{{Short description|Terminal at JFK Airport in Queens, New York}} {{Good article}} {{Use American English|date=June 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Trans World Airlines Flight Center | nrhp_type = | image = Ehemaliges TWA-Terminal am John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.JPG | caption = The terminal's headhouse in 2010 | location = John F. Kennedy International Airport<br />Queens, New York, United States | coordinates = {{coord|40|38|45|N|73|46|39|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=it}} | district_map = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=300|zoom=12|type=point|marker=|title=TWA Flight Center}} | architect = Eero Saarinen and Associates | architecture = Futurist, Neo-futurist, Googie, Fantastic | added = September 7, 2005 | area = {{convert|17.6|acre}} | refnum = 05000994<ref name="nris" /> | mpsub = | designated_other2 = New York City Landmark | designated_other2_date = July 19, 1994 | designated_other2_number = 1915, 1916 }}
The '''TWA Flight Center''' (also known as the '''Trans World Flight Center''' or '''TWA Terminal''') is a building at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, United States. Designed by Eero Saarinen and Associates for Trans World Airlines (TWA), the building was completed in 1962 and operated as an airport terminal for four decades. The building's main section, the headhouse, was repurposed as part of the TWA Hotel in 2019. The headhouse is flanked by two towers added for the hotel and is partially surrounded by Terminal 5 (T5), a terminal for JetBlue.
The headhouse has a thin shell concrete roof, shaped like a set of bird's wings and supported by four Y-shaped piers. Inside is an open, three-level space with large windows; the windows overlooked the tarmac before Terminal 5 and the TWA Hotel's towers were built. The TWA Flight Center also includes two tube-shaped, red-carpeted departure and arrival corridors extending outward from the headhouse. These formerly connected to the TWA Flight Center's detached "flight wings", which contained the gates. The flight wings were demolished and the corridors were truncated in the 2000s, during the development of Terminal 5.
Saarinen's firm was hired to design the TWA Flight Center as part of a 1955 master plan for Idlewild (now JFK) Airport. After years of design and modeling work, construction began in June 1959, and the TWA Flight Center was dedicated on May 28, 1962. It originally had one flight wing; Roche-Dinkeloo, a successor firm to Saarinen's company, designed a second flight wing, which opened in 1970. Various other additions took place over the years, and domestic flights were moved to the Sundrome in 1981. After TWA sold its assets to American Airlines in 2001, the terminal closed. There were proposals to refurbish the original structure as an entrance to T5 (which opened in 2008), but they were ultimately abandoned. As part of the TWA Hotel's construction, the headhouse was renovated, and the two hotel wings were constructed, opening in 2019. The original design was widely acclaimed; the interior and the exterior of the headhouse are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
== Architecture <span class="anchor" id="Design"></span> == <!--left|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=A map of the headhouse, shown in red on the left, and Terminal 5, shown in yellow on the right|Configuration of the site prior to the TWA Hotel's construction:<br>{{Bulleted list|{{Color box|red|border=darkgray}} TWA Flight Center (1962)|{{Color box|yellow|border=darkgray}} Terminal 5 (T5; 2008)}}-->
The TWA Flight Center, designed by Eero Saarinen and Associates, is centered on a headhouse consisting of a reinforced concrete shell roof.<ref name="Whitehead 2014">{{cite magazine |last1=Whitehead |first1=Rob |year=2014 |title=Saarinen's Shells: The Evolution of Engineering Influence |url=https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/arch_conf/84/ |magazine=Iowa State University Digital Repository |page=84 |access-date=November 4, 2018 |archive-date=January 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106205230/http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/arch_conf/84/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The design incorporates elements of the Futurist, Neo-futurist, Googie, and Fantastic architectural styles.<ref name="Makovsky 2005">{{cite web |last=Makovsky |first=Paul |date=September 19, 2005 |title=Reconsidering Eero |url=https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/reconsidering-eero/ |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=Metropolis Magazine |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701151242/https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/reconsidering-eero/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Key collaborators from the Saarinen office included Kevin Roche, Cesar Pelli, Norman Pettula, and Edward Saad. The interiors were largely designed by Warren Platner.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Pelkonen |editor-first=Eeva-Liisa |editor-last2=Albrecht |editor-first2=Donald |title=Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-300-12237-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/eerosaarinenshap0000saar |url-access=registration |page=199 |access-date=August 28, 2024}}</ref> To engineer the roof, Saarinen collaborated with Charles S. Whitney and Boyd G. Anderson of the firm Ammann & Whitney.<ref name="Whitehead 2014" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=5}}</ref>{{efn|Saarinen worked with the same team in executing the Kresge Auditorium (1953–1955) and the main terminal at Dulles International Airport (1958–1962).<ref name="Whitehead 2014" />}} The project involved Grove Shepherd Wilson & Kruge as general contractor;<ref name="AF p. 119" /><ref name="Roman p. 53" /> the Arup Group as the structural engineer; Langan as the civil engineer; and Jaros, Baum & Bolles as the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer.<ref name="Roman p. 53">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=53|ps=.}}</ref> It was one of several airport terminals Saarinen designed, along with the Dulles Main Terminal in Virginia and Ellinikon International Airport near Athens, Greece.<ref>{{cite book | last=Simons | first=G.M. | title=Olympic Airways: A History | publisher=Air World | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-4738-8355-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O04IEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PT343 | access-date=2026-04-18 | page=343}}</ref>
The headhouse sits on a curve along one of JFK Airport's access roads, near the elevated AirTrain JFK people mover tracks.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=3}}</ref> The headhouse's form was designed to accommodate its small wedge-shaped site, with walkways and gates placed at acute angles.<ref name="NYCL p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> Radiating from the headhouse are two departure–arrival passenger tubes, the "Flight Tubes", extending southeast and northeast.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 8" />{{efn|In its reports about the TWA Flight Center head house, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission uses approximate compass directions for convenience; for instance, objects that are actually to the northeast are described as being to the north.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 8" /> In this article, the precise compass directions are used.}} The TWA Flight Center was among the first to use enclosed passenger jetways, which connected with flight wings (structures with airline gates). The jetways provided shelter from inclement weather and removed the need to walk on the ground to reach planes.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Stoff 2009 p. 75">{{cite book |last=Stoff |first=Joshua |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDMjr_VbZskC&pg=PA75 |title=John F. Kennedy International Airport |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7385-6468-5 |series=Images of Aviation |page=75 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804235414/https://books.google.com/books?id=iDMjr_VbZskC&pg=PA75 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 23">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=23}}</ref>
When the headhouse was used as a terminal, there were a parking lot<ref name="Ringli p. 115">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=115|ps=.}}</ref> and a passenger canopy outside the front entrance.<ref name="Smith 1996" /><ref name="Blumenthal 1979" /> Adjoining the headhouse to the east is JetBlue's Terminal 5 (T5), built in 2008 to designs by Gensler.<ref name="Linstedt 2008">{{Cite news |last=Linstedt |first=Sharon |date=October 22, 2008 |title=JetBlue Opens New JFK Terminal Today |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-jetblue-opens-new-jfk-t/184436619/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=The Buffalo News |pages=15}}</ref><ref name="mn20080923">{{cite web |title=Mayor Bloomberg, Port Authority and Jetblue Cut Ribbon on New $875 Million Terminal at JFK Airport |url=http://media-newswire.com/release_1073907.html |date=September 23, 2008 |publisher=Media-Newswire.com |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703193457/http://media-newswire.com/release_1073907.html |url-status=live}}</ref> T5's entry hall wraps around the TWA Flight Center's headhouse.<ref name="Blum 2005">{{cite web |last=Blum |first=Andrew |date=July 21, 2005 |title=JetBlue's Terminal Takes Wing |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-07-20/jetblues-terminal-takes-wing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702224948/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-07-20/jetblues-terminal-takes-wing |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |publisher=Business Week, Innovation}}</ref><ref name="Dunlap 2008">{{Cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=February 21, 2008 |title=Saarinen Terminal to Reopen at Kennedy Airport |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/saarinen-terminal-to-reopen-at-kennedy-airport/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704003301/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/saarinen-terminal-to-reopen-at-kennedy-airport/ |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The original headhouse has, since 2019, served as a lobby for TWA Hotel,<ref name="Concrete Products 2019">{{Cite magazine |date=Aug 2019 |title=Thin Shell Classic TWA Structure Gets New Life |work=Concrete Products |page=24 |volume=122 |issue=8 |id={{Pq|2281992197}}}}</ref> which includes two buildings designed by Lubrano Ciavarra Architects.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-12-20 |title=Beyer Blinder Belle, INC, Lubrano Ciavarra, And Stonehill Taylor Propel Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center into a 21st-Century Hotel |url=https://interiordesign.net/projects/beyer-blinder-belle-inc-lubrano-ciavarra-and-stonehill-taylor-propel-eero-saarinen-s-twa-flight-center-into-a-21st-century-hotel/ |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=Interior Design}}</ref> There is a valet parking lot for the hotel outside the headhouse's entrance,<ref>{{cite web |title=Parking |url=https://www.twahotel.com/hotel-information/parking |access-date=December 15, 2025 |website=TWA Hotel}}</ref> along with a nearby parking garage for T5 that connects with the AirTrain JFK station.<ref name="Vianna u950">{{cite web |last=Vianna |first=Carla |date=May 15, 2019 |title=What to Know About JFK's Wild 1960s Bar-Packed Hotel, Opening Today |url=https://ny.eater.com/2019/5/15/18624543/twa-hotel-jfk-bars-restaurants-opening-how-to-get-there-menus-reservations |access-date=December 15, 2025 |website=Eater NY}}</ref>
=== Exterior<span class="anchor" id="Facade and roof"></span> === thumb|left|Exterior view as seen in 2006, before either T5 or the TWA Hotel opened|alt=Exterior view as seen in 2006, before either T5 or the TWA Hotel opened. There is a curved glass canopy in front of the building. Behind it is a tarmac.
The TWA Flight Center's headhouse is a two-story structure.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The main portion of the headhouse's facade is made of green-tinted glass walls<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> measuring {{Convert|1/4|in}} thick and spanning {{Convert|3500|ft2}}.<ref name="p547740007">{{cite news |last=Andersen |first=H. Viggo |date=27 May 1962 |title=TWA to Unveil Spectacular N.Y. Flight Center Monday |work=The Hartford Courant |page=9C |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|547740007}}}}</ref> The facade uses 236 pieces of glass, which were cut on site during construction.<ref name="p276592983">{{Cite news |date=13 May 1962 |title=New York's Modern Wonder: T.W.A.'s Flight Center Dramatizes Jet Age |work=Daily Boston Globe |page=59 |issn=0743-1791 |id={{Pq|276592983}}}}</ref> These walls allowed passengers inside to visualize planes landing, taxiing, unloading, loading, and taking off.<ref name="Friedman p. 134">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=134|ps=.}}</ref> They were coated with a dark purple mylar film at some point before 2005.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> A canopy extends outward from the headhouse, covering part of the sidewalk.<ref name="Ringli p. 115" />
Single-story annexes extend outward from the headhouse to the north and south and contain several door openings within the concave walls. Inside these annexes are maintenance areas.<ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=4}}</ref> The TWA Flight Center also had its own control tower, from which TWA staff could see planes on the apron.<ref name="p547740007" /><ref name="Ringli p. 57">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=57|ps=.}}</ref> The tower had control systems and monitors that allowed staff to display flight information in the headhouse.<ref name="Ringli p. 57" /> Although the original design included a heliport, it never saw regular use outside the 1964 New York World's Fair.<ref name="Ringli p. 57" />
==== Roof ====
The roof was designed to span a wide space using as little material as possible.<ref name="Makovsky 2005" /> It is composed of two upward-slanting concrete shells at the edges, which resemble birds' wings, and two smaller shells slanting downward toward the front and back of the structure.<ref name="Merkel p. 209">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=209|ps=.}}</ref> The upward-slanting shells reach up to {{Convert|75|ft||abbr=}} above ground level. The shells converge at the center, where each of the four shells supports the others. Four Y-shaped piers support the roof, facing the front and back;<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 8">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=8}}</ref><ref name="Leubkeman">Leubkeman, Christopher Hart. "Form Swallows Function" in {{harvnb|Progressive Architecture|1992|ps=.|p=108}}</ref> these measure {{Convert|51|ft}} tall by {{Convert|315|ft}} long.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> Skylights are placed within the gaps between the shells.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The roof weighs {{Convert|6000|ST||abbr=}},<ref name="AF p. 122">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1960|ps=.|p=122}}</ref><ref name="Merkel p. 210">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=210|ps=.}}</ref>{{Efn|Some sources cite the roof as using {{convert|5000|ST|LT t}} of concrete and {{convert|500|ST|LT t}} of steel, for a total of {{convert|5500|ST|LT t}}.<ref name="p547740007"/><ref name=p899092554/>}} covering about {{Convert|1.5|acre}}.<ref name="p547740007" /> The concrete varies in thickness from {{Convert|7|in||abbr=}} at the edges to {{Convert|40|in||abbr=}} at the convergence of the four shells.<ref name="AF p. 122" /><ref name="Merkel p. 210" />{{Efn|Another source describes the shell's thickness as varying from {{Convert|7|to|44|in}}.<ref name="Ringli p. 84"/>}} The roof shells are cantilevered by up to {{Convert|80|ft}} and contain steel reinforcement to accommodate the roof's weight.<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /> The main entrance is on the land side, where the roof projects over a sidewalk (formerly a driveway) with a scupper.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" />
When the TWA Flight Center was erected, thin-shell concrete roofs could not be built in other parts of New York City due to building code restrictions. The roof could be built only because the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was exempt from city building codes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=July 9, 1965 |title=Broad Revisions of Building Code Proposed to City; Changes Would Allow Wider Freedom in Architecture – Costs Would Be Cut |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/09/archives/broad-revisions-of-building-code-proposed-to-city-changes-would.html |access-date=May 16, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The shape of the roof recalled that of the Chevrolet Impala's "gull wing", developed by General Motors, for which Saarinen had designed the GM Technical Center.<ref name="Friedman p. 133">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=133|ps=.}}</ref>
=== Interior === The TWA Flight Center incorporated many innovations for its time, including closed-circuit television, a central public address system, baggage carousels, a schedule board, baggage scales, and gates that were distant from the headhouse.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Dunlap 1994">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 20, 1994 |title=T.W.A.'s Hub Is Declared A Landmark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/20/nyregion/twa-s-hub-is-declared-a-landmark.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327011816/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/20/nyregion/twa-s-hub-is-declared-a-landmark.html |archive-date=March 27, 2022 |access-date=May 26, 2010 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> TWA staff received instructions through a pneumatic tube system.<ref name="Ringli p. 57" /> Departing and arriving passengers at the TWA Flight Center were not separated into their own areas, a common practice at other airport terminals.<ref name="Ringli p. 114a">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=114|ps=.}}</ref> A writer for ''The American Scholar'' magazine said the overall layout acted like a grand procession, with passengers ascending from the entrance.<ref name="Wills u306" /> Passengers continued from the headhouse to the flight wings,<ref name="Wills u306">{{cite web |last=Wills |first=Eric |date=June 3, 2019 |title=Flights of Fancy |url=https://theamericanscholar.org/flights-of-fancy/ |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The American Scholar}}</ref> two outlying gate structures detached from the headhouse.<ref name="Song p. 509">{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=509|ps=.}}</ref> The historian Alice T. Friedman said the design allowed occupants to both engage in activities (such as sitting down or observing planes) and to watch others partake in the same activities.<ref name="Friedman p. 140">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=140|ps=.}}</ref> According to the writer Kornel Ringli, the interior's curving shape created an impression of movement and speed, which was then amplified in popular media.<ref name="Ringli p. 87">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=87|ps=.}}</ref>
