The Sundrome, later TWA Domestic Terminal and Terminal 6, was one of several terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was designed by I. M. Pei & Partners (now

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.

). Opened in 1969, it was initially used by National Airlines. It had been occupied at various times by

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(domestic flights),

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

(SFO and LAX transcontinental flights),

ATA Airlines ATA Airlines, Inc. – formerly known as American Trans Air and commonly referred to as ATA – was a United States low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights ...

, Pan American Airways (1996–1998), Carnival Airlines, Vanguard Airlines, and

America West Airlines America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Ameri ...

. Most recently, from 1998 to 2008, Terminal 6 was the home of

JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York ...

. It became vacant on October 22, 2008, when JetBlue moved to Terminal 5, and finally demolished in 2011.

Design

I.M. Pei, in his design of the Sundrome, used all-glass

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s, unprecedented at the time.

History

Prior to the construction of the Sundrome, National Airlines used a corrugated metal quonset hut as a terminal located between the eventual location of the Sundrome and Terminal 7 from 1948, when the airline first provided air service from Idlewild Airport, as it was then known. National Airlines commissioned the construction of the Sundrome, which opened on November 30, 1969. National Airlines used the Sundrome until its acquisition by Pan American World Airways in 1980.

then expanded into the terminal, referring to it as the TWA Terminal Annex, later called TWA Domestic Terminal, then Terminal 6. It was eventually connected to the

TWA Flight Center The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...

(later called TWA International Terminal and subsequently called Terminal 5; now partially preserved as the TWA Hotel). The connection was by a landslide plywood walkway that was interrupted by a terminal driveway. Later, after TWA reduced flights at the airport, the terminal was used by

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

, a reincarnated Pan American Airways (1996-1998), Carnival Air Lines, Vanguard Airlines, and

. In 2001,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

planned to redevelop this terminal and the TWA Flight Center as a new United terminal. On April 29, 2010, the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

announced that Terminal 6 would be demolished to allow JetBlue to consolidate its operations at an expanded Terminal 5. Despite an effort by preservationists to protect the building, demolition of the entire terminal was completed as planned in October 2011. The former Terminal 6 site was then used to expand the current Terminal 5 to include international facilities.

References

External links

New York Architectural Advocacy Group DoCoMoMo's History of Sundrome, Summer, 2003National Airlines Sundowner former flight attendant website, with zippy "Watch us Shine" ad jingle
{{coord, 40.647951, -73.7794, type:landmark_region:US, display=title Transport infrastructure completed in 1970 Aviation in New York City John F. Kennedy International Airport Transportation buildings and structures in Queens, New York National Airlines (1934–1980) Airport terminals Demolished buildings and structures in Queens, New York 1970 establishments in New York (state)