TWA Flight Center

This morning, Open House NYC held its annual open house at the TWA Flight Center at JFK airport. I headed down for a bit before work. The building opened in 1962 as the TWA terminal at the airport. Designed by Eero Saarinen, the building was in use until October of 2001 when TWA merged into American Airlines.

In 1994, the building was declared a landmark by the city. In 2005, the Port Authority and JetBlue Airways began constructing the new T5. The original concourse was knocked down. The only part of it saved was part of the departure lounges, known as the Trumpet, which was lifted and moved at a cost of $895,000, but was ultimately demolished. Despite promises of a complete renovation and use for the space, in the last decade, it has been only open for events such as the Open House.

Just a few days ago, it was confirmed, after years of discussion, that JFK’s first onsite hotel would be built there. According to the renderings I saw today, the hotel would be in two sections at the edge of the terminal near the old tubes that led between the ‘headhouse’ and the concourse, and would not obstruct the views of the existing building.