==== Headhouse ==== alt=Refer to caption|thumb|View east from the headhouse's upper level. The footbridge between the two halves of the upper level is visible in the left background. Below it is the intermediate level, while to the right is the lower level. The headhouse spans {{Convert|200,000|ft2}},<ref name="Negroni 2018" /><ref name="Concrete Products n354">{{cite magazine |date=September 23, 2019 |title=Thin Shell Classic TWA Structure Gets New Life |url=https://concreteproducts.com/index.php/2019/09/23/thin-shell-classic-twa-structure-gets-new-life/ |access-date=November 7, 2025 |work=Concrete Products |page=24 |volume=122 |issue=8 |id={{Pq|2281992197}}}}</ref> with a width of {{convert|152|ft}} and a length of {{convert|230|ft}} at ground level.<ref name="p547740007" /> There are two full stories: an upper level and a lower level. An intermediate level, facing east, is joined to the lower level by a central staircase and to the upper level by four peripheral staircases.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|pp=4–5}}</ref><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1994|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> The interior uses concrete in design details such as desks, seats, and the flight information display; these concrete surfaces not only served as a continuation of the exterior but also demonstrated the malleability of the material.<ref name="de Muga">{{cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/eerosaarinen0000saar |title=Eero Saarinen : Objects and Furniture Design |date=2011 |publisher=Polígrafa |isbn=978-84-343-1264-7 |editor-last=de Muga |editor-first=Patricia |page=110 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The interior uses almost 58 million ceramic tiles,<ref name="p547740007" /><ref name="Friedman p. 134" /> which line the walls and floors,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /> visually complementing the headhouse's concrete surfaces.<ref name="de Muga" /> As part of the TWA Hotel's development, the original headhouse's interior was converted into the hotel's lobby, retail, and amenity area,<ref name="Concrete Products n354" /><ref name="Woo w130">{{cite web |last=Woo |first=Jen |date=February 13, 2019 |title=The TWA Hotel Turns an Abandoned Airport Terminal Into a Midcentury Dream |url=https://www.dwell.com/article/twa-hotel-jfk-airport-eero-saarinen-open-for-reservations-d4ac1649 |access-date=December 13, 2025 |website=Dwell}}</ref> with restaurants and the hotel's reception desk.<ref name="Brown t133" /> TWA-related objects, such as posters and uniforms, are exhibited there.<ref name="Woo w130" /><ref name="TWA Museum Exhibits">{{cite web |title=Museum Exhibits |url=https://www.twahotel.com/museum-exhibits |access-date=December 13, 2025 |website=TWA Hotel}}</ref>
The lower level contains the former ticket counter and baggage claim areas.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /> These areas, situated in distinct wings flanking a central entrance lobby,<ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /> were placed near the curbside canopy to maximize convenience for passengers.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> A sculpted marble information desk, carved as a single slab, rises from the lobby floor,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 8">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1994|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> and a split-flap display by Solari originally displayed flight information.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="p547740007" /> When the terminal was in operation, arriving passengers picked up their luggage at carousels next to the entrance, which traveled at {{Convert|65|ft/min}}.<ref name="p547740007" /><ref name="Friedman p. 134" /> The lower level also had computerized baggage scales and conveyor belts.<ref name="Ringli pp. 57–58">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|pages=57–58|ps=.}}</ref> There are also mechanical, service, and office areas in a partial basement under the intermediate level, as well as a tunnel leading to the former Flight Wing 1.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The TWA Hotel operates a {{Convert|50,000|ft2|adj=on}} event area in the basement.<ref name="Jacobs 2019">{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Karrie |date=May 29, 2019 |title=The Seductive Fantasy of Saarinen's TWA Terminal |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/buildings/the-seductive-fantasy-of-saarinens-twa-terminal_o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115235238/https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/buildings/the-seductive-fantasy-of-saarinens-twa-terminal_o |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |website=Architect Magazine}}</ref>
Twelve steps from the lower level ascend about {{Convert|5|ft}} to the intermediate level.<ref name="Ringli p. 115" /> There is a sunken conversation pit on the intermediate level,<ref name="Smith 1996">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=G.E. Kidder |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcebookofamer0000smit/page/446/mode/2up |title=Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-56898-024-8 |page=446 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> which faces east and originally overlooked a tarmac.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Although the original conversation pit had been removed by the 1990s,<ref name="Smith 1996" /> it was recreated as part of the TWA Hotel.<ref name="Creedy m554">{{cite web |last=Creedy |first=Kathryn B. |date=June 23, 2019 |title=TWA Hotel at JFK Airport Feels Straight out of the '60s |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-new-york-twa-hotel-jfk-20190623-story.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> In addition, by the early 1990s, a switchback ramp had been added between the lower level and the intermediate level to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.<ref>{{harvnb|Progressive Architecture|1992|ps=.|pp=92–93}}</ref> There is also an elliptical plaque commemorating Saarinen.<ref name="Ringli p. 117">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=117|ps=.}}</ref>
A concrete balcony on the upper floor spans above the central staircase that connects the lower floor to the intermediate level.<ref name="Smith 1996" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /><ref name="NPS p. 5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=5}}</ref> The upper floor had multiple eateries.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /><ref name="Ringli p. 116">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=116|ps=.}}</ref> The TWA operated its Ambassador Club on the northern portion of the upper floor (left of the entrance), designed by Saarinen Associates.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /><ref>{{harvnb|Roche|1958|ps=.|p=81}}</ref> The southern (right) portion of the upper floor contained the London Bar & Constellation Club, the Lisbon Lounge, and the Paris Café,<ref name="Bureau of Aviation n430">{{cite book | author=New York (State). Bureau of Aviation | title=Go Ahead New York | publisher=State of New York, Department of Commerce, Aviation Bureau. | year=1961 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuS9USLt2lMC | access-date=2026-04-19 | page=5}}</ref> all designed by Raymond Loewy.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /> There were also offices on the upper level, north and south of the public areas.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> A three-sided clock, dating from 1963, hangs from the center of the ceiling, where the rooftop shells converge. The clock was not part of the original plans, but it was retained when the building became part of the TWA Hotel.<ref>{{cite news |last=Swithinbank |first=Robin |date=November 12, 2024 |title=Vulcain Has Created a Desk Clock That Looks Like One at J.F.K. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/fashion/desk-clock-vulcain-twa-hotel-jfk.html |access-date=August 31, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref>
{{multiple image | align = center | direction = horizontal | total_width = 800 | image1 = TWA Flight Center, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, Queens, New York City, NY (48589035116).jpg | caption1 = Curving staircase inside the headhouse | image2 = A Crowded Room.jpg | caption2 = The footbridge on the upper level, spanning above the intermediate level | image3 = Ambassadors_Club,_TWA_Flight_Center,_John_F._Kennedy_International_Airport,_Jamaica,_Queens,_New_York_City,_NY_(48589082067).jpg | caption3 = Ambassador Club | image4 = Bar Counter at TWA Flight Center, 1962.jpg | caption4 = Union News restaurants coffee shop | alt1 = Curving staircase inside the headhouse, which doubles back on itself, leading to the upper level | alt2 = The footbridge on the upper level, spanning above the intermediate level. There are large crowds both on the footbridge and on the intermediate level below. | alt3 = The Ambassador Club, a space on the upper level with a red carpet and a slanting glass wall under a sloped concrete ceiling. | alt4 = Union News restaurants coffee shop, which includes several stools facing a bar }}
==== Passageways ==== {{Multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | total_width = 400 | image1 = TWA Flight Center IMG 6887.JPG | caption1 = Interior of one of the flight tubes | alt1 = Interior of a flight tube, a hallway with rounded white walls, a white ceiling, and a red carpet | image2 = TWA Flight Center Dec 2025 54.jpg | caption2 = Connection to one of the TWA Hotel's wings from the flight tubes | alt2 = An opening within the curved wall of a flight tube, which leads to a glass-walled passageway that connects with the hotel rooms }}
The two passageways, leading from the headhouse's intermediate level,<ref name="Wills u306"/> are completely enclosed and cross an access roadway.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The passageway leading southeast was called Flight Tube 2, while the passageway leading northeast was called Flight Tube 1.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The tubes originally led to the flight wings and are {{Convert|6|ft||abbr=}} higher at the site of the flight wings than at the headhouse. Flight Tube 1 is about {{Convert|232|ft||abbr=}} long while Flight Tube 2 is {{Convert|272|ft||abbr=}} long.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Following the opening of the TWA Hotel, the tubes connect the headhouse to the guestrooms;<ref name="Concrete Products 2019" /><ref name="Woo w130" /><ref name="Firshein 2019">{{Cite web |last=Firshein|first=Sarah|date=July 23, 2019|title=How the TWA Terminal, A Midcentury Icon, Became One of NYC's Coolest New Hotels|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/7/23/20696897/twa-hotel-jfk-airport-new-york-history-preservation|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=Curbed NY|archive-date=October 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006065542/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/7/23/20696897/twa-hotel-jfk-airport-new-york-history-preservation|url-status=dead}}</ref> Flight Tube 1 leads to the hotel's Saarinen wing, and Flight Tube 2 leads to the Hughes wing.<ref name="Creedy m554"/> The ends of the flight tubes contain mockups of Saarinen's and Hughes's offices,<ref name="TWA Museum Exhibits" /> and the end of Flight Tube 1 also has an elevator connecting directly to JetBlue's Terminal 5.<ref name="Creedy m554" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Directions | website=TWA Hotel | url=https://www.twahotel.com/hotel-information/directions | access-date=December 13, 2025}}</ref>
The tubes are covered in concrete, with an elliptical cross-section and indirect lighting.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> TWA's press releases indicated that the design features were intended to heighten travelers' anticipation before they boarded their planes.<ref name="Ringli p. 116" /> Original plans called for the passageways to be designed as bridges with glass ceilings; each passage would have two moving walkways, one in each direction, with a stationary hallway in between.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> As a cost-saving measure, the moving walkways were removed from the final plans.<ref name="NPS p. 23" /><ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /> Although Saarinen had wanted to reduce the distance that passengers walked to planes, the TWA Flight Center's passengers still had to walk a significant distance through the flight tubes. This contrasted with Saarinen's later Dulles International Airport Main Terminal, where he designed mobile lounges to ferry passengers directly to planes.<ref name="p2307676694">{{Cite magazine |title=Portraits in Architecture|last=Dorr|first=Maude|work=Industrial Design|volume=10|issue=5|date=May 1963|pages=68–70|id={{pq|2307676694}}}}</ref> The tubes were preserved when T5 was built.<ref name="Dunlap 2008"/><ref name="Blum 2005"/>
==== Flight wings ==== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = {{if mobile|vertical|horizontal}} | total_width = 400 | image1 = Flight Wing No. 1 - Main Floor Plan - Trans World Airlines Flight Center, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica Bay, Queens (subdivision), Queens County, NY HABS NY-6371 (sheet 22 of 32).png | image2 = Flight Wing No. 2 - Main Floor Plan - Trans World Airlines Flight Center, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica Bay, Queens (subdivision), Queens County, NY HABS NY-6371 (sheet 26 of 32).png | footer = {{if mobile|Floor plans for the passenger sections of Flight Wings 1 (top) and 2 (bottom)|Floor plans for the passenger sections of Flight Wings 1 (left) and 2 (right)}} | alt1 = Floor plan of Flight Wing 1 | alt2 = Floor plan of Flight Wing 2 }}
Flight Tube 2 originally connected with Flight Wing 2, built as part of the original TWA Flight Center in 1962, while Flight Tube 1 connected with Flight Wing 1, built during a 1967–1970 expansion designed by Saarinen Associates' successor firm Roche-Dinkeloo.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Blum 2005" /> Both sections were characterized as violin-shaped, with jetways extending outward from the end of each wing.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The flight wings had concrete and plaster bases, along with passenger concourses cantilevered above.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The proximity of the flight wings allowed easier transfers between flights, since passengers needed to travel only between the two wings or adjacent gates, rather than changing between terminals.<ref name="Ringli p. 57" /> Fueling and heating systems were embedded into the apron adjoining the flight wings.<ref name="Ringli pp. 57–58" />
Flight Wing 2, shaped like a multi-sided polygon,<ref name="NPS p. 27" /> was the smaller of the two structures, with seven gates.<ref name="NPS p. 27">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=27}}</ref><ref name="Staten Island Advance 1967">{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1967 |title=Work Begins on New Terminal |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/staten-island-advance-work-begins-on-new/184452281/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=Staten Island Advance |pages=23}}</ref> It contained utilitarian decor as well as a small flight operation center above the passenger area.<ref name="NPS pp. 5-6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|pp=5–6}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1994|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> Two bridges led to departure lounges (labeled gates 39 and 42), which could both fit 100 passengers; these had a red-and-oyster color scheme with furnishings.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 8" /><ref name="NPS pp. 5-6" /> Flight Wing 1 was larger than Flight Wing 2, having been built to accommodate Boeing 747 jumbo jets, and had 10 gates.<ref name="NPS p. 27" /><ref name="Staten Island Advance 1967" /> Flight Wing 1 had four levels, which contained passenger areas, Federal Inspection Services, and operations facilities; there were also baggage claim carousels in Flight Wing 1's basement, connected to the headhouse via people mover.<ref name="NPS p. 27" /> Both flight wings were demolished with the construction of T5 in the 2000s.<ref name=p236662488/><ref name="Airliners 2009">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.twaspirit.com/PDFs/airliners_jfk.pdf |title=JetBlue Takes 5 at JFK |magazine=Airliners |date=January–February 2009 |page=25 |access-date=August 28, 2020 |archive-date=November 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127180516/http://www.twaspirit.com/PDFs/airliners_jfk.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== T5 and TWA Hotel === {{See also|John F. Kennedy International Airport#Terminal 5|TWA Hotel}} Abutting the TWA Flight Center are JetBlue's Terminal 5 and the TWA Hotel's wings. T5 is variously cited as containing {{Convert|625000|ft2}}<ref name="mn20080923" /> or {{Convert|635000|ft2}} of space.<ref name="Linstedt 2008" /> T5 has a {{convert|55000|sqft|adj=on}} retail area,<ref name="mn20080923" /> a children's play area, and a 1,500-space parking garage.<ref name="Cheslaw 2020">{{cite web |last=Cheslaw |first=Louis |date=January 31, 2020 |title=JFK's Terminal 5 Is Actually a Decent Place to Hang Out |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/jetblue-terminal-at-jfk-where-to-eat-drink-and-relax-before-your-flight |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715220753/https://www.cntraveler.com/story/jetblue-terminal-at-jfk-where-to-eat-drink-and-relax-before-your-flight |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |website=Condé Nast Traveler}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Maynard |first=Micheline |date=October 22, 2008 |title=JetBlue Twitters Its New Terminal |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/jetblue-twitters-its-new-terminal/?hp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525050032/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/jetblue-twitters-its-new-terminal/?hp |archive-date=May 25, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2010 |work=The Lede}}</ref> It has 26 gates<ref name="Linstedt 2008" /><ref name="mn20080923" /> and could handle 20 million passengers annually.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lubell |first=Sam |date=August 10, 2004 |title=Gensler Designing Jet Blue Terminal at JFK Airport |url=http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/040810gensler.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214215122/http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/040810gensler.asp |archive-date=February 14, 2009 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |publisher=Architectural Record}}</ref>
