked for TWA and we spent many a time non-revenuing out of JFK what a wonderful place with tons of memories.
Great memories. Use to love to visit this place as a kid. I could wander all over the place and pretend I lived in the future. No security in those days. It had a great Calder Mobile in the main Hall. Would love to know what happened to it.