NEW YORK Rotary dial phones. Iconic midcentury modern architecture. TaB sodas in the mini-bar.
If that sounds like it could be 1962, thats by design. Its all part of the DNA of the new TWA Hotel thats set to open next year at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Anchored around the landmark TWA Flight Center that opened in 1962 as the jet age dawned, the airport property is one of the most-anticipated hotel openings of 2019.
Its easy to see why.
The 512-room hotel will featuretwo new six-story towers that flank the old TWA terminals head house, an architectural masterpiece designed by Eero Saarinen. The terminal is in the process of being converted into a 200,000-square-foot lobby t the hotel claims will be the worlds largest.
The TWA Hotel will include six restaurants and eight bars. One of those, a cocktail bar, will be housed in a refurbished Lockheed Constellation aircraft that was a staple of the TWA fleet in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
People appreciate differentiation these days, says Tyler Morse, CEO of the MCR and Morse Development firms that arespearheading the redevelopment of the TWA site. Were kind of living in one giant Walgreens. Its a very homogeneous world.
The TWA Hotel, Morse says, will shake that up.
Already, enthusiasts both aviation and architectural have eagerly awaited each new detail to emerge about the iconic structures rebirth as a hotel.
Our phones are ringing off the hook, Morse says. People are wildly excited about this project.
Veteran travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt is not surprised.
I have not seen a new hotel attract the level of interest from travelers, aviation enthusiasts even the hotel industry itself as the TWA Hotel has, says Hartevdelt, who worked for now-defunct TWA in the 1980s.
ARCHIVES:TWA lounge opens at One World Trade Center; airport hotel to follow(story continues below)
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The TWA Lounge’s reception desk modeled after Jet Age city center TWA ticket counters created by iconic mid-century industrial designer Raymond Loewy. Emily GilbertFullscreen
The TWA lounge at 1WTC. Jesse David HarrisFullscreen
A sunken lounge carpeted in Chili Pepper Red, the signature color created by Saarinen for the TWA Flight Center, and the Custom Solari split-flap analog display. Emily GilbertFullscreen
The sunken lounge carpeted in Chili Pepper Red, the signature color created by Saarinen for the TWA Flight Center. The custom Solari漏 split-flap analog display, manufactured in Udine, Italy, shows flight departures. Emily GilbertFullscreen
The TWA lounge at 1WTC. Jesse David HarrisFullscreen
Upholstered banquettes and floors are installed with approximately 396,900 penny tiles from the TWA Flight Center. The floor is installed Tiles sourced by Ann Sacks; banquettes in Maharam fabric. Emily GilbertFullscreen
Ambassadors Lounge in TWA Lounge at 1WTC with vintage Saarinen Tulip Chairs with original 1962 Knoll fabric seats, Saarinen Executive Side Chairs, Arm Chairs and marble Pedestal tables, all produced by Knoll. Emily GilbertFullscreen
A flight ‘hostess’ and pilot at the ticket counter front desk with airline beverage carts stocked with TaB, champagne and cocktails. Emily GilbertFullscreen
A rotating collection of 51 original Jet Age David Klein prints commissioned by Howard Hughes are installed on the curved walls of the TWA lounge at 1WTC modeled after the curved architecture of the TWA Flight Center. Emily GilbertFullscreen
The telescope in the TWA lounge on the 86th floor points directly to the TWA Hotel at JFK International Airport. Emily GilbertFullscreen
Ambassador Service dinnerware was used in First Class on TWA Flights in the 1960s. Jesse David HarrisFullscreen
Vintage rotary phone, martini glass and ash tray on a mid-century modern table in the TWA lounge. Emily GilbertFullscreen
The TWA Collection at the lounge includes a library of historic design and branding books, vintage flight collateral, iconic TWA flight hostess uniforms and a scale model of Eero Saarinens Flight Center at TWA Airport. Emily GilbertFullscreen
On display in the TWA lounge at 1WTC, The Cutout, a 1944 light blue gabardine TWA uniform by Hollywood fashion designer Howard Greer, featured triangular jacket flaps that could be unbuttoned to cover the TWA letters when flight hostesses wished to have a cigarette or cocktail off duty. Emily GilbertFullscreen
On display in the TWA lounge at 1WTC is Pierre Balmains khaki ‘hostess’ uniform for TWA, worn in 1965. TWA was the first American airline to collaborate with an internationally celebrated fashion designer on its uniforms. Emily GilbertFullscreen
MCRs TWA collection includes decades of vintage TWA flight ‘hostess’ uniforms, including those designed by Balmain, Valentino and Ralph Lauren. Many uniforms were donated by the Clipped Wings, an organization of former TWA flight attendants. Emily GilbertFullscreen
David Kleins Fly TWA Florida and breakfast served on TWA Ambassador Service dinnerware. Emily GilbertFullscreen
Model TWA Lockheed Constellations and David Kleins Fly TWA Portugal in the TWA lounge at 1WTC. Emily GilbertFullscreen
Union concrete worker pours concrete for the new TWA Hotel. MCRFullscreen
MCR and Morse Development CEO Tyler Morse and VP Construction Jason Garone in the below-grade event center excavation at the TWA Hotel construction site, September 2017. MCRFullscreen
New York government officials including Governor Andrew Cuomo attended the TWA Hotel groundbreaking on Dec. 15, 2016. Max TouheyFullscreen
View of north hotel wing foundation. MCRFullscreen
Concrete being poured for the new TWA Hotel. MCRFullscreen
TWA Hotel under construction. Max TouheyFullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:Replay
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The TWA terminal was last used for flights in 2001and has been empty since. The building has since been declared a New York City landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Already, visitors are intrigued by a rooftop pool that will afford views of the airfield not to mention the Constellation and the hotel-lobby conversion of the TWA FlightCenter that’snow in progress.