Two towers, flanking the headhouse's sunken lounge, curve around the original headhouse.<ref name="Wills u306" /><ref name="Creedy m554" /> These towers, which were constructed as part of the TWA Hotel, have 512 guest rooms.<ref name="Bernstein l986"/><ref name="Brown t133"/><ref name="Firshein y735">{{cite web |last=Firshein |first=Sarah |date=October 3, 2023 |title=TWA Hotel – Hotel Review |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/hotels/jamaica/twa-hotel |access-date=April 14, 2025 |website=Condé Nast Traveler}}</ref> The hotel is outside the sterile area of T5.<ref name="Cheslaw 2020" /> The hotel's decorations, replicas of the original furnishings, include brass lighting, walnut-accented furnishings, and rotary phones. The hallways contain red carpeting, evocative of the color of the furniture in the original TWA lounge. The rooms also contain modern design features such as blackout curtains and multiple-pane soundproof windows.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Genevieve Shaw |date=April 17, 2018 |title=Step Inside the Brand New TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in New York City |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/step-inside-brand-twa-hotel-jfk-airport-york/story?id=54534098 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418183039/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/step-inside-brand-twa-hotel-jfk-airport-york/story?id=54534098 |archive-date=April 18, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |website=ABC News}}</ref><ref name="Plitt 2018">{{cite web |last=Plitt |first=Amy |date=April 17, 2018 |title=TWA Hotel's Rooms Will Combine the Best of '60s Style: First Look |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/17/17247996/jfk-airport-twa-hotel-rooms-midcentury-modern-style |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419053231/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/17/17247996/jfk-airport-twa-hotel-rooms-midcentury-modern-style |archive-date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |website=Curbed NY}}</ref> Some of the rooms are oriented toward the headhouse, while others face the runways.<ref name="Creedy m554" /> The hotel has underground event space, built around the TWA Flight Center;<ref name="Bernstein l986">{{cite web | last=Bernstein | first=Fred A. | title=TWA Hotel at JFK Gives New Life to Saarinen's Flight Center | website=Architectural Record | date=2019-05-15 | url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14059-twa-hotel-at-jfk-gives-new-life-to-saarinens-flight-center | access-date=2026-04-19}}</ref><ref name="Grabar z076">{{cite web |last=Grabar |first=Henry |date=2017-04-18 |title=Jet-Age Chic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/jet-age-chic/521460/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250915231251/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/jet-age-chic/521460/ |archive-date=2025-09-15 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref> the land under the headhouse rested on pilings and could not be excavated.<ref name="Bernstein l986" /> There is also a {{convert|10,000|ft2|adj=on}} observation deck and a swimming pool.<ref name="Brown t133">{{cite web | last=Brown | first=Genevieve Shaw | title=Step inside the brand new TWA hotel at JFK airport in New York City | website=ABC News | date=2018-04-17 | url=https://abcnews.com/GMA/Travel/step-inside-brand-twa-hotel-jfk-airport-york/story?id=54534098 | access-date=2026-04-19}}</ref>
==History== New York International Airport, also known as Idlewild Airport, started operating in 1948<ref name="The New York Times 1948">{{Cite news |date=July 1, 1948 |title=Idlewild Airport Officially Opened; Six Foreign Flag Carriers and Two Others Will Not Begin Operations for a Week |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/07/01/archives/idlewild-airport-officially-opened-six-foreign-flag-carriers-and.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103060230/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/07/01/archives/idlewild-airport-officially-opened-six-foreign-flag-carriers-and.html |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 50">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=50|ps=.}}</ref> and was renamed John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in 1963.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1963 |title=The Light That Does Not Fail |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/12/29/archives/the-light-that-does-not-fail.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101095551/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/12/29/archives/the-light-that-does-not-fail.html |archive-date=November 1, 2018 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA) signed a lease with Idlewild's operator, the Port of New York Authority (later the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, or PANYNJ) in 1949.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 7, 1949 |title=TWA to Use Idlewild, Dewey Praises Move |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/07/archives/twa-to-use-idlewild-dewey-praises-move.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702213848/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/07/archives/twa-to-use-idlewild-dewey-praises-move.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=4}}</ref> Idlewild had the highest volume of international air traffic of any airport globally by 1954,<ref name="The New York Times 1948" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=December 6, 1955 |title=New Structures Rise at Idlewild; Makeshift Buildings Giving Way as Airport Undergoes a Construction Boom |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/12/06/archives/new-structures-rise-at-idlewild-makeshift-buildings-giving-way-as-a.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701190834/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/12/06/archives/new-structures-rise-at-idlewild-makeshift-buildings-giving-way-as-a.html |url-status=live}}</ref> amid the growing popularity of air travel in the U.S. and worldwide.<ref name="Ringli p. 47">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=47|ps=.}}</ref>
=== Development === In February 1955, the Port of New York Authority announced a master plan for renovating Idlewild Airport.<ref name="Ringli p. 50" /><ref name="p1328093779">{{cite news |last=Talbert |first=Ansel F. |date=21 Feb 1955 |title=Idlewild Will Be A Terminal City: 60 Million Plan Starts in the Fall; Will Handle 140 Planes at a Time |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1328093779}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Ingraham |first=Joseph C. |date=February 21, 1955 |title=Vast Airport City Set for Idlewild Within Five Years; Vast Airport City Due at Idlewild Port Authority to Start Work in Late '55 on 655-Acre Passenger Terminal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/02/21/archives/vast-airport-city-set-for-idle-wild-within-five-years-vast-airport.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Major airlines at the airport, including TWA (which by then had been renamed Trans World Airlines<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 28, 1950 |title='Trans World Airlines' Made Corporate Name |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/04/28/archives/trans-world-airlines-made-corporate-name.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702052118/https://www.nytimes.com/1950/04/28/archives/trans-world-airlines-made-corporate-name.html |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="TWA Museum">{{cite web |title=TWA History |url=http://twamuseum.com/htdocs/twahistory2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215120826/http://twamuseum.com/htdocs/twahistory2.htm |archive-date=December 15, 2020 |access-date=November 1, 2018 |publisher=TWA Museum}}</ref>) would build their own terminals. Smaller airlines would be served from a central terminal, the International Arrivals Building.<ref name="p1328093779" /><ref name="NPS p. 16">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Alastair |url={{google books|lUEGAwAAQBAJ |plainurl=yes}} |title=Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World's Most Revolutionary Structure |date=2014 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-1-4668-6911-0|postscript=none}}; {{cite book |first=Hugh |last=Pearman |title=Airports: A Century of Architecture |date=2004 |publisher=Laurence King Publishing |url={{google books|AKHW3onueNQC |plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-1-85669-356-1 |access-date=August 30, 2015}}</ref> When the locations of each airline's terminal were announced, TWA and Pan Am were assigned spots flanking the International Arrivals Building.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Merkel p. 205">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=205|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 12, 1955 |title=Airline Will Sue for a Better Site; National Objects to Its Spot in Idlewild 'City'--Will Ask Court to Halt Building |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/12/archives/airline-will-sue-for-a-better-site-national-objects-to-its-spot-in.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The site assigned to TWA was not the airline's first choice for an Idlewild terminal,<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Ringli p. 84">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=84|ps=.}}</ref> and TWA's hangar was on the opposite side of its assigned lot.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" />
==== Saarinen commission and research ==== Under the leadership of TWA president Ralph S. Damon, TWA hired Eero Saarinen's firm, Eero Saarinen & Associates, to design the TWA Terminal.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Scullin 1968">{{cite book |last=Scullin |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdPAAAAMAAJ |title=International Airport: The Story of Kennedy Airport and U.S. Commercial Aviation |publisher=Little, Brown |year=1968 |page=154 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801124120/https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdPAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Roman p. 43">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=43|ps=.}}</ref> TWA public-relations executive Rex Werner convinced the company to select Saarinen,<ref name="Ringli p. 79">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=79|ps=.}}</ref> who agreed to take the commission even as his firm was simultaneously working on 15 other projects.<ref name="Roman p. 43" /> His wife Aline B. Saarinen recalled that he had viewed most other air terminals as ugly, shoddy, and inconvenient.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 25, 1962 |title=Dream of Eero Saarinen a Tribute to His Memory |magazine=Aviation News |pages=2 |volume=4}}</ref> A writer for ''Interiors'' magazine described TWA as having "vision and confidence" for the project,<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Kaufmann 1962">{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufmann |first=Edgar Jr. |date=July 1962 |title=Inside Eero Saarinen's TWA Building |magazine=Interiors |volume=121 |pages=87}}</ref> and Kornel Ringli said that TWA sought a high-quality design similar to what Saarinen had designed for previous clients.<ref name="Ringli p. 81">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=81|ps=.}}</ref>thumb|Early site model of the headhouse, showing satellite structures, in 1957|alt=Early site model in 1957. There are massive structures extending outward from the curved wings of the headhouse.TWA anticipated that, at peak hours, the terminal would accommodate a thousand passengers, with two thousand departures and arrivals per hour.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> Additionally, TWA needed fourteen positions at the terminal for large jets.<ref name="Roche p. 79">{{harvnb|Roche|1958|ps=.|p=79}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 22">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=22}}</ref><ref name="Merkel p. 206">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=206|ps=.}}</ref> Saarinen & Associates studied the operations of airports across the U.S.,<ref name="Wills u306" /> finding that, on average, passengers had to walk over {{Convert|900|ft}} from terminal to plane.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 1, 1960 |title=Oracle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/transcript-telegram-oracle/182934148/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |website=Transcript-Telegram |page=28 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 54">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=54|ps=.}}</ref> Saarinen & Associates also observed passenger circulation patterns in Grand Central Terminal, the United States' busiest railroad station, where they discovered that passengers often walked in curving paths, despite the station's rectangular shape.<ref name="Roman p. 43" /> The team drew up 35 plans for different aircraft-parking configurations, along with various studies of freight and passenger flow.<ref name="Ringli p. 55">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=55|ps=.}}</ref> According to Saarinen associate Kevin Roche, Saarinen had thought the TWA tract was ideal, despite airline officials' dissatisfaction with the lot.<ref name="Ringli p. 84" />
==== Design ==== Saarinen & Associates started creating designs for the headhouse's form, or shape, in February 1956.<ref name="Roche p. 79" /><ref name="Merkel p. 206" /> Saarinen said he had been challenged to devise a "distinctive and memorable" design,<ref name="Friedman p. 132">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=132|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 82">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=82|ps=.}}</ref> which would deviate from traditional airport terminal designs.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /> He wanted the new terminal to have a practical purpose and not only "interpret the sensation of flying",<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 1962 |title=Saarinen's Twa Flight Center |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-07.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716191614/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-07.pdf |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |magazine=Architectural Record |pages=129}}</ref> but also "express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel".<ref name="Roman p. 46">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=46|ps=.}}</ref> Damon, similarly, wanted "the spirit of flight" to be encapsulated in the design.<ref name="Merkel p. 205" /> The building, according to Saarinen, was intended to heighten travelers' anticipation as they approached,<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Scullin 1968" /> with similar interior and exterior features creating a unified design.<ref name="Roman p. 67" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Gössel |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/architectureintw0000goss_w0g3/page/250 |title=Architecture in the Twentieth Century |publisher=Taschen |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-8228-1162-7 |page=250 |oclc=48467235 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Saarinen did not consider any rectangular designs, but shell structures—such as what he ultimately designed for the headhouse—were not particularly new, either.<ref name="Ringli pp. 82–83">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|pages=82–83|ps=.}}</ref>
One of his original designs was sketched on the back of a restaurant menu during a dinner with Cranston Jones, an associate editor at ''Time'' magazine.<ref>{{harvnb|Román|2003|pp=43–46|ps=.}}</ref> The preliminary designs—which called for a main waiting hall, separate arrival and departure wings, and passageways to two standalone gate buildings—were finished by mid-1956.<ref name="Ringli pp. 55–56">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|pages=55–56|ps=.}}</ref> In conjunction with the building's design, Saarinen prepared a brochure outlining his plans to TWA officials.<ref name="Ringli p. 110">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=110|ps=.}}</ref> Dissatisfied with initial concepts, Saarinen asked TWA for more time and took an additional year,<ref name="Makovsky 2005" /> testing out numerous shapes to resolve the structure's final form.<ref name="Friedman p. 133" /> Roche described one initial design as an oval shell upon four piers, saying that Saarinen had rejected that plan as awkward.<ref name="Roche p. 80" /><ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> An engineer for the project, Abba Tor, had warned that a single slab of concrete might crack.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=February 17, 2017 |title=Abba Tor, Who Engineered T.W.A. Terminal at Kennedy Airport, Dies at 93 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/nyregion/abba-tor-dead.html |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703214559/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/nyregion/abba-tor-dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
Saarinen & Associates first created 3D models of the planned headhouse, then drew sketches of the structure; this contrasted with the design processes of more traditional buildings, in which architects drew the sketches first.<ref name="Roman p. 46" /> Saarinen & Associates created several wire, cardboard, and clay models of the headhouse's roof,<ref name="AF p. 119">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1960|ps=.|p=119}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Roche p. 80">{{harvnb|ps=.|Roche|1958|p=80}}</ref> constructed at various scales.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> One early model for the headhouse was based on Jørn Utzon's winning proposal for the Sydney Opera House's architectural design competition, for which Saarinen had been a judge.<ref name="Roman p. 46" /> Saarinen had originally envisioned the roof as a single shell, but he refined the design twice before ultimately devising the plan with four shells.<ref name="Roman p. 50">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=50|ps=.}}</ref> The final model for the shell may have been inspired by a breakfast during which Saarinen pressed down on the center of a grapefruit.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /><ref name="Leubkeman" /><ref name="Roman p. 50" /> The roof may also have been inspired by Minoru Yamasaki's design for St. Louis Lambert International Airport's main terminal; Eero's father Eliel Saarinen's design for Helsinki Central Station; and McKim, Mead & White's design for the original New York Penn Station.<ref>{{harvnb|Román|2003|pp=50–52|ps=.}}</ref> During another discussion, Roche used a saw to bisect one of the models, creating the inspiration for the roof's four shells.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /><ref name="Leubkeman" />thumb|Design sheet for the TWA Flight Center|alt=Design sheet for the TWA Flight Center, which includes detailed specifications on the building's layoutThe interior was designed next; since the space was to be symmetrical, Saarinen & Associates only created drawings for half the interior.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> Roche said the area around the center staircase was remodeled at least ten times.<ref>{{harvnb|Roche|1958|ps=.|p=82}}</ref> Saarinen's team frequently studied the models throughout the night, crawling across them.<ref name="Metropolis r580">{{cite web |last=Makovsky |first=Paul |date=November 1, 2008 |title=Iconic Workplace: Eero Saarinen and Associates |url=https://metropolismag.com/projects/iconic-workplace-eero-saarinen-associates/ |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Metropolis}}</ref> The team also designed two outlying gate structures, or flight wings, connected to the headhouse by passageways. With few specifications to rely on, Saarinen & Associates designed gates for aircraft with wingspans of {{Convert|110|ft}}, which turned out to be inadequate even before the building's completion.<ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /> In addition to around 130 possible plans created by Saarinen & Associates, contractors provided hundreds of their own drawings, and workers designed cross-sections and contour maps as well. The drawings took some 5,500 man-hours to produce, and they were accurate to about {{Convert|1/8|in}}.<ref name="AF p. 119" /><ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> Saarinen & Associates devised 600 sketches of the building, of which 200 were used in the final design.<ref name="Roman p. 53" /> The resulting plan was characterized as providing a "smooth and luxurious switch from ground transportation to planes".<ref name="Roche p. 79" /><ref name="Merkel p. 205" />
