Some will almost certainly disagree with me, but New York has never been a place of pilgrimage for architects. It doesn’t have the gravity of Burnham-era Chicago, for example, or that of mid-century Los Angeles. If anything, New York is a city for urbanists – it’s the most interesting when it’s approached as a self-aware organism.

But this weekend, one of New York’s truly seminal architectural icons — closed for decades, and near-lost — will open to the public for three hours as part of Open House New York. Keep reading.

Eero Saarinen was 51 when he passed away, a year before his TWA Terminal opened. It’s uniformly considered one of his masterpieces, despite its long hibernation after being decommissioned due to its diminutive size, which rendered it unusable in the age of the jumbo jet. It stood shuttered for three decades, until the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with architects Beyer Blinder Belle, proposed that the Terminal be reappropriated as an entranceway to a boutique hotel. Their renovation is ongoing (apparently, it’s about 10% complete), and the architects will be on hand this weekend to answer questions about the project.

Sunday’s 3-hour open house is free, and open to the public, from 1pm-4pm. Visit OHNY’s blog for more information. See you there.

Photograph: Ezra Stoller © Esto.

Photograph: Ezra Stoller © Esto.

by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

posted in Events

tagged eero saarinen, Events, new york, open house new york, twa terminal

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