The TWA Hotel will formally unveil the look and layout of its standard rooms on Tuesday. USA TODAY got a sneak peek ahead of the official public unveiling.
Were bringing back the magic of 1962, Morse says, describing the property as an experiential hotel.
Everything were doing is unique and bespoke, Morse adds during a preview of the rooms at a JFK hangar where MCR has put together a top-secret full-scale mock-up of what will be a standard room at the hotel.
The standard rooms are on the small side, averaging 325 square feet. Forty-four of the hotels rooms will be larger suites, with the biggest topping out at around 1,200 square feet. All will include aesthetics that are sure to appeal to aviation and design buffs.
They’re fronted withfloor-to-ceiling windows; most afford guests views of either flight activity on the airfield or a panorama of the TWA Flight Center itself.
“You can walk right up to the window and watch the planes take off and land,” Morse says of the airfield-facing rooms.
Even the hotel beds are positioned so that guest will fall asleep with a view out the window.
When you wake up, you see the airfield,” Morse says, tipping his hat to aviation enthusiasts.”If youre an ‘avgeek,’ this is pretty cool.”
30 COOL AVIATION PICS: Retro airline logos, jumbo jets and test flights(story continues below)
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The iconic red-lettered TWA logo stands atop the famous TWA Flight Center, now dormant, at New York JFK Airport on Jan. 16, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
The Museum of Flight’s Boeing 727, the very first ever made, is prepared for a rare, final flight in Everett, Wash., on Jan. 30, 2016. The jet is expected to fly sometime in early March. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An American Airlines Airbus A321 jet leaves Seattle’s Boeing Field in July of 2015 with a sports charter aboard. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Light creeps into the sky as NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory cruises over western Washington State on Dec. 5, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 widebody jet takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Dec. 26, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A look back at American Airlines’ route map circa 1952, found in a Welcome Aboard pamphlet photographed in Seattle on Jan. 27, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 jet takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport under pink skies on Dec. 26, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A brand-new Lion Air Boeing 737 performs a go-around pass over Paine Field, north of Seattle, on Jan. 9, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Three-year-old Julian returns from a holiday trip at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 3, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Smoke trails the main gear of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 as it lands at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Dec. 31, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An unpainted Boeing 737 bound for European low-cost carrier Ryanair takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., during a test flight on Jan. 9, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
One of New York JFK’s newest visitors, a Finnair Airbus A350 jet, lands at the airport on Jan. 16, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Swiss Airlines’ first Boeing 777 climbs into the Pacific Northwest dusk on Jan. 9, 2016 in Mukilteo, Wash. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A small Cessna plane takes off from Snohomish County Airport in Everett, Wash., in January of 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An unpainted Boeing 737 bound for European low-cost carrier Ryanair takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., during a test flight on Jan. 9, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Orange pastels light the early morning sky in New York City as a Delta Connection Bombardier CRJ lands at JFK Airport on Jan. 16, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Completing a journey from South America, a LAN Boeing 787-9 jet lands at New York JFK Airport on Jan. 16, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
JetBlue aircraft operate at New York JFK Airport on Jan. 16, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Alaska Airlines employees practice a dance before the company unveils its latest branding effort in Seattle on Jan. 25, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Alaska Airlines employees pose for a photo with the company’s newest livery, unveiled in Seattle on Jan. 25, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A colorfully painted Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 jet lands at New York JFK Airport in January 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Boeing test pilot Craig Bomben greets employees and media after completing the first Boeing 737 MAX flight in Seattle on Jan. 29, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An Icelandair Cargo Boeing 757 jet lands at New York JFK Airport in January 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A passenger checks flight status boards at New York JFK’s Terminal 5 on Jan. 17, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Multiple jets traverse the taxiways and runways of New York JFK Airport on Jan. 17, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