==== Marketing and changes to plans ==== TWA announced plans for the terminal at the Barbizon Plaza in Manhattan on November 12, 1957.<ref name="Ringli p. 111">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=111|ps=.}}</ref> At the time, it was to cost $12 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|value=12|start_year=1957|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}) and begin construction the following year.<ref name="p148949649">{{cite news |date=22 Dec 1957 |title=TWA Unveils Terminal Plans |work=The Washington Post and Times Herald |page=E19 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|148949649}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=13 Nov 1957 |title=TWA Plans New $12 Million Terminal at Idlewild Airport |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=14 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132313163}}}}</ref><ref name="p1325238301">{{cite news |last=Talbert |first=Ansel F. |date=13 Nov 1957 |title=T.W.A. Plans Terminal At Idlewild: To Cover 3 Acres, Cost 12 Million |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=21 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325238301}}}}</ref><ref name="Hudson 1957">{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=November 13, 1957 |title=Bold Design Is Set for Air Terminal; Trans World Airlines Plan a Terminal at Idlewild |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/13/archives/bold-design-is-set-for-air-terminal-trans-world-airlines-plan-a.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702024820/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/13/archives/bold-design-is-set-for-air-terminal-trans-world-airlines-plan-a.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The plans called for a structure with four concrete roof shells, supported by four piers; there were to be check-in counters, waiting areas, and other amenities inside.<ref name="Hudson 1957" /> Two passageways would lead to outlying structures, containing gates from which passengers would board.<ref name="p1325238301" /><ref name="Hudson 1957" /> At the time, the building was supposed to be completed in 1960,<ref name="p1325238301" /><ref name="Hudson 1957" /> while the TWA hangar had already been constructed earlier in 1957.<ref name="p1327311550">{{cite news |last=Gleason |first=Gene |date=11 Feb 1957 |title=New Terminal At Idlewid to Be Ready Soon: $50,000,000 Projects Will Open In Summer; Hotel Work Starts |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=A1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327311550}}}}</ref> In conjunction with the announcement, TWA issued two press releases describing the planned building in detail.<ref name="Ringli p. 111" />
The plans were revised in 1958 after TWA determined Saarinen's original design to be too expensive.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 11, 1958 |title=T.W.A. Restudying Terminal Design; Original Plans for Futuristic Unit at Idlewild Found to Be Too Expensive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/11/archives/twa-restudying-terminal-design-original-plans-for-futuristic-unit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702012242/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/11/archives/twa-restudying-terminal-design-original-plans-for-futuristic-unit.html |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Only one of the two planned gate structures, Flight Wing 2, was initially built as a cost-saving measure.<ref name="NPS p. 23" /><ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /><ref name="Roman p. 60">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=60|ps=.}}</ref> The passageways were to have a glazed roof and moving walkways in the original plan, but these features were absent in the final construction.<ref name="NPS p. 23" /><ref name="Ringli p. 114a" /> Two "arms" flanking the headhouse were also removed from the plans.<ref name="NPS p. 23" />
Aline Saarinen helped promote the terminal and prepared images of it for exhibitions, the popular press, and trade magazines.<ref name="Ringli p. 112">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=112|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ringli |first=Kornel |date=March 22, 2013 |title=Eero Saarinens TWA-Terminal In New York: Beflügelter Mythos |trans-title=Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal in New York: Inspired Myth |url=http://www.nzz.ch/befluegelter-mythos-1.18051821 |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101140009/https://www.nzz.ch/befluegelter-mythos-1.18051821 |archive-date=November 1, 2018 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |language=de-ch}}</ref> The building was covered in dozens of press releases and articles during its development, including in trade publications, the popular media, and TWA's own magazine.<ref name="Ringli p. 112" /> All of these publications promoted Saarinen's role in the design, which Ringli said was part of Aline's efforts to "turn the terminal into a memorial to [Eero Saarinen]".<ref name="Ringli p. 117" /> Many media articles used information from TWA's press releases without significant modifications, even though the press releases sometimes neglected to mention inconvenient design details, such as the presence of stairs or the absence of a full canopy outside the building.<ref name="Ringli p. 115" /> TWA convened a committee to devise a formal name for the terminal, and the committee suggested the name "Trans World Flight Center" to create an explicit link between TWA's global stature and the building's function.<ref name="Ringli pp. 116–117">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|pages=116–117|ps=.}}</ref>
==== Construction ==== thumb|The headhouse under construction|alt=The building under construction. Only the concrete roof has been poured; the glass has not been installed yet.Grove Shepherd Wilson & Kruge received the contract in early 1959.<ref name="p250869877">{{Cite news |date=10 May 1959 |title=T.W.A. Plans New Terminal In New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-twa-plans-new-termin/184491016/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=Daily Boston Globe |page=A_31 |via=Newspapers.com |issn=0743-1791 |id={{Pq|250869877}}}}</ref> Construction began on June 9,<ref name="Ringli p. 112" /><ref name="p1328052510">{{cite news |last=Seldin |first=Joel |date=8 June 1959 |title=$150 Million Terminal Advances at Idlewild: Eastern Air Line Facility-- The First Of Four-- Will Begin Operations Aug. 1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=11 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1328052510}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=June 8, 1959 |title=Jet-Age Buildings Rise at Idlewild; U. S. Lines to Begin Moving to New Quarters – First Shift Is Due in August |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/08/archives/jetage-buildings-rise-at-idlewild-u-s-lines-to-begin-moving-to-new.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> initially with 14 engineers and 150 skilled craftspeople.<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> At the time, work was anticipated to be completed in 1961.<ref name="p1328052510" /> A grid was devised to manage the steel-pipe scaffolding at the construction site, and 5,500 supports were used in the scaffolding.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="AF p. 120">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1960|ps=.|p=120}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1960">{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1960 |title=T.W.A.'s Terminal Standing on Own; 5,500 Supports Removed |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/08/archives/twas-terminal-standing-on-own-5500-supports-removed-11000000pound.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701233217/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/08/archives/twas-terminal-standing-on-own-5500-supports-removed-11000000pound.html |archive-date=July 1, 2020 }}</ref>{{Efn|{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=209}}, gives a different figure, saying that up to 1,800 supports "were made up of 5,000 tubular scaffold frames".}} The contractors prefabricated 27 distinct shapes of wedges for the scaffolding, using 2,500 pieces in total.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> The process of creating the scaffolding lasted more than a year.<ref name="p1327222963">{{cite news |date=30 Aug 1960 |title=Odd-Looking Roof Is All Concrete |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=17 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327222963}}}}</ref> The contractors relied partially on computer calculations to design and construct the various parts of the terminal.<ref name="Roman p. 53" /><ref name="Merkel p. 209" /> The four Y-shaped piers required hundreds of additional drawings to fabricate.<ref name="Merkel p. 209" />
Even as work on the TWA Flight Center proceeded, several competing airlines had already completed terminals at Idlewild Airport. To compete with these airlines, TWA opened a temporary terminal in August 1960; one-eighth of the airline's passengers criticized the design of the temporary structure.<ref name="Ringli pp. 113–114">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|pages=113–114|ps=.}}</ref> The permanent structure's roof was poured as a single form starting on August 31, 1960,<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="p1327222963" /><ref name="The New York Times 1960a">{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1960 |title=T.W.A. Roof Going Up; Concrete-Pouring At Idlewild to Be Done About Sept. 15 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/30/archives/twa-roof-going-up-concretepouring-at-idlewild-to-be-done-about-sept.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701191949/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/30/archives/twa-roof-going-up-concretepouring-at-idlewild-to-be-done-about-sept.html |archive-date=July 1, 2020 }}</ref> a job that took 120 hours.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|ps=.|p=11}}</ref> The pour involved {{Convert|3200|yd3}} of concrete,<ref name="p1327222963" /><ref name="The New York Times 1960a" /> which was cast in four phases. Three {{Convert|45|ST|LT t|adj=on}} cranes delivered buckets of concrete to the site.<ref name="p1327222963" /> The contractors constructed the roof shells to the specifications outlined in Saarinen's contour maps, which had a margin of error of {{Convert|1|ft|1|abbr=}}.<ref name="Roman p. 53" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="AF p. 120" /> Although the project employed carpenters who did not have a particular specialty, the procedures were precise enough that they required a maximum deviation of {{convert|0.25|in|mm}} from the plan.<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /><ref name="AF p. 120" />
The scaffolding was removed in December 1960, after construction had progressed enough that the entire weight of the roof could be supported by the piers.<ref name="NPS p. 22" /><ref name="The New York Times 1960" /> By April 1961, when only the concrete vaults had been completed, Saarinen remarked that "If anything happened and they had to stop work right now and just leave it in this state, I think it would make a beautiful ruin, like the Baths of Caracalla".<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /><ref name="Saarinen Saarinen 1962 p.">{{cite book |last1=Saarinen |first1=Eero |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQXFzgEACAAJ |title=Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect |last2=Saarinen |first2=Aline B. |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1962 |page=60 |access-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203145126/https://books.google.com/books?id=tQXFzgEACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> The terminal hosted its first preview events the same month.<ref name="p899116586">{{cite news |date=21 Apr 1961 |title=New Profile At Idlewild |work=Newsday |page=46 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|899116586}}}}</ref> Saarinen died later that year,<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 2, 1961 |title=Eero Saarinen, 51, Architect, Is Dead; Versatile Designer Created Terminal for T.W.A. Here and Embassies for U.S. |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/02/archives/eero-saarinen-51-architect-is-dead-versatile-designer-created.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712233157/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/02/archives/eero-saarinen-51-architect-is-dead-versatile-designer-created.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and Roche and another of Saarinen's associates, John Dinkeloo, formed Roche-Dinkeloo, which worked to complete the building.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dameron |first1=Amanda |title=Kevin Roche on How He Got His Start—Nodding Off in an Interview With Eero Saarinen |url=https://www.dwell.com/article/kevin-roche-on-how-he-got-his-startnodding-off-in-an-interview-with-eero-saarinen-03790852 |website=Dwell |date=November 17, 2017 |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101101034/https://www.dwell.com/article/kevin-roche-on-how-he-got-his-startnodding-off-in-an-interview-with-eero-saarinen-03790852 |url-status=live}}</ref> The TWA Flight Center was one of several commissions that Roche-Dinkeloo had received from Saarinen's former clients following his death.<ref name="Reddy f570">{{cite web | last=Reddy | first=Tony | title=A life at the top floor of architecture | website=The Irish Times | date=June 14, 2012 | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/architecture-design/a-life-at-the-top-floor-of-architecture-1.1066169 | access-date=November 23, 2025}}</ref> In the three months before the building's official opening in 1962, TWA published twelve press releases promoting it. TWA's advertising manager said the airline's approach to promoting the building was to treat it "as though it were a national monument".<ref name="Ringli p. 116" /> The building had cost $15 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|value=15|start_year=1962|r=0|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}) in total.<ref name="p1879127870">{{cite magazine |date=May 28, 1962 |title=Soaring Saarinen |magazine=Newsweek |page=74 |volume=59 |issue=22 |id={{ProQuest|1879127870}}}}</ref><ref name="Silberfarb 1962 p. 21" />
===Original use===
==== Opening and early years ==== thumb|The completed terminal was dedicated on May 28, 1962.<ref name="Silberfarb 1962 p. 21" />|alt=Exterior view of the terminal, seen from a crosswalk outside the main entrance On March 19, 1962, passengers started using the incomplete TWA Flight Center to access planes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=April 22, 1962 |title=Unfinished T.W.A. Terminal Is an Elegant Causeway; Travelers Use It to Get to Planes in Building's Wing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/04/22/archives/unfinished-twa-terminal-is-an-elegant-causeway-travelers-use-it-to.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702052110/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/04/22/archives/unfinished-twa-terminal-is-an-elegant-causeway-travelers-use-it-to.html |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none}}.</ref><ref name="p547718211">{{cite news |date=22 Apr 1962 |title=TWA Will Open Its New Idlewild Terminal May 28 |work=The Hartford Courant |page=25A |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|547718211}}}}</ref> TWA president Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. announced plans the next month to officially open the terminal,<ref name="p547718211" /> and workers continued to fit out the interior.<ref name="p899092554">{{cite news |last=Mayer |first=Robert |date=18 May 1962 |title=TWA Readies Its Swooping New Terminal |work=Newsday |page=44 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|899092554}}}}</ref> Prior to its official opening, the building hosted a press tour on May 17<ref name="Ringli p. 117" /> and was used for a fundraising ball on May 22.<ref name="Ringli p. 117" /><ref name="p1326183331">{{cite news |date=23 May 1962 |title=Around the World Ball Held |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=20 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326183331}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=May 23, 1962 |title=Fete at Airport Held to Assist Travelers Aid; Around the World Ball at New Flight Center of T.W.A. Is Benefit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/23/archives/fete-at-airport-held-to-assist-travelers-aid-around-the-world-ball.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702052108/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/23/archives/fete-at-airport-held-to-assist-travelers-aid-around-the-world-ball.html |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The completed terminal was dedicated as scheduled on May 28, 1962.<ref name="Ringli p. 117" /><ref name="Silberfarb 1962 p. 21">{{cite news |last=Silberfarb |first=Edward J. |date=29 May 1962 |title=TWA Steps Into a Jet-Age Spotlight |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=21 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326229814}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=May 29, 1962 |title=Javits Asks More to Lure Tourists; At T.W.A. Center, He Urges Funds for Travel Agency |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/29/archives/javits-asks-more-to-lure-tourists-at-twa-center-he-urges-funds-for.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701231450/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/29/archives/javits-asks-more-to-lure-tourists-at-twa-center-he-urges-funds-for.html |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was finished after most of the other major U.S. airline terminals at Idlewild were completed. After the opening of the International Arrivals Building in 1957, United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines opened their own terminals in 1959, followed by American Airlines and Pan American World Airways (Worldport) in 1960, and Northwest Airlines and TWA in 1962.<ref name="NPS p. 16" /><ref name="Dunlap 1997" /> National Airlines' Sundrome would be the last, opening in 1969.<ref name="Dunlap 1997">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=October 26, 1997 |title=A 'New' Kennedy Airport Takes Wing |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/realestate/a-new-kennedy-airport-takes-wing.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618115103/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/realestate/a-new-kennedy-airport-takes-wing.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
