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TWA Flight Center

Transportation Buildings
Swooping Shell Roof

The TWA Flight Center is a building at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, designed by Eero Saarinen and Associates for Trans World Airlines and completed in 1962, when it began four decades of service as an airport terminal. Its main section, the headhouse, was repurposed as part of the TWA Hotel in 2019 and is flanked by two towers added for the hotel, partially surrounded by Terminal 5.

Facts
Building TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Airport Terminal 1
LocationSourced to the subject's own account
Queens, New York, United States 1
Completed Year
1962 2
Classification
Standing StatusSourced to the subject's own account
Standing 1
Building Type
Building Type (category)
Transport Terminal (Airport, Ferry, etc.) 2
Connections

Has Building Type

Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.

In Style

Source TWA Flight Center (Wikipedia)
Source TWA Flight Center (Wikipedia)

Uses Element

Source TWA Flight Center (Wikipedia)
Source TWA Flight Center (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. TWA Flight Center (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead paragraph, on the terminal completion and use
    the building was completed in 1962 and operated as an airport terminal for four decades.
  • Lead paragraph, on the terminal location
    is a building at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, United States.
  • Lead paragraph, on the terminal completion year
    the building was completed in 1962 and operated as an airport terminal for four decades.
  • Entity description and the lead of the Wikipedia article
    The TWA Flight Center is a building at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, designed by Eero Saarinen and Associates for Trans World Airlines and completed in 1962, when it began four decades of service as an airport terminal. Its main section, the headhouse, was repurposed as part of the TWA Hotel in 2019 and is flanked by two towers added for the hotel, partially surrounded by Terminal 5.
  • In Style: Googie Architecture, Architecture section, on the design styles
    The design incorporates elements of the Futurist, Neo-futurist, Googie, and Fantastic architectural styles.
  • In Style: Futurist Architecture, Architecture section, on the design styles
    The design incorporates elements of the Futurist, Neo-futurist, Googie, and Fantastic architectural styles.
  • Uses Element: Glass, Wikipedia article
    The main portion of the headhouse's facade is made of green-tinted glass walls measuring 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) thick and spanning 3,500 square feet (330 m2).
  • Uses Element: Concrete, Wikipedia lead
    The headhouse has a thin shell concrete roof, shaped like a set of bird's wings and supported by four Y-shaped piers.
View the Source
2. Wikidata: TWA Flight Center
  • Wikidata Q29257, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Wikidata Q29257, P571 claim (w-bbfill-artsarchag-0926)
View the Source
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