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Today I got a tour of the TWA Terminal 5 at JFK. Just thought you guys might want to see some of the pictures. The ones of the construction of the new terminal will be up when I get more time.
This was my first time inside and it is very strange to say the least. The lounges are still intact and the cafe looks like TWA left yesterday. Its hard to believe its been almost six years since its been used.
http://www.rankel.net/stephenlauren/...al_5/index.htm
Steve
Oh my God, Steve, that's great stuff. Brings back so many memories, I can't tell you how many times I was in that building when growing up. I'll have to show these to my father - he spent 40 years at TWA.
I can't believe the lights are still on in the duty free shop, and they have cigarettes in the case!
OH MY GOD......! I just had several religious experiences Steve!!! For all that’s good in this world those shots were amazing. The history there is beyond belief. The Connie club is just like it was years ago! God it’s awesome!
I can still hear the TWA CSRs yelling near the ticket stands "London and Paris passengers to the left, all other cities to the right." Later as TWA changed its focus to the Caribbean those same CSRs would bark out "San Juan passengers to the left, all other cities to the right." TWA packed those San Juan flights, most were on 767-300/200s and 757s, and not a seat went unsold.
The first 747 I saw was a TWA 747, I remember as a young child walking up those stairs towards the gates you would start to see the tails come into view. When I reached the top of the stairs I was in total awe, four 747s together and those big red tails just lit up brilliantly by their logo lights, simply astonishing. In the 90s when TWA was the number one Trans Atlantic airline in the world the Euro rush was something to be seen and heard. I can remember being there in early June a few weeks after I finished college going away for a month and hearing all the various boarding announcements. TWA flight 8XX to London now boarding, TWA flight 8XX to Paris now boarding, Lisbon, Rome, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Athens, Tel Avi, Cairo, Riyadh. As a young adult the sight of hundreds of people, jumbo jets, and the controlled chaos that was TWA's Euro rush was inspiring.
Sadly I also remember very vividly the last time I flew out of T5, it was August of 2001. My friends and I were going to Las Vegas. The flight left during the Euro rush but this time it was a 180 from what T5 use to be. Walking in I went right up to the ticket desk, no lines, no one yelling out London and Paris to the left. We had some drinks in the Connie Club and were the only ones in there. The TWA folks knew AA was going to lay them off but they still served you with a smile and made great conversation. TWA flight 448 was my last TWA flight ever. A few weeks later TWA flight 448 became the last TWA flight to arrive at JFK.
No airline will ever match TWA for what it accomplished over the years it was in business. This was an airline that set standards still used today, they pioneered what first class really means, and they had the best people in the business. TWA was truly "That Wonderful Airline." God do I miss them.
wow! i'd have taken the TW trash can and RAN!!
BRAVO!!!!! THIS IS AMAZING! I AM JUST STUNNED! I SO WANT TO
ASK YOU TO GET ME IN.... but nobody should be beside you if it is not
Tommy! I'll give you $50 bucks if you could get him in! :D
Great picures ! I worked in that building from 86-91 lots of memories for sure
Here's a link someone sent me. Its a 360* Quicktime Panorama of the terminal. Its not the best quality, but I think its pretty cool to see.
http://www.rankel.net/stephenlauren/...A_panorama.mov
Thank you Steve; Great shots. These bring back alot of memories.
It does seem like yesterday.
Originally, or at least early on, there was a lounge alongside the windows with red uphosltery of course. But otherwise the same.
It was from those windows I saw one of or possibly the first Air France 747 to JFK - had to be a 100 series - taxi by. T5 as its now known was mostly a 707 port by 1968-71, but a DC-9 parked up close and there were two commuter airlines that came up to the windows there - Command and Suburban. New York Airways utilized the TWA terminal for a while as well.
Last time I was there was 2001 when the Save-a-Connie Constellation paid a visit. I was making my own hours at the time, and working out of both Chelsea and the financial district, but of course some emergency came up and my pager kept buzzing. "Yep, well, I'll be back in a couple of hours" taking care of business.. lol...
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0103985/L/
And to second Tommy here, the staff could not have been any nicer.
Tom
Very cool pics, glad it is (so far) in relatively good condition. It's a beautiful building aside from the historical significance and being part of some personal memories for me. Hopefully it can be put to a good use that doesn't significantly alter its look and feel, although commercial considerations have to be satisfied.
Aside from re-use as a terminal, or maybe a museum, perhaps it could be converted to an airport conference center or, if they could build around it, the lobby of a boutique-style airport hotel, as I am sure there would be demand for a quality JFK hotel that was on the Air Train system.
Sorry, wrong post!
Yeah, cool pics! That TWA trash can is awesome!
Hey Steve, I passed along the link to my father, as I said, he worked nearly 40 years at JFK for TWA. He really enjoyed seeing them, said the place looks better than ever. I'm not sure about that, I think it looked best with a crowd heading down the tubes toward a line of red and white 747s.
Steve, you are the man!!!! I can't believe that you actually got in there while it's all still TWA. It does look exactly like it used to, save for it being empty and what looks to be a little torn up.
I flew TWA all the time when I was a kid, mostly from JFK, and I wholeheartedly agree that both T5 and TWA as an airline were top notch. It was always so unique to walk through the long tubes to get to your gates and hear announcements for destinations all over the world blaring. And the "Men-in-black" like flight board gets me every time. I flew TWA 747's twice, once JFK-SJU-JFK as TWA 12/21 and once on a charter from JFK-MBJ-JFK (8610/8510). In addition, I flew TWA to SJU twice roundtrip during their Carribean ramp-up and each time it was supposed to be a 757, and 3 out of 4 of the flights got changed to a 767-200. Those really were the days. I even had a mechanical in one of the 762's as one of our bleed valves got stuck and we couldn't start an engine. They needed the gate, so we taxiied on one engine to the maintenace ramp area across from the terminal, all the way in the corner where taxiways A/B curve. It was spectacular to hear the JT9D attempt to start up and shut down a few times before they got it going.
I've also flown Carnival A300's out of T5 (now THAT was a long time ago)
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I have sooooooo many memories in that terminal as a kid and I'm so glad to see jetBlue taking it over. I've also heard they will keep the TWA sign facing the ramp area, which is extremely cool of them. TWA forever!