The terminal as completed had seven aircraft positions: six from Flight Wing 2 and a seventh from a temporary structure attached to Flight Tube 1.<ref name="Stoff 2009 p. 75" /><ref name="NPS p. 24">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=24}}</ref> Four of Bernard Buffet's paintings, depicting cities where TWA operated, were installed in the TWA Flight Center in 1963.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Doherty |first=Brian |date=July 10, 1963 |title=Art: 4 Buffets at Idlewild; T.W.A. Exhibits Paintings in Flight Center Designed by Saarinen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/10/archives/art-4-buffets-at-idlewild-twa-exhibits-paintings-in-flight-center.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The terminal recorded 1.5 million travelers in its first year, 20% higher than expected.<ref name="Ringli p. 124" /> Throughout the decade, passenger aircraft gradually became larger, and JFK Airport's passenger numbers also increased.<ref name="Song p. 509" /> As such, the TWA Terminal quickly became functionally inadequate<ref name="Wills u306" /><ref name="Ringli p. 25">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=25|ps=.}}</ref> and was poorly equipped to accommodate wide-body aircraft.<ref name="Ringli p. 123">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=123|ps=.}}</ref> International flights at JFK during that time were routed through the International Arrivals Building.<ref name="NPS p. 26">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=26}}</ref> In 1966, Restaurant Associates took over all of the TWA Flight Center's foodservice operations.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 June 1966 |title=Restaurant & Waldorf Associates |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=22 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133101324}}}}</ref><ref name="NYT o756">{{cite web |date=June 30, 1966 |title=Restaurant Associates Wins T.W.A. Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/06/30/archives/restaurant-associates-wins-twa-business.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The terminal accommodated 3 million annual passengers at that point, with 140 daily flights,<ref name="NYT o756" /> and it recorded 11 million passengers in its first five years, exceeding original projections by more than 50%.<ref name="Ringli p. 123" />
==== Late 1960s to early 1980s: Expansions ==== TWA devised plans in 1966 for an expansion of the existing facility, with ticket counters and baggage areas connected to the original headhouse via a tunnel.<ref name="Ringli p. 123" /> In June 1967, TWA announced that it would build Flight Wing 1 northwest of the existing structure, hiring Roche-Dinkeloo to design it.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=17}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1967" /> Flight Wing 1 was expected to cost $20 million and be completed in two years.<ref name="The New York Times 1967">{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1967 |title=Notes From the Field of Travel: Flight Wing One at Kennedy |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/04/archives/notes-from-the-field-of-travel-flight-wing-one-at-kennedy.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703192313/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/04/archives/notes-from-the-field-of-travel-flight-wing-one-at-kennedy.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=6 June 1967 |title=TWA Will Break Ground For Kennedy Terminal in July |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=17 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133220256}}}}</ref> Work started in 1968,<ref name="NPS p. 26" /> and the concrete shell was finished by that December.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 15, 1968 |title=T.W.A. Terminal for Jumbo Jets Near Completion |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/12/15/archives/twa-terminal-for-jumbo-jets-near-completion.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703061910/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/12/15/archives/twa-terminal-for-jumbo-jets-near-completion.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The expansion included a customs facility to alleviate congestion at the International Arrivals Building's customs terminal,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Engle |first=Frank |date=Jan 30, 1967 |title=Kennedy Airport Will Speed Up Flyers' Red Tape |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |pages=2 |volume=114 |issue=20 |id={{ProQuest|1523477408}}|postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=2 Jan 1969 |title=Expansion Planned at JFK Airport |work=Newsday |page=29 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|915474132}}}}</ref> located within the basement.<ref name="Mazza 1970">{{Cite news |last=Mazza |first=Frank |date=March 22, 1970 |title=TWA Opens 21M Terminal at Kennedy |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-twa-opens-21m-terminal-at-ken/184453062/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |pages=25}}</ref> The headhouse's ticketing counter and the baggage handling area were expanded, and the new addition was connected to the basement of Flight Wing 1.<ref name="NPS p. 27" /> BWIA West Indies Airways began operating from the TWA Terminal in November 1968,<ref>{{cite web |date=November 4, 1968 |title=Airline Moves Operations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/11/04/archives/airline-moves-operations.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> though it moved to another terminal after less than a year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 4, 1969 |title=SAS to Handle BWIA Facilities at JFK Airport |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-amsterdam-news-sas-to-handle-bw/184445956/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=New York Amsterdam News |pages=33}}</ref> Flight Wing 1 hosted its first passengers on February 25, 1970;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=February 26, 1970 |title=Mishap on T.W.A. 747 Inaugural: Film Projector Fails |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/26/archives/mishap-on-twa-747-inaugural-film-projector-fails.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704041708/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/26/archives/mishap-on-twa-747-inaugural-film-projector-fails.html |url-status=live}}</ref> it had cost $21 million in total.<ref name="Mazza 1970" /> The wing was not dedicated until March 19, when international passengers could pass through the terminal directly.<ref name="Mazza 1970" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=March 20, 1970 |title=T.W.A. Dedicates Huge Terminal at Kennedy |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/20/archives/twa-dedicates-huge-terminal-at-kennedy.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704041712/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/20/archives/twa-dedicates-huge-terminal-at-kennedy.html |url-status=live}}</ref>thumb|View of the headhouse's interior, facing the tarmac|alt=View of the headhouse's interior, facing the tarmac. There are people mingling in a lounge in the background. A sign hangs on the slanted glass wall next to the lounge. In 1978<ref name="Smith 1996" /> or 1979, TWA built a traffic island with a concrete-and-glass canopy to provide shelter for passengers waiting for ground transport.<ref name="Blumenthal 1979">{{Cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |date=May 20, 1979 |title=At Kennedy, It Looks Like Another Frustrating Summer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/20/archives/at-kennedy-it-looks-like-another-frustrating-summer-at-kennedy.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703061916/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/20/archives/at-kennedy-it-looks-like-another-frustrating-summer-at-kennedy.html |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Measuring {{Convert|330|by|22|ft}},<ref name="Smith 1996" /> the shelter, constructed by the architectural firm Witthoefft & Rudolf, won the Albert S. Bard Award for architectural excellence.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=June 18, 1979 |title=Architecture: 4 Honor Buildings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/18/archives/architecture-4-honor-buildings-an-appraisal.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703030944/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/18/archives/architecture-4-honor-buildings-an-appraisal.html |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> A bomb detonated at the terminal in March 1979, injuring four people.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 26, 1979 |title=Kennedy Bomb Hurts 4 Workers In Baggage Area |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/26/archives/kennedy-bomb-hurts-4-workers-in-baggage-area-blast-and-2-more-in.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|postscript=none}}; {{cite news |last=Gianotti |first=Peter M |last2=Page |first2=Susan |date=26 Mar 1979 |title=Bomb Explodes in Bag at JFK: Bomb Explodes at JFK; 4 Hurt Caller Claims an anti-Castro Group Is Responsible for Blast at TWA Terminal |work=Newsday |page=1 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|964464252}}}}</ref> The TWA Flight Center was overcrowded by the early 1980s,<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1980">{{cite news |date=4 Dec 1980 |title=TWA Leases From Pan Am Kennedy Airport Terminal |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=54 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134497047}}}}</ref> and passengers sometimes had to line up outside because the terminal was so crowded.<ref name="Wills u306" /> This prompted TWA to lease the neighboring Sundrome in December 1980.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1980" /><ref>{{cite web |date=December 5, 1980 |title=T.W.A. Leases Terminal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/12/05/archives/twa-leases-terminal.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The expanded facility opened in April 1981;<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 Apr 1981 |title=In Brief; Nation; TWA Opens Kennedy Terminal |work=Boston Globe |page=1 |issn=0743-1791 |id={{Pq|294086719}}}}</ref><ref name="Pugh 1981">{{Cite news |last=Pugh |first=Thomas |date=April 3, 1981 |title=TWA's New JFK Facility Takes Flight |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-twas-new-jfk-facility-takes/184454012/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |pages=318}}</ref> domestic flights were subsequently relocated to the Sundrome, while the TWA Flight Center continued to host international flights.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1980" /> A passageway was also built to connect the TWA Flight Center and the Sundrome.<ref name="Pugh 1981" /><ref name="PA p. 96" />
==== Mid-1980s to early 2000s ==== Throughout the late 20th century, the TWA Flight Center underwent further modifications, including the addition of security screening equipment<ref name="Wills u306" /><ref name="Goldberger k863" /> dividing the interior into two sections.<ref name="Grabar z076" /> Following a series of bombings and aircraft hijackings, in 1985, TWA implemented more stringent baggage checks and hired more guards and police to patrol the terminal.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gross |first=Jane |date=June 30, 1985 |title=Kennedy Airport Tightens Security |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/30/world/kennedy-airport-tightens-security.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In addition, TWA began testing out an X-ray screening machine in September 1989,<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharn |first=Lori |date=1 Sep 1989 |title=Tests Begin at JFK on Airport Bomb Detector |work=USA Today |page=03A |id={{ProQuest|306239358}}}}</ref> among the first machines of its type to be used in an airport.<ref>{{cite news |date=18 Aug 1989 |title=JFK to Get Plastic-Explosives Screener |work=Newsday |page=19 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278137975}}|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Weiner |first=Eric |date=August 31, 1989 |title=Airlines Ordered to Install Device to Detect Bombs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/31/us/airlines-ordered-to-install-device-to-detect-bombs.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Port Authority had also hired Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1984 to design a renovation of JFK Airport;<ref name="Goldberger k8632">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=June 17, 1990 |title=Architecture View; Blueprint an Airport That Might Have Been |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/arts/architecture-view-blueprint-an-airport-that-might-have-been.html |access-date=December 13, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the plans, published in 1990, called for a central terminal connecting with the TWA Flight Center and other terminals.<ref name="Cohen t065">{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Michelle |date=October 11, 2014 |title=An Architect's Gift from the Jet Age: The TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport |url=https://www.6sqft.com/an-architects-gift-from-the-jet-age-the-twa-flight-center-at-jfk-international-airport/ |access-date=December 13, 2025 |website=6sqft}}</ref> These plans were never carried out,<ref name="Goldberger k8632" /><ref name="Cohen t065" /> and TWA planned a renovation of the terminal that also did not occur.<ref name="Negroni 2018" />
''Progressive Architecture'' magazine described the terminal in 1992 as being in "tawdry condition", with parts of the structure appearing actively deteriorated.<ref name="PA p. 96">{{harvnb|Progressive Architecture|1992|ps=.|p=96}}</ref> TWA wanted to merge with another airline by then, and the terminal's continued operation was uncertain.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salpukas |first=Agis |date=November 9, 1991 |title=3 International Airlines Plan A New Terminal at Kennedy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/09/nyregion/3-international-airlines-plan-a-new-terminal-at-kennedy.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the terminal as a landmark in 1994, amid reports that the building might be demolished.<ref name="Dunlap 1994" /><ref name="Firshein 2019" /> Following the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, investigators found that the TWA Flight Center's security protocols were lax and that unauthorized personnel could theoretically access the terminal's baggage room and even the tarmac.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kocieniewski |first1=David |last2=Sullivan |first2=John |date=August 11, 1996 |title=Security at Kennedy Airport Called Porous, Even After Crash |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/11/nyregion/security-at-kennedy-airport-called-porous-even-after-crash.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Later that year, amid a decline in TWA's finances, the airline eliminated many routes and moved its remaining New York operations to the TWA Flight Center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Polner |first=Robert |date=December 24, 1996 |title=Pink Christmas |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-pink-christmas/184460056/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |pages=3 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Bryant |first=Adam |date=December 24, 1996 |title=T.W.A. Plans Cutbacks at Kennedy Hub |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/24/business/twa-plans-cutbacks-at-kennedy-hub.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704041757/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/24/business/twa-plans-cutbacks-at-kennedy-hub.html |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The PANYNJ considered expanding the terminal during that decade,<ref name="Firshein 2019" /> and elastomeric coating was added to the roof in 1999 to prevent leakage.<ref name="NPS p. 4" />
TWA sold its assets in October 2001 to American Airlines,<ref name="Dunlap 2008" /> which briefly operated flights out of the TWA Flight Center.<ref name="Dunlap 2002">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 28, 2002 |title=Blocks; Unusual Planning Duel Over Kennedy Terminal |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/28/nyregion/blocks-unusual-planning-duel-over-kennedy-terminal.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702211928/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/28/nyregion/blocks-unusual-planning-duel-over-kennedy-terminal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> American Airlines ceased flight operations at the terminal in December 2001 and allowed its lease, inherited from TWA, to expire the next month.<ref name="Dunlap 2002" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=28}}</ref> By then, airport officials saw the terminal as functionally outdated.<ref name="jn20010405">{{cite news |date=April 5, 2001 |title=Terminated |page=3 |work=Journal-News |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54636455/ |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804235415/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54636455/terminated/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sforza 2003">{{Cite news |last=Sforza |first=Daniel |date=28 July 2003 |title=Aviation Landmark a Sore Point with Airport ; Future of TWA Terminal a Focus of Debate |work=The Record |page=A.01 |id={{pq|3192827357}}}}</ref> Among other issues, the building did not meet modern accessibility or security standards, was frequently overcrowded, and had inadequate exterior canopies and access roads.<ref name="Sforza 2003" /> Like many terminals designed before the advent of jumbo jets, increased passenger traffic, and security issues, the design had proved difficult to update as air travel evolved, particularly with regard to the placement of security checkpoints.<ref name="archpaper20040921">{{cite web |last=Ho |first=Cathy Lang |date=September 21, 2004 |title=Now Boarding: Destination, JFK |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2004/09/now-boarding-destination-jfk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701151238/https://www.archpaper.com/2004/09/now-boarding-destination-jfk/ |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 26" /> The PANYNJ could bypass the LPC designation and demolish parts of the terminal;<ref name="jn20010405" /><ref name="Kennedy 2001" /><ref name="Howell 2001">{{cite news |last=Howell |first=Ron |date=15 Aug 2001 |title=Preservationists: Save TWA Terminal |work=Newsday |page=A33 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279477688}}}}</ref> the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which could approve or reject the PANYNJ's redevelopment plan, declined to intervene.<ref name="Song p. 510">{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=510|ps=.}}</ref>
