by Robin Amster
Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Mon October 2, 2017
A bit of Jet Age glamour landed at One World Trade Center with the unveiling of the TWA Lounge.
The Lounge will be used as a private event space and sales office both before and after the opening of the new TWA Hotel, now under construction at JFK International and slated to open in early 2019.
Located on the WTC's 86th floor and chosen for its views of both JFK and LaGuardia Airports, the Lounge will also serve as a gateway to the TWA Hotel by providing a first glimpse of the restored 1962 TWA Flight Center which will become the hotel's lobby.
As attendees milled around the space, gazing at the stunning views and sipping sixties-era TAB (short for-now it can be said-"totally artificial beverage"), they took in the former Flight Center's chili pepper red carpet, Mid-Century sunken lounge, marble tables, tulip chairs, and Solari split-flap analog display (showing flights to former TWA destinations).
A mini-museum of original TWA uniforms, posters and memorabilia will also be moved to the new hotel when it opens.
The iconic 1962 Flight Center, designed by legendary architect Eero Saarinen, is a modernist masterpiece that reflected the exuberance and romance of the new Jet Age. It had been commissioned by another legend: Howard Hughes who owned the carrier from 1937 to 1968.
As the lobby of the new 505-room hotel, the renovated Flight Center will be flanked by two guest towers. The $265 million project includes eight restaurants and six bars, an outdoor observation deck, a rooftop pool and 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
"The design [of the hotel lobby] takes us back to the original 1962 building's footprint," said Tyler Morse, CEO and managing partner of MCR, the hotel's developer. "We're also returning the interiors to what they were in 1962. These [interiors] represent a who's who of designers from the sixties."
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Ironically, the Flight Center was functionally obsolete when it opened at JFK, then Idlewild Airport, Morse said.
Saarinen's design of the single level terminal was geared to a time when planes held 50 passengers. Aircraft that accommodated twice that number, along with the mid-nineties introduction of metal detector screenings, made for unmanageably long lines at the terminal.
"The building was designed for four-engine, propeller aircraft," said Morse. "By the time it opened, we were in the Jet Age."
Closed in 2001, the terminal survived several attempts to tear it down.
It gained protected status in 1994 when it was designated a New York City Landmark. In 2005 it was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places and the New York State Register of Historic Places.
Morse said his firm worked with 22 government agencies and 14 preservationist agencies to forge the public-private partnership that has made the hotel a reality.
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