Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Centre is a building that I’ve wanted to visit since forever. It combines architecture and aviation during the golden age of jet travel, having been described as the ‘Grand Central of the jet age’.
Opened in 1962 the terminal was home to Trans World Airlines at Idlewild, now John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The terminal had been closed between 2015 and May 2019 as it was converted into a hotel. During the four year closure, you had to be in town for Open House NY architecture weekends to go inside.
Fortunately with the TWA Hotel now open you can visit anytime, and a 9:50PM departure from JFK was my opportunity to finally see this iconic terminal.
In this post:
TWA Flight Center Exterior
The roof of the TWA Flight Centre is reminiscent of a bird with its wings outstretched, courtesy of the photo below from the TWA Hotel website.
With floor to ceiling windows, passengers waiting for their flight would have unobstructed views of the apron and their awaiting aircraft, which would have added to the anticipation.
The TWA Hotel have recreated some of that scene with a mock runway and a 1958 Constellation aircraft that has been converted into a cocktail lounge.
TWA Flight Centre Interior
Eero Saarinen’s design feels timeless and is still so stylish today. The old check in desks are now used to check in guests rather than passengers, whilst the destination boards still make their clackety clack sound as they display imaginary flights to faraway destinations.
On the upper level there is a display of TWA memorabilia including flight attendant uniforms.
I spent a good hour and a half exploring the building and appreciating the architecture. The hotel has managed to preserve the Flight Centre by having all the hotel rooms and facilities in two brand new wings on either side of the terminal.
With multiple bars and restaurants, it was wonderful to see the terminal as a living space with the low buzz of conversation and people going about their day. I’d like to dine at Paris Cafe by Jean-Georges one of these days.
And I wasn’t leaving without visiting The TWA Shop, where I picked up a logo t-shirt and twin globes pin!
How To Get To The TWA Flight Centre
The TWA Flight Centre is accessible from the Terminal 5 Air Train station via the Sky Walk bridge and then a series of lifts down to the Departures level, then up one level in another lift to the ‘tubes’ into the hotel.
The entire journey is clearly signposted in Terminal 5 and I enjoyed the attention to detail in the lift.
The ‘tubes’ themselves are a wonderful entrance to the hotel and really makes you feel like you’re entering a different, bygone era.
Summary
The TWA Flight Centre is a must for any aviation and/or architecture enthusiast. Being able to see this ‘Grand Central of the jet age’ brought to life again was wonderful.
And the best part is you don’t need to be staying at the hotel to enjoy the architecture since the entire heritage listed terminal is open to the public. While the rooms look very nice, they are themed rather than the real thing.
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