===Preservation and later use===
==== Proposals for redevelopment ==== thumb|Departures board in the headhouse|alt=Departures board in the headhouse, which consists of a curved display with two separate screens labeled "Departs" and "Arrives"
In early 2001, the PANYNJ proposed preserving the tubes and erecting a new structure east of the existing building. The PANYNJ wished to destroy one or both of the flight wings.<ref name="jn20010405" /><ref name="Kennedy 2001">{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Randy |date=April 4, 2001 |title=Airport Growth Squeezes the Landmark T.W.A. Terminal |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/nyregion/airport-growth-squeezes-the-landmark-twa-terminal.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703211709/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/nyregion/airport-growth-squeezes-the-landmark-twa-terminal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By that August, the PANYNJ had presented its first proposal, which entailed converting the headhouse into a restaurant or conference center, while encircling the existing building with one or possibly two new terminals.<ref name="Dunlap 2001" /> Preservationists expressed concerns that the terminal could be significantly modified.<ref name="Roman p. 67">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=67|ps=.}}</ref> The Municipal Art Society (MAS) and the architects Philip Johnson and Robert A.M. Stern were against the proposal,<ref name="Dunlap 2001">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 14, 2001 |title=Planning a Nest of Concrete for a Landmark of Flight |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/nyregion/planning-a-nest-of-concrete-for-a-landmark-of-flight.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701162254/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/nyregion/planning-a-nest-of-concrete-for-a-landmark-of-flight.html |url-status=live}}</ref> as was Docomomo International.<ref name="A-2001-05">{{cite magazine |last=Brake |first=Alan G. |date=May 2001 |title=Saarinen's TWA Threatened |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AJ/A-2001-05.pdf |magazine=Architecture: the AIA Journal |page=46 |volume=90 |issue=5 |id={{pq|227815456}}}}</ref> Detractors said the Saarinen headhouse's original design intention would be lost if it were encircled by another terminal,<ref name="Dunlap 2001" /><ref>{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=511|ps=.}}</ref> and that the flight wings were an integral part of the architecture.<ref name="A-2001-05" /> Philip Johnson, speaking at the 2001 presentation, said of the PANYNJ proposal:
{{Blockquote|This building represents a new idea in 20th-century architecture, and yet we are willing to strangle it by enclosing it within another building. Imagine, tying a bird's wings up. This will make the building invisible. If you're going to strangle a building to death, you might as well tear it down.<ref name="Dunlap 2001" />}}
The MAS wanted the original structure to remain in use as a terminal,<ref name="Howell 2001" /><ref name="Sforza 2003" /> while the New York Landmarks Conservancy, another preservationist group, advocated for a more flexible plan that allowed adaptive reuse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Duffy |first=Robert W. |date=26 Sep 2001 |title=TWA's Terminal in New York Draws Defenders of Landmark ; Preservationists Don't Want Design by Saarinen Ravaged |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=C.1 |id={{Pq|404159155}}}}</ref><ref name="Moore 2006" /> By late 2002, there was still no agreement on the usage of the TWA Flight Center, except that the headhouse and passageways would be preserved.<ref name="Dunlap 2002" /> The following year, a draft of a request for proposal (RFP) for the terminal was released.<ref name="Song p. 516">{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=516|ps=.}}</ref> In addition, JetBlue proposed reopening the headhouse as a check-in facility and constructing a 26-gate terminal behind the headhouse.<ref name="Kilgannon 2003" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Incantalupo |first=Tom |date=October 21, 2003 |title=JetBlue Plans Terminal |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-jetblue-plans/184434062/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |pages=66}}</ref> At the time, JetBlue was operating out of the adjacent Sundrome and was the airport's fastest growing carrier.<ref name="Kilgannon 2003">{{Cite news |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |date=October 19, 2003 |title=J.F.K. Project Would Reopen Famed Terminal |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/nyregion/jfk-project-would-reopen-famed-terminal.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702212350/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/nyregion/jfk-project-would-reopen-famed-terminal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the preservation disputes, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the TWA Flight Center on its America's Most Endangered Places list in 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lack |first=Katherine Shana |date=Aug 2003 |title=TWA Terminal Makes Endangered List |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AJ/A-2003-08.pdf |magazine=Architecture: the AIA Journal |page=13 |volume=92 |issue=8 |id={{pq|227864379}}}}</ref> ''The Wall Street Journal'' credited the National Trust listing with having influenced the building's addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.<ref name="Bortolot m045">{{cite news |last=Bortolot |first=Lana |date=June 19, 2013 |title=It's Terminal but Backers Hope to Keep Worldport at JFK Alive |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324021104578553741733765844 |access-date=November 7, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A.17 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{Pq|1369306860}}}}</ref>
====Construction of JetBlue terminal==== The PANYNJ and JetBlue came to an agreement on the construction of the new terminal in August 2004,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=August 5, 2004 |title=JetBlue to Build New Terminal At Kennedy |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/nyregion/jetblue-to-build-new-terminal-at-kennedy.html |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702212135/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/nyregion/jetblue-to-build-new-terminal-at-kennedy.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bomkamp 2008" /> and Gensler was hired to design the new structure, known as T5.<ref name="Bomkamp 2008">{{Cite news |last=Bomkamp |first=Samantha |date=August 7, 2008 |title=JetBlue Readies New Terminal at JFK for Post-9/11 World |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-jetblue-readies-new-ter/184431916/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=The Buffalo News |pages=B6, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-jetblue-readies-new-ter/184431957/ B7] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 6, 2004 |title=New York: Queens: Architect For Terminal Is Named |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-queens-architect-for-terminal-is-named.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As part of the plan, two JetBlue ticket kiosks were to be installed in the original headhouse,<ref name="Moore 2006">{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Martha T. |date=4 Dec 2006 |title=New Beginning Sought for Terminal ; Airlines Have All Outgrown Architectural Masterpiece at JFK Airport |work=USA Today |page=A.3 |id={{ProQuest|408960950}}}}</ref><ref name="Dunlap s246">{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 16, 2006 |title=A Move to Make a Silent Air Terminal Hum Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/nyregion/a-move-to-make-a-silent-air-terminal-hum-again.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> which, along with T5, was supposed to have become part of a new Terminal 5.<ref name="Dunlap 2008a" /> Because the headhouse was not intended to be fully integrated into the new terminal, another tenant had to be identified for the rest of the headhouse.<ref name="Moore 2006" /> Separately, the PANYNJ signed an agreement with the FAA and historic-preservation agencies for the renovation of the headhouse.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Oct 2004 |title=New JetBlue Terminal and Restored Historic TWA Terminal |work=Constructioneer |page=59 |volume=59 |issue=20 |id={{Pq|236658666}}}}</ref> The structure was also supposed to host an art exhibition called Terminal 5,<ref name="archpaper20040921" /> with work, lectures, and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the headhouse's architecture.<ref name="archpaper20040921" /> Though the exhibition was planned to run from October 2004 to January 2005,<ref name="archpaper20040921" /><ref name="Czarnecki 2004">{{cite web |last=Czarnecki |first=John E. |date=October 11, 2004 |title=Art Exhibition at JFK Airport's TWA Terminal Abruptly Shut Down |url=http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/041011twa.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827204813/http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/041011twa.asp |archive-date=August 27, 2005 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=Architectural Record}}</ref> the show closed abruptly after the headhouse was vandalized during the opening gala.<ref name="Czarnecki 2004" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=October 7, 2004 |title=Port Authority Shuts Art Exhibit in Aftermath of Rowdy Party |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/nyregion/port-authority-shuts-art-exhibit-in-aftermath-of-rowdy-party.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728084124/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/nyregion/port-authority-shuts-art-exhibit-in-aftermath-of-rowdy-party.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
In December 2005, the PANYNJ began construction of the T5 facility behind and partially encircling the headhouse.<ref name="Dunlap 2008" /> The two flight wings were demolished to make space for the new facility, and roadways were constructed under the flight tubes.<ref name=p236662488>{{Cite magazine |last=Romeo |first=Jim |date=Oct 20, 2008 |title=JetBlue's New T5 Terminal At JFK Airport |work=Constructioneer |volume=63 |issue=20 |id={{Pq|236662488}}}}</ref> The construction of T5 obstructed direct views of the tarmac from the headhouse.<ref name="Wills u306" /> The PANYNJ issued a final RFP for the headhouse in 2006,<ref name="Song p. 516" /> requesting proposals for the space not occupied by the ticket counters.<ref name="Moore 2006" /><ref name="Dunlap s246" /> Originally, the PANYNJ was to renovate a departure lounge at the end of Flight Wing 2,<ref name="Song p. 516" /> known as the "trumpet".<ref name="Foster 2008">{{cite web |last=Foster |first=Margaret |date=March 27, 2008 |title=Moved Once, Saarinen's TWA Trumpet To Fall |url=http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/moved-once-twa-trumpet-to-fal.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313083220/http://preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/moved-once-twa-trumpet-to-fal.html |archive-date=March 13, 2009 |publisher=Preservationnation.org}}</ref><ref name="Braggs 2009">{{Cite news |last=Braggs |first=Ashleigh |date=Feb 2009 |title=Great Heights |work=PM Network |pages=70–73, 11 |volume=23 |issue=2 |id={{Pq|346184193}}}}</ref> The lounge was lifted and moved {{cvt|1500|ft|m}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Saarinen's TWA Trumpet To Move |publisher=National Trust for Historic Preservation |first=Krista |last=Walton |date=April 23, 2007 |url=http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2007/todays-news-2007/saarinens-twa-trumpet-to.html |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721234650/http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2007/todays-news-2007/saarinens-twa-trumpet-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mindlin r848">{{cite web |last=Mindlin |first=Alex |date=March 16, 2008 |title=Departure Lounge to Nowhere |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/nyregion/thecity/16airp.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> at a cost of $895,000.<ref name="Foster 2008" /><ref name="Mindlin r848" /> The lounge was later demolished,<ref name=p236662488/><ref name="Airliners 2009"/> and the PANYNJ prioritized renovating the headhouse instead.<ref name="Dunlap 2008" /><ref name="Braggs 2009" /> The cost of relocating the "trumpet" had been estimated at $10 million, slightly less than the $11 million estimated cost of the headhouse project.<ref name="Song p. 516" />
The PANYNJ approved $19 million in repairs to the headhouse in early 2008.<ref name="Dunlap 2008a" /><ref name="Braggs 2009" /> The headhouse's renovation included removing asbestos and replacing or restoring deteriorated design details.<ref name="Dunlap 2008a">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=February 22, 2008 |title=Renovated T.W.A. Terminal to Reopen as JetBlue Portal |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/nyregion/22trumpet.html |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703151408/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/nyregion/22trumpet.html |url-status=live}}</ref> T5 opened on October 22, 2008.<ref name="Linstedt 2008" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maynard |first=Micheline |date=October 22, 2008 |title=JetBlue Twitters Its New Terminal |url=https://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/jetblue-twitters-its-new-terminal/ |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804235415/https://archive.nytimes.com/thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/jetblue-twitters-its-new-terminal/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Russell 2008">{{cite news |last=Russell |first=James S. |date=October 22, 2008 |title=JetBlue's New Terminal at JFK Offers Huge Capacity, No Charm |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> At the time of T5's opening, JetBlue and PANYNJ had yet to complete renovation of the original Saarinen headhouse.<ref name="Braggs 2009" /> There were disagreements over whether the headhouse should be used for conferences, converted to a restaurant, or adapted for some other use.<ref name="Byrnes u019">{{cite web |last=Byrnes |first=Mark |date=September 20, 2013 |title=JFK's Most Famous Terminal May Soon Be Transformed Into a Flashy Hotel |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-20/jfk-s-most-famous-terminal-may-soon-be-transformed-into-a-flashy-hotel |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Bloomberg.com}}</ref>
====Conversion of headhouse into hotel==== thumb|Visitors at the headhouse in 2015|alt=Visitors at the terminal in 2015, as seen from the upper level. There are large crowds on the footbridge across the intermediate level, as well as on the levels below. The PANYNJ was seeking to convert the still-vacant headhouse into a hotel by 2011,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grossman |first1=Andrew |title=Hotel Plan Set for Ghost Terminal |date=February 7, 2011 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704858404576128161380496754 |access-date=November 6, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |last2=Brown |first2=Eliot|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 8, 2011 |title=Wanted: Developer for Hotel at JFK |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-wanted-developer-for-hotel-at-j/184438402/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |pages=A40}}</ref> and Open House New York (OHNY) began providing free tours of the unused headhouse that October.<ref name="Meier r844">{{cite web |last=Meier |first=Allison |date=May 2, 2015 |title=How Public Tours Helped Save NYC's Most Futuristic Air Terminal |url=http://hyperallergic.com/203504/how-public-tours-helped-save-nycs-most-futuristic-air-terminal/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524182546/http://hyperallergic.com/203504/how-public-tours-helped-save-nycs-most-futuristic-air-terminal/ |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Hyperallergic}}</ref> The OHNY tours took place once a year,<ref name="Lam v863">{{cite web |last=Lam |first=Chau |date=October 10, 2014 |title=Iconic TWA Terminal to Show off Its Artistic Side |url=https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/iconic-twa-terminal-to-show-off-its-artistic-side-q13121 |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 }}</ref><ref name="Colman f527">{{cite web |last=Colman |first=David |date=October 10, 2013 |title=Peering Past New York's Locked Doors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/nyregion/peering-past-new-yorks-locked-doors.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the headhouse soon became one of OHNY's most popular tour sites.<ref name="Colman f527" /> The firm Beyer Blinder Belle finished restoring the headhouse in 2012.<ref name="Meier r844" /><ref name="Giovannini p431">{{cite web |last=Giovannini |first=Joseph |date=September 14, 2013 |title=Eero Saarinan's TWA Terminal: All Lift, No Weight |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324123004579057362813983716.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> André Balazs was selected in 2013 to operate a hotel at the TWA Flight Center;<ref name="Negroni 2018" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Hooper |first=Emily |date=September 10, 2013 |title=Hotelier Andre Balazs to Update Saarinen's TWA Terminal With New Standard Hotel |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2013/09/hotelier-andre-balazs-to-update-saarinens-twa-terminal-with-new-standard-hotel/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Max |date=September 13, 2013 |title=Scheme for Famous JFK Terminal Takes Flight |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/scheme-for-famous-jfk-terminal-takes-flight |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The Architects' Journal}}</ref> Balazs, a fan of Saarinen's architecture, had planned a Standard Hotels location there.<ref name="Byrnes u019" /> Balazs's proposal was abandoned due to disagreements with the PANYNJ,<ref name="Negroni 2018" /><ref name="Lam v863" /> and another request for proposals was launched the following year.<ref name="Negroni 2018">{{cite web |last=Negroni |first=Christine |date=February 6, 2018 |title=Updating the Landmark T.W.A. Terminal at J.F.K., This Time as a Hotel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/realestate/commercial/twa-terminal-jfk-airport.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Geiger |first=Daniel |date=August 11, 2014 |title=Port Authority Hits Restart on Terminal Plans |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140811/REAL_ESTATE/140819991/port-authority-hits-restart-on-terminal-plans |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Crain's New York Business}}</ref> There were proposals to convert the headhouse into a capsule hotel operated by Yotel,<ref>{{cite web |last=Karmin |first=Craig |date=November 11, 2014 |title=Hotels Think Small |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hotels-think-small-1415731686 |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> or to use it as a terminal for Eos Airlines, but neither plan was accepted.<ref name="Song p. 519">{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=519|ps=.}}</ref>
