BACK TO THE GOLDEN AGE
Friday, October 21, 2011 at 9:52AM | The Localphiles 
Shut down in 2001, with TWA folding into American Airlines, the famed TWA Flight Center at JFK has reopened. For a bit. For hours. Literally. Open House New York opened the doors to the historic terminal for 4 hours this week and "half of New York" showed up to take a look. Since I couldn't go, I've included some of the best pictures here (courtesy of Jaunted).
The great thing about Terminal 5 is that it is on the National Registry of Historic Places...meaning it's really not going anywhere. Sad thing about this is -- Pan Am's historic Worldport terminal is not on the list...so it's being torn down by 2015. Damn.
Note some of the famous "pieces" of this terminal. The scarlet seating area, the ceiling clock and one of my favorite things (and so few are left) a "digital" split-flap display departure board. They're few and far between but you can still find them in Grand Central, Luftansa's Frankfurt terminal.
While some would say that these terminals are on the outs, I would say we're seeing a resurgance of beautifully designed airline terminals. Take Virgin America's Terminal 2 at SFO, San Jose Airport or Raliegh-Durham's (Curtis Fentress designed) terminal.
I think we might come close to another terminal a la the TWA Terminal 5, but I highly doubt it. Until then, I'll have to fly to NY the next time this sucker is open and just relish in the golden age of jet travel.
-Justin