The iconic TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport will take flight again but now as a world-class hotel with construction aimed at completion in 2018.
"We're bringing her back to life," said Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR Development, the New York-based hotel investment firm responsible for this redevelopment project.
During a recent media reception about the project, Morse unveiled how this grand terminal for the former Trans World Airlines will become a 505-room hotel while also being reinstated to its original splendor. The event was held at the newly unveiled TWA lounge at 1WTC, a retro-themed sales office located on the 86th floor of the One World Trade Center.
An Age of Aviation
A symbol of the Jet Age, the TWA Flight Center opened at Idlewild Airport-the original name for JFK Airport-in 1962. It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen, who is also noted for creations including the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the CBS (Black Rock) Building in New York City, and Dulles International Airport.
The year 1962 will also serve as the inspiration for the upcoming TWA Hotel, when all interior features of the original property will be restored to their heyday appearance such as its revered Ambassadors Club.
"[We're] bringing an ethos about 1962 to the building," said Morse.
An onsite museum will hold memorabilia relating to Trans World Airlines along with various objects connected to historic milestones happening that year. Key highlights range from the Beatles coming to America, to the start of both the New York Jets and New York Mets.
However, the former terminal will not entirely become hotel-esque.
Its new structures housing the just over 500 rooms will actually be set back on either side of the terminal, deferring to this landmark. Other additions include a 10,000-square-foot observation deck with runway views, six bars and eight restaurants, along with a 50,000-square-feet event space center. The hotel will be accessible via JFK's AirTrain and the Saarinen passenger tubes connecting directly to JetBlue's Terminal 5.
The Future of the TWA Flight Center
Shut down in 2001, and threatened with the possibility of demolition, the TWA Flight Center was designated a NYC Landmark in 1994 and added to the National Register of Historical Places in 2005.
With the saving of the terminal being a noted public effort, Morse also cited that people of all ages still hold this terminal in high regard. When the TWA Flight Center was re-opened for one day as part of the 2015 Open House New York program, it's said that 9,000 visitors-including a large number of Millennials-attended.
As for the TWA Lounge at 1WTC, this sales center will have amazing views of the 12-mile away JFK Airport, and look like as a timepiece with Saarinen's noted white concrete and red chili pepper carpeting plus a front desk modeled after a TWA flight counter. The location will be open to the general public by appointment only.
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