JetBlue and the hotel developer MCR Hotels jointly negotiated for the rights to operate a hotel there,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Karmin |first=Craig |last2=Mann |first2=Ted |date=April 14, 2015 |title=JetBlue Wants to Turn Former TWA Terminal Into Hotel |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jet-blue-wants-to-get-into-hotel-business-at-jfks-former-twa-terminal-1429035857 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927082431/https://www.wsj.com/articles/jet-blue-wants-to-get-into-hotel-business-at-jfks-former-twa-terminal-1429035857 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Melcher |first=Henry |date=April 17, 2015 |title=JetBlue Wants to Turn Eero Saarinen's Iconic TWA Terminal into a Hotel |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2015/04/jetblue-wants-turn-eero-saarinens-iconic-twa-terminal-hotel/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref> and they won the lease in September 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Reilly |first=Anthony |date=September 24, 2015 |title=Lease Approved to Turn TWA Flight Center into Hotel |url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/lease-approved-to-turn-twa-flight-center-into-hotel/article_8f6b0b2e-62eb-11e5-a54a-db2dba6fef89.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Queens Chronicle|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Giudice |first=Anthony |date=September 24, 2015 |title=Deal Approved to Turn JFK's Historic TWA Flight Center into Hotel Complex |url=https://qns.com/2015/09/deal-approved-to-turn-jfks-historic-twa-flight-center-into-hotel-complex/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=QNS}}</ref> Afterward, the historian Lori Walters used laser scanners to document the building's architectural details.<ref>{{cite web |last=Azzarello |first=Nina |title=Max Touhey Photographs JFK's TWA Terminal Before Its Renovation |website=designboom |date=August 22, 2015 |url=https://www.designboom.com/art/max-touhey-jfk-twa-terminal-renovation-08-23-2015/ |access-date=March 2, 2024|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |title=Capturing JFK's Space-Age TWA Terminal Before It's Revamped |website=Curbed NY |date=June 24, 2015 |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2015/6/24/9947112/capturing-jfks-space-age-twa-terminal-before-its-revamped |access-date=March 2, 2024}}</ref> Construction of JetBlue and MCR's TWA Hotel began in December 2016<ref>{{cite web |last=Plitt |first=Amy |title=TWA Terminal Hotel Celebrates Groundbreaking with a New Rendering |website=Curbed NY |date=December 15, 2016 |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2016/12/15/13973046/twa-terminal-hotel-groundbreaking |access-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226182056/https://ny.curbed.com/2016/12/15/13973046/twa-terminal-hotel-groundbreaking |url-status=dead}}</ref> and was funded by a $230 million loan.<ref name="Song p. 519" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Jordan |first=John |date=May 16, 2018 |title=TWA Flight Center, Hotel Project Lands $230M Construction Loan |url=https://www.globest.com/2018/05/16/twa-flight-center-hotel-project-lands-230m-construction-loan/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=GlobeSt}}</ref> The structures on either side of the headhouse were demolished,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peterson |first1=Barbara |title=TWA Terminal Hotel Construction Begins at JFK |url=http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-08-03/twa-terminal-hotel-construction-begins-at-jfk |website=Conde Nast Traveler |date=August 3, 2016 |access-date=November 17, 2016 |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118040751/http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-08-03/twa-terminal-hotel-construction-begins-at-jfk |url-status=live}}</ref> and hotel-room towers were built on either side.<ref name="Dunlap a691">{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Hotel Project Would Revive Embodiment of Jet Age at Kennedy Airport |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/nyregion/hotel-project-jet-age-kennedy-airport.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://twahotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Website-Fact-Sheet-for-TWA-Hotel-Updated-2_2017.pdf |title=Fact Sheet for MCR Development's TWA Hotel at JFK Airport |website=TWA Hotel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107221650/http://twahotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Website-Fact-Sheet-for-TWA-Hotel-Updated-2_2017.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> The project also involved conducting asbestos abatement<ref name="Dunlap a691" /> and replacing or restoring many original design details.<ref name="Plitt 2018" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Grabar |first=Henry |date=May 1, 2017 |title=Jet-Age Chic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/jet-age-chic/521460/ |access-date=December 26, 2017 |website=The Atlantic |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226234421/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/jet-age-chic/521460/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fox 2018">{{Cite magazine |last=Fox |first=Jena Tesse |date=Jun 13, 2018 |title=Defunct TWA Terminal at JFK Soars Anew as a Hotel |url=https://www.hotelmanagement.net/design/defunct-twa-takes-flight-at-jfk-hotel |work=Hotel Management |page=16 |volume=233 |issue=7 |id={{PQ|2055559234}}}}</ref> Since the headhouse was a designated landmark, the renovation was eligible for federal and state tax credits,<ref name="Dunlap a691" /> and the developers were required to consult with nearly two dozen government agencies.<ref name="Fox 2018" /> The hotel opened on May 15, 2019, and the TWA Flight Center has been part of the hotel since then.<ref>{{cite news |title=Up, Up and Away at the TWA Hotel |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/up-up-and-away-at-the-twa-hotel-at-jfk/ |access-date=May 14, 2019 |publisher=CBS News |date=May 12, 2019 |archive-date=May 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515002125/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/up-up-and-away-at-the-twa-hotel-at-jfk/ |url-status=live|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Wichter |first=Zach |date=May 15, 2019 |title=The TWA Hotel Takes Flight at J.F.K. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/travel/the-twa-hotel-takes-flight-at-jfk.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Impact == When plans for the TWA Flight Center were first announced, the building was detailed extensively in both the popular press and in architectural and aviation media,<ref name="Ringli p. 112" /> a trend that continued during construction.<ref name="Merkel p. 213" /> Despite being finished after many other terminals at JFK Airport, the TWA Flight Center incorporated many novel features for its time, which influenced the design of other airport terminals.<ref name="Dunlap 1994" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" /> TWA copied elements of the terminal's design for its World Travel Center at 299 Park Avenue in Manhattan, which opened in 1968.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 11, 1968 |title=New TWA Office for Travelers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-new-twa-office-for-travelers/184452466/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=New York Daily News |pages=164 |via=Newspapers.com |issn=2692-1251}}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 125">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=125|ps=.}}</ref> The company also used the terminal in marketing materials for years after completion.<ref name="Ringli p. 125" />
The TWA Flight Center gradually became one of Saarinen's best-known works, alongside such structures as the GM Tech Center, CBS Building, the Dulles Airport Main Terminal, and Gateway Arch.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Larry |date=April 24, 1994 |title=Corning Inc. Building Joins Elite |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-corning-inc-building-joins/184016434/ |access-date=October 31, 2025 |website=Star-Gazette |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Risen |first=Clay |date=November 7, 2004 |title=Saarinen Rising: A Much-Maligned Modernist Finally Gets His Due |url=https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2004/11/07/saarinen_rising?pg=full |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701160802/http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2004/11/07/saarinen_rising?pg=full |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> Kornel Ringli said in 2015 that the TWA Terminal's design reflected Saarinen's tendency to customize designs according to his clients' needs, as the architect had done for the General Motors Technical Center, John Deere World Headquarters, and Kresge Auditorium.<ref name="Ringli p. 24">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=24|ps=.}}</ref> The architect Robert Venturi stated that Saarinen's designs deviated from the then-commonplace architectural philosophy "form follows function".<ref name="Roman p. 61">{{harvnb|Román|2003|p=61|ps=.}}</ref> Henry Grabar wrote for ''The Atlantic'' in 2017 that the TWA Terminal was "the most distinctive example of corporate-showpiece architecture", alongside other Saarinen works such as the General Motors complex and IBM Research's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.<ref name="Grabar z076" />
=== Reception ===
==== Contemporary ==== alt=Front view of the headhouse|thumb|The headhouse's design was likened to a "concrete bird".<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /> Edward Hudson of ''The New York Times'' described the plans in 1957 as "hav[ing] a startling effect" for first-time visitors, but "not so revolutionary" inside.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=November 17, 1957 |title=Aviation: Unusual Terminal for Idlewild; Startling Effect |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/17/archives/aviation-unusual-terminal-for-idlewild-startling-effect.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701231456/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/17/archives/aviation-unusual-terminal-for-idlewild-startling-effect.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Another newspaper said the building was "planned to combine the functional realities of a jet-age air terminal with the aesthetic drama of flight".<ref>{{cite news |date=December 5, 1957 |title=Face to the Future |page=8 |work=The Sun and the Erie County Independent |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54525060/ |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804235416/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54525060/face-to-the-future/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Just before the building's opening, ''The Christian Science Monitor'' wrote that architects had praised it "as perhaps the finest example of the creative genius of the late Eero Saarinen".<ref name="p510286442">{{cite news |last=Kenney |first=Harry C. |date=26 May 1962 |title=Architects Hail TWA Center: Three Basic Wishes |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=10 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|510286442}}}}</ref>
The completion of the terminal prompted significant architectural commentary, much of it positive.<ref name="Roman p. 60" /><ref name="Merkel p. 213">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=213|ps=.}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable saw the TWA Flight Center as a bright spot in the "mediocrity" of JFK Airport,<ref name="NPS p. 24" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=November 25, 1962 |title=Idlewild: Distressing Monument to Air Age; Paradox |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/11/25/archives/idlewild-distressing-monument-to-air-age-paradox.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703211718/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/11/25/archives/idlewild-distressing-monument-to-air-age-paradox.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and Maude Dorr of ''Industrial Design'' magazine said the terminal "reflects the excitement of travel".<ref name="p2307676694" /> ''Architectural Forum'' magazine, comparing the TWA Flight Center with other terminals at JFK Airport, wrote that "there can be little doubt about who won".<ref name="Ringli p. 87" /> The interior was also praised. The critic Edgar Kaufmann Jr. in 1962 called the interior "one of the few major works of American architecture in recent years that reaches its full stature as an interior",<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 7" /><ref name="Kaufmann 1962" /><ref name="NPS p. 25">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=25}}</ref> viewing it as "a festival of ordered movements and exhilarating vistas".<ref name="Smith 1996" /> Ken Macrorie of ''The Reporter'' compared the tarmac-facing waiting room to a railroad hub's waiting area and alluded to the similarities with the city's original Pennsylvania Station.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 8" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Macrorie |first=Ken |date=September 13, 1962 |title=Arriving and Departing |magazine=The Reporter |volume=27 |pages=52–55}}</ref>
Media outlets compared the terminal's headhouse to "a bird in flight", despite Saarinen's insistence that the resemblance was coincidental.<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /><ref name="Saarinen Saarinen 1962 p." /> ''Architectural Forum'' (which praised the terminal) and ''Architectural Review'' (which criticized it) both characterized the design as a "concrete bird".<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /> The writer Douglas Haskell said the building's shape directly conveyed its purpose, akin to Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, saying that both buildings satiated the public's appreciation of symbolism.<ref name="Ringli p. 86">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=86|ps=.}}</ref> Saarinen did not object to the building's avian comparisons, saying that "people are forever looking for literary explanations".<ref name="Friedman p. 143">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=143|ps=.}}</ref> Privately, Saarinen described the structure as a "Leonardo da Vinci flying machine"<ref name="Roche p. 79" /><ref name="Roman p. 61" /> and acknowledged that the building resembled a bird.<ref name="Ringli p. 86" />
The design also had detractors,<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="NPS p. 24" /> and the historian Alice T. Friedman retrospectively said that the TWA Terminal had "emerged as something of a lightning rod for contemporary audiences, only some of which had to do with architecture".<ref name="Friedman p. 132" /> One major critic was the historian Vincent Scully, who disliked Saarinen's use of "whammo shapes" at the TWA Flight Center and the Dulles Main Terminal,<ref name="Merkel p. 210" /><ref name="Roman p. 60" /> calling the former "pseudo-concrete choked with steel".<ref name=Scully1969>{{Cite book |last=Scully |first=Vincent J. |url=http://archive.org/details/americanarchitec0000scul |title=American Architecture and Urbanism |date=1969 |publisher= Praeger |isbn=978-0-275-78140-8|page=204|url-access=registration}}</ref> The British critic Reyner Banham questioned the practicality of the design, which did not clearly link "function and symbol", but he said that the TWA Terminal was no worse than any other airport terminal.<ref name="Roman p. 60" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Banham |first=Reyner |url=https://www.archive.org/details/ageofmasterspers00banh/page/125 |url-access=registration |title=Age of the Masters: A Personal View of Modern Architecture |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-06-430369-9 |series=Icon editions |page=125 |oclc=1831115}}</ref> The Italian engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi was also skeptical of the design, saying that the structure was "too heavy and elaborate for the problem it seeks to solve".<ref name="Roman p. 60" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Architectural Forum|1960|ps=.|p=122}}</ref> Friedman also wrote that detractors had negative impressions of the TWA Flight Center and Saarinen's other designs for large businesses, citing their capitalist connotations.<ref name="Friedman p. 142">{{harvnb|Friedman|2010|page=142|ps=.}}</ref>
