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By Garland Pollard
What’s one of the most historic airport buildings in the world? There are many, including the former Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia, now the home of the Delta Shuttle.
Delta also has another historic terminal on Long Island with a “way-cool” factor. It is Delta’s Terminal 3, the former Pan American Worldport, at John F. Kennedy International Airport. WorldPort was the trademarked name for the terminal during Pan Am’s ownership. Delta should be commended for keeping these two icons of American history in such great working shape (Editor’s Note: Occasional fix ups through the years have played havoc with the over-capacity Worldport, and it has gotten a bit run down.)
Delta actually operates Terminal 2 (built in 1962 for Braniff, Northeast and Northwest) and 3; there is a connector in between. Above, a Prelinger Archive 1958 film from the Library of Congress; BrandlandUSA found it and thought it would be a great primer for anyone about to go to Delta’s JFK terminal to go overseas.
The terminal was built by Pan Am when the jet age began. It is famous for its four-acre “flying saucer” roof suspended far from the outside columns of the terminal by 32 sets of prestressed steel posts and cables. It was built to allow the parking of aircraft under the overhang; passengers would enter planes from the rear in open Jetways. It was greatly expanded in 1972 when the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet arrived. Recently, Delta has improved the experience there.
The American Institute of Architects Guide to New York City called the terminal a “genuine architectural attempt to answer the problem of all-weather connections to the planes” but derided the overall concept as “compromised by an overabundance of distracting detail.”
It was designed by Ives, Turano & Gardner Associated Architects and Walter Prokosch of Tippets-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton. The zodiac figures across the building’s facade were made by sculptor Milton Hebald, though have been removed by the Port Authority. In 1971 the terminal was expanded to accommodate the large Boeing 747.
Delta Air Lines purchased the WorldPort, which is now known simply as “Terminal 3,” and operates all of its long-haul flights out of JFK to Europe, Asia, Africa and South America from the building.
In March of 2006, Delta announced that it would spend $10 million to renovate Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, including its public spaces, BusinessElite lounge and Crown Room Clubs. It even added a Todd English’s Bonfire Steakhouse to Terminal 2.
In the July 2007 issue of Delta’s Sky magazine, Delta Senior Vice President Joanne Smith remarked on the “distinctive” saucer roof in an article on new flooring, lighting and signage at this “historic airport.” Click on the image at right for a direct link to Delta’s website, with descriptions of services offered at Terminal 3.
9 responses so far ↓
1 New York Now: Discussion // Jul 26, 2009 at 8:25 pm
[...] plans from 1957 for Pan Am’s flying saucer-shaped JFK Terminal 3 (now used by Delta) initially included a whopping nine gate [...]
2 Garland Pollard // Jul 26, 2009 at 8:37 pm
A note From the blog All Ways NY:
http://allwaysny.com/2008/07/27/new-york-now-discussion-4/
David Plavin, consultant and former president, Airports Council International-North America, will discuss the challenges and creative potential for New York’s aviation system with leading airport experts including Richard Smyth, V.P., Jet Blue, who is in charge of the new JFK Jet Blue terminal that incorporates the landmark Eero Saarinen building; Charles Van Cook, P.E., V.P., PB World, who plans airports all over the world; William DeCota, Dir. of Aviation, Port Authority; and Jeff Zupan, Senior Fellow for Transportation, Regional Plan Association. Co-sponsored by the NY Building Congress, and the RPA.
New York Infrastructure: Are New York’s Airports Obsolete?
30 July 2008, 6:30 P.M.
Museum of the City of New York
1220 5th Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 534-1672, ext. 3395
http://www.mcny.org
3 History of National Airlines | BrandlandUSA // Aug 24, 2009 at 8:32 pm
[...] designed by I.M. Pei. (It sits next to the TWA Flight Center (now of JetBlue) and the Pan Am Worldport (now of Delta). No matter what the weather in New York, this Florida “embassy” was warm [...]
4 Pan Am Luggage Keeps Pan Am brand alive | BrandlandUSA // Oct 31, 2009 at 7:31 pm
[...] Delta’s Historic Worldport, Terminal 3 Digg, Reddit, FacebookSubscribeBloglinesBlogmarksDiggdel.icio.usFacebookFurlMa.gnoliaNewsVineRedditStumbleUponTechnoratiOther BrandlandUSA PostsAugust 24, 2009 — National Airlines: The Florida AirlineMarch 20, 2009 — Pan Am Jumbo Jet Hostel, StockholmJanuary 2, 2009 — Great Pre-Castro Cuban BrandsOctober 2, 2008 — Historic Route To JFK, By U.S. Helicopter, for $45August 16, 2008 — Pan Am Lives On And OnSeptember 29, 2007 — Save the 747 Brand [...]
5 New York’s 11 Biggest Missed Tourism Opportunities | BrandlandUSA // Nov 2, 2009 at 9:10 pm
[...] of the airline survive, in the name of the Delta Shuttle terminal at LaGuardia and the Pan Am WorldPort, now Terminal 3. Delta could exploit these branded experiences more, without switching to the Pan [...]
6 Demolition // Feb 25, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Apparently, it is going to be demolished this summer. Better visit Delta’s rat trap before they send it to the dustbin.
7 urbanophil.net – Netzwerk für urbane Kultur » Flughafenarchitektur // May 9, 2010 at 12:21 pm
[...] Schönes Video zum Terminal Wikipedia-Eintrag Google Maps [...]
8 Pan Am // Jun 16, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Apparently it is coming down for sure. Article in the Wall Street Journal this week.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704009804575308543134795762.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
9 URL « Fly the Branded Skies // Aug 5, 2010 at 7:23 pm
[...] days of the Pan Am Worldport at JFK seem to be numbered, but if you’ve flown Delta out of JFK you might not be too sad to [...]
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