==== Retrospective ==== [[File:TWA_Flight_Center_interior.jpg|alt=A crowd inside the terminal, as seen from the building's upper level|thumb|The architect Robert A. M. Stern called the headhouse a symbolic "Grand Central of the jet age".<ref name="Muschamp 1994">{{Cite news |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |date=November 6, 1994 |title=Architecture View; Stay of Execution for a Dazzling Airline Terminal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/06/arts/architecture-view-stay-of-execution-for-a-dazzling-airline-terminal.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603182422/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/06/arts/architecture-view-stay-of-execution-for-a-dazzling-airline-terminal.html |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |access-date=May 26, 2010 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>]] Adulation for the original design continued after completion.<ref name="NPS p. 25" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2005|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> In the 1990s, ''Progressive Architecture'' magazine said the TWA Flight Center "represented a high point not only in the design of air terminals, but in the exercise of corporate responsibility",<ref name="PA p. 96" /> while ''The Globe and Mail'' called it one of "the most potent images of '50s design".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lasker |first=David |date=29 Oct 1992 |title=Inside It's All One Thing |work=The Globe and Mail |page=D.1 |id={{Pq|385347086}}}}</ref> ''New York Times'' critic Herbert Muschamp called the TWA Flight Center "the most dynamically modeled space of its era",<ref name="Muschamp 1994" /> and the architect Robert A. M. Stern likened the headhouse to a "Grand Central of the jet age".<ref name="Byrnes u019" /><ref name="Muschamp 1994" /> Conversely, Paul Goldberger said in 1990 that the terminal was "but a shadow of its former self" because it had undergone so many alterations over the years.<ref name="Goldberger k863">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=June 17, 1990 |title=Architecture View; Blueprint an Airport That Might Have Been |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/arts/architecture-view-blueprint-an-airport-that-might-have-been.html |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The ''Engineering News Record'' said in 2003 that the building remained architecturally influential even as it became functionally outdated.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Merkel |first=Jayne |last2=Cho |first2=Aileen |date=Dec 15, 2003 |title=For Airport Designers and Architects, The Future Is At The Gate Airports Must Handle Larger Planes, Regional Carriers and Retail Needs |work=Engineering News-Record |pages=36–40 |volume=251 |issue=24 |id={{pq|235754478}}}}</ref> In a 2005 book about Saarinen's work, Jayne Merkel said "the building did for TWA what the [Gateway] Arch [...] would eventually do for Saint Louis".<ref name="Merkel p. 205" /> According to Merkel, it was not until the Port Authority proposed demolishing the terminal for T5 that "the full impact of the building was revealed".<ref name="Merkel p. 213" /> After the nearby Sundrome was demolished in 2011, David W. Dunlap of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the TWA Flight Center's "captivating and evocative design" explained why it had been preserved over the years.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=October 7, 2011 |title=A Modern Masterpiece, No Longer Used, Will Soon Disappear at Kennedy Airport |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/a-modern-masterpiece-no-longer-used-will-soon-disappear-at-kennedy-airport/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=City Room}}</ref> Joseph Giovannini of ''The Wall Street Journal'' wrote two years later that "the flowing lines and rising forms of the terminal are buoyant, all lift and no weight", contrasting it with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building,<ref name="Giovannini p431" /> while Chris Beanland of ''The Independent'' called the building a "swoop-roof marvel" that retained its 1962 look.<ref>{{cite web |last=Beanland |first=Chris |date=February 13, 2013 |title=Designed for the Jet Age |url=https://www.the-independent.com/travel/news-and-advice/designed-for-the-jet-age-8492083.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The Independent}}</ref> Ringli wrote in 2015 that the building's appearance and TWA's marketing efforts made the terminal similar to "successful consumer goods with attractive packaging", even though the building quickly became obsolete.<ref name="Ringli p. 25" /> Two years later, Henry Grabar described the TWA Flight Center as being "the world's most famous airport terminal" and Saarinen's most widely-appreciated building.<ref name="Grabar z076" />
After the TWA Hotel conversion was complete, ''Australian Design Review'' wrote that the original Flight Center's design had retained its quality throughout the years,<ref>{{cite web |last=Rymer |first=Melissa |date=June 5, 2020 |title=Skeletons – TWA Flight Center |url=https://www.australiandesignreview.com/magazines/skeletons-twa-flight-center/ |access-date=March 2, 2024 |website=Australian Design Review}}</ref> and an observer for ''The American Scholar'' wrote that "Saarinen's terminal maintains its sublime power".<ref name="Wills u306" /> Karrie Jacobs wrote for ''Architect'' magazine that the design "doesn't speak of technological advancement but of craft", describing the terminal as "quaint" and likening it to the curved forms of Saarinen's Ingalls Rink and Dulles Main Terminal.<ref name="Jacobs 2019" /> In a 2021 report, the scholar Song Jiewon wrote that the original structure had become "the physical manifestation of a vision of America's future".<ref name="Song p. 509" /> The architectural historian Michael J. Lewis described the building as "perhaps the world's finest example of an inhabitable sculpture", saying it still looked modern.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lewis |first=Michael J. |date=June 17, 2022 |title=When Design Takes Flight |url=https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/when-design-takes-flight-twa-flight-center-eero-saarinen-john-f-kennedy-airport-trans-world-airlines-twa-hotel-terminal-city-boeing-707-11655503723 |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
=== Awards and media === [[File:TWA_Flight_Center_exterior_oblique_view.jpg|thumb|The terminal was ranked on the 2007 ''List of America's Favorite Architecture''.<ref name="FavoriteArchitecture.org 2007"/><ref name="Kugel 2007"/>|alt=Off-center view of the TWA Flight Center from a nearby parking garage]] When the terminal was completed, it received numerous awards, including from the Queens Chamber of Commerce<ref name="p1337204099">{{cite news |last=Ferretti |first=Fred |date=2 Dec 1962 |title=New Buildings Honored by Queens Chamber |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=J12 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1337204099}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=December 2, 1962 |title=T.W.A. Terminal at Idlewild Wins Top Design Award |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/02/archives/twa-terminal-at-idlewild-wins-top-design-award.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701231452/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/02/archives/twa-terminal-at-idlewild-wins-top-design-award.html |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the New York Concrete Industrial Board.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 19, 1962 |title=3 Floors Leased at 128 W. 36th St. |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/11/19/archives/3-floors-leased-at-128-w-36th-st-no-brokers-take-part-3d-ave-space.html |access-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704025223/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/11/19/archives/3-floors-leased-at-128-w-36th-st-no-brokers-take-part-3d-ave-space.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Architectural Forum'' included the TWA Flight Center and the Pepsi-Cola Building as part of a 1962 exhibition of ten of the "world's most significant modern buildings".<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 21, 1962 |title=Prize Buildings in Photo Exhibit; 2 City Structures Included in 10 Modern Choices Church Is Cited |page=42 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/04/21/102746665.pdf |access-date=April 21, 2021 }}</ref> The American Institute of Architects (AIA) gave the terminal an Award of Merit in 1963, and it was featured internationally in magazines.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> In addition, Saarinen won the AIA Gold Medal posthumously in 1962.<ref>{{cite book |last=Solomon |first=Nancy |url=https://archive.org/details/architecturecele0000unse/page/236 |url-access=registration |title=Architecture INTL: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58471-162-9 |page=236}}</ref>
The TWA Flight Center ranked 115th on the AIA's 2007 ''List of America's Favorite Architecture'', which listed the top 150 buildings in the United States.<ref name="FavoriteArchitecture.org 2007">{{cite web |year=2007 |title=List of America's Favorite Architecture |url=http://favoritearchitecture.org/afa150.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510113118/http://favoritearchitecture.org/afa150.php |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |access-date=September 27, 2010 |website=FavoriteArchitecture.org |publisher=AIA}}</ref><ref name="Kugel 2007">{{Cite news |last=Kugel |first=Seth |date=May 27, 2007 |title=The List: 33 Architectural Favorites in New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/travel/27Bweekend.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120163218/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/travel/27Bweekend.html |archive-date=January 20, 2023 |access-date=January 20, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Beyer Blinder Belle received an award for its 2012 restoration of the building,<ref name="Meier r844" /> and the Preservation League of New York State also gave the building an excellence award.<ref>{{cite web |last=Winerip |first=Michael |date=April 23, 2013 |title=Their Castle Could Be Yours, For Under a Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/booming/their-castle-could-be-yours-for-under-a-million.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When the TWA Hotel conversion was completed, the project received the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's 2019 preservation award.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gannon |first=Devin |date=December 9, 2019 |title=State Recognizes TWA Hotel as Historic Site, Nominates Two Other NYC Buildings |url=https://www.6sqft.com/state-recognizes-twa-hotel-as-historic-site-nominates-two-other-nyc-buildings/ |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=6sqft|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last1=Sperling |first1=Jonathan |date=December 6, 2019 |title=JFK Airport's TWA Hotel Receives State Historic Preservation Award |url=https://queenseagle.com/all/jfk-airports-twa-hotel-receives-state-historic-preservation-award |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Queens Daily Eagle}}</ref>
The building was frequently used in popular media as a symbol of the jet age.<ref name="Ringli p. 126"/> A scale model of the terminal was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan while the building was under development.<ref name="p250869877" /><ref name="n184491102">{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1959 |title=Our Pioneering Opera House |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-our-pioneering/184491102/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |pages=136 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The photographer Balthazar Korab took multiple pictures of the terminal during its development.<ref name="p2783593355">{{Cite magazine |last=Campbell |first=Robert |date=May 1, 2001 |title=Modern Exposure |work=Preservation |page=53 |volume=53 |issue=3 |id={{pq|2783593355}}}}</ref> After the terminal was completed, it was documented in numerous photographs by Korab,<ref>{{cite web |last=Lasky |first=Julie |date=July 25, 2012 |title=Balthazar Korab, Architect Turned Photographer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/garden/balthazar-korab-architect-turned-photographer.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Woo |first=Elaine |date=February 1, 2013 |title=Balthazar Korab Dies at 86; Architect-Photographer With Wide-Ranging Eye |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-balthazar-korab-20130201-story.html |access-date=November 7, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 126">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=126|ps=.}}</ref> Charles Eames,<ref name="Friedman p. 134" /> and Ezra Stoller,<ref>{{cite news |last=Iovine |first=Julie V. |date=February 13, 2013 |title=The Confidence of an America in Full Stride; Ezra Stoller: Beyond Architecture |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323375204578271853333951088 |access-date=November 7, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> and it was a setting for fashion photo shoots.<ref name="Ringli p. 126" /> Shortly after the TWA Flight Center closed, the headhouse was used for the filming of ''Catch Me If You Can'' in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kinetz |first=Erika |date=January 19, 2003 |title=Neighborhood Report: Kennedy Airport; An Airport Landmark, When It Was Young |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/nyregion/neighborhood-report-kennedy-airport-an-airport-landmark-when-it-was-young.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702212346/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/nyregion/neighborhood-report-kennedy-airport-an-airport-landmark-when-it-was-young.html |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref><ref name="Ringli p. 126" /> JetBlue used a depiction of the Saarinen terminal's roof as the official logo for the opening of T5 in 2008.<ref name="Dunlap 2008"/><ref name="Ringli p. 126" /> The building has been replicated in the New York Botanical Garden's annual holiday train show,<ref name="Ringli p. 126" /> and TWA Hotel contains a model airport depicting the terminal and other nearby buildings at 1:400 scale.<ref name="TWA Museum Exhibits" /><ref name="Lauria-Blum 2023 l645">{{cite web |last=Lauria-Blum |first=Julia |date=September 9, 2023 |title=The TWA Flight Center |url=https://metroairportnews.com/the-twa-flight-center/ |access-date=December 4, 2023 |website=Metropolitan Airport News}}</ref>
=== Landmark designations === The LPC held public hearings on the possibility of designating the TWA Flight Center's exterior and interior as official city landmarks in 1993.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=June 20, 1993 |title=Postings; Landmarking Enters the Jet Age |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/realestate/postings-landmarking-enters-the-jet-age.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421134720/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/realestate/postings-landmarking-enters-the-jet-age.html |archive-date=April 21, 2021 |access-date=April 21, 2021 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none}}; {{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994|p=2}}; {{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1994|ps=.|p=2}}</ref> The terminal's exterior and interior were designated as landmarks on July 19, 1994,<ref name="Dunlap 1994" /><ref name="The Record 1994">{{Cite news |date=21 July 1994 |title=New York City Declares TWA Terminal a Landmark |work=The Record |page=A28 |id={{pq|3190657150}} |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and the New York City Council ratified the designation that October.<ref name="Muschamp 1994" />{{Efn|Kornel Ringli conflates the 1994 LPC designation with the later NRHP designation,<ref name="Ringli p. 124"/> which occurred in 2005.<ref name="Bortolot m045"/><ref name="nris"/>}} The designation preserves the headhouse and the older Flight Wing 2, but not the newer Flight Wing 1,<ref name="Kennedy 2001" /><ref>{{harvnb|Song|2021|page=515|ps=.}}</ref> and it focuses mostly on the building's architecture, rather than its historical significance or operational usefulness.<ref name="Ringli p. 124">{{harvnb|Ringli|2015|page=124|ps=.}}</ref> Both TWA and the PANYNJ supported the exterior landmark designation, but PANYNJ officials testified that they would need to modify the building in the future.<ref name="The Record 1994" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bertrand |first=Donald |date=October 23, 1994 |title=Council Mulls Ruling Calling JFK's TWA Terminal a Landmark |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-council-mulls-ruling-calling/184457590/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |pages=350}}</ref> Although city landmarks typically cannot be modified without LPC approval, this rule does not apply to buildings owned by state or federal agencies such as the PANYNJ. As such, the designation did not protect the TWA Flight Center from modifications, a major point of contention when the building's redevelopment was proposed in the 2000s.<ref>{{harvnb|Song|2021|pages=515–516|ps=.}}</ref>
On September 7, 2005,<ref name="nris">{{cite web |year=2005 |title=National Register of Historic Places 2005 Weekly Lists |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2005-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901115418/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2005-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |page=242}}</ref> the National Park Service listed the TWA Flight Center on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).<ref name="Bortolot m045" /> The building had been determined eligible for listing on the register in 2001,<ref name="Song p. 510" /> but it was not added until after the building had been placed on the America's Most Endangered Places list.<ref name="Bortolot m045" /> The NRHP listing also does not protect the building from modification.<ref>{{harvnb|Song|2021|pages=511–512|ps=.}}</ref>
==See also== * List of thin shell structures * List of works by Eero Saarinen * List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens * National Register of Historic Places listings in Queens, New York
==References== === Notes === {{Notelist}}
=== Citations === {{reflist}}
=== Sources === * {{Cite magazine |last=Fisher |first=Thomas |last2=Leubkeman |first2=Christopher Hart |date=May 1992 |title=Landmarks: TWA Terminal |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1992-05.PDF |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=73 |issue=5 |id={{Pq|197300322}} |ref={{harvid|Progressive Architecture|1992}}}} * {{cite book |last=Friedman |first=Alice T. |url=https://archive.org/details/americanglamoure0000frie_m2l5 |title=American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture |date=2010 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-11654-0 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite book |last=Merkel |first=Jayne |title=Eero Saarinen |publisher=Phaidon |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7148-6592-8 |page= |oclc=57750853}} * {{cite book |last=Ringli |first=Kornel |title=Designing TWA: Eero Saarinens Flughafenterminal in New York |date=2015 |publisher=Park Books |isbn=978-3-906027-83-8}} * {{Cite magazine |last=Roche |first=Kevin |date=January 1958 |title=TWA's Graceful New Terminal |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1958-01.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=108 |pages=79–83}} * {{cite book |last=Román |first=Antonio |title=Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity |date=2003 |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |isbn=1-56898-340-9 |oclc=50644049}} * {{Cite magazine |date=August 1960 |title=Shaping a Two-Acre Sculpture |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1960-08.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=113 |pages=118–123 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1960}}}} * {{cite journal |last=Song |first=Jiewon |title=Urban Law and the Expulsion of Authenticity: Preservation of the TWA Terminal in the JFK Airport Redevelopment Plan |journal=International Journal of Cultural Property |volume=28 |issue=4 |year=2021 |issn=0940-7391 |doi=10.1017/S0940739121000412 |doi-access=free |pages=505–529 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/BDDAE192280C370A9714210F6D9A0EB7/S0940739121000412a.pdf/div-class-title-urban-law-and-the-expulsion-of-authenticity-preservation-of-the-twa-terminal-in-the-jfk-airport-redevelopment-plan-div.pdf |id={{Pq|2638917695}}}} * {{cite report |date=September 7, 2005 |title=Trans World Airlines Flight Center |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000994.pdf |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|2005}}}} * {{cite report |date=July 9, 1994 |title=Trans World Airlines Flight Center (Now TWA Terminal A) at New York International Airport |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1915.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1994}}}} * {{cite report |date=July 9, 1994 |title=Trans World Airlines Flight Center (Now TWA Terminal A) at New York International Airport Interior |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1916.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1994}}}}
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