What Happened To Pan Am’s Worldport at New York-JFK?
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- Опубликовано: 15 янв 2021
- For those of us that can remember flying from Pan American’s famous Worldport at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), it will always be a symbol of aviation’s golden age.
In 1955 the airport operator The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (known as Idlewild Airports at the time) had a master plan to include several terminals built around a central area that could all be served by a looping access road. At the time, Pan American Airways was considered a leader in international air journeys and wanted to make a statement about its lofty aspirations with a state-of-the-art terminal building.
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Pan Am Boeing 707 1959 • VHS-Rip Pan Am Boeing ...
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I worked there before it was built. Then until my retirement in 1989. Was there when the Beatles arrived next door at the IAB . Watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon on a t.v in the maintenance area. Suffered thru the 1978 blizzard there. Saw many famous people during my time there. 34 year with Pan Am it was a good job.
Hi Bil. Did you know my Uncle Pete Roseen? He was there from 59 to 89 in customer service!
I was a Pan Am flight attendant based at JFK from 1980 to 1989. It broke my heart when they demolished the "saucer". I felt that it should have been preserved, if only in part along with the zodiac sculptures that were on the outside of the terminal. In my dreams I still walk those hallways on my way to my gate to board one of Pan Am's 747's, the Queen of the skies. Wonderful memories that will live on in the hearts and minds of all former Pan Am employees and anyone who flew out of JFK.
I practically grew up in the Pan Am World Port. My father was a maintenance supervisor then zone supervisor for Pan Am from 1962 until 1991 (and then with Delta until 2006) at JFK. I have lots of great memories of journeys begun and ended in that terminal. Most of the beginnings were exciting not only because we were getting on an airplane to go somewhere, but also because of flying stand-by and wondering if we would get on the aircraft, and if we got on, would we get first class. Fun times.
My dad was a pilot at PAA and I remember fondly going on trips out of the Worldport. It was a magical feeling flying on Pan American. Flying today is nowhere close to the same.
Flying today is abysmal.......
Your dad was a racist
@@keithbrown8814 tell that to Air Korea or Emirates.
@@jeibal02
up troll
The old TWA terminal still exists as a hotel that serves as a tourist destination for people not even using the airport.
I agree ☝️
it does?
@@recoswell yes! It’s a hotel now with great views of the airport! I went there around a year ago, and its an Avgeek dream!
@@alpineaviation It is a great place. As you say, an Avgeek’s dream!
TWA Hotel brings memories of the old TWA terminal and they have nice and comfortable rooms for an overnight or day use at JFK. I spent the night one week ago and it was nice not having to wait for the hotel shuttle in the cold, as for the other hotels near JFK...
TWA hotel could be reached thru the Air Train and a short walk.
Thank you for doing a feature on the Pan Am Worldport. I had the good fortune of flying out of JFK Terminal 3, as it was last known, a few times in it's final years. I was heartbroken that Delta Airlines decided to demolish rather than restore and preserve it the way the TWA Flight Center was.
As a young boy, any family member who flew off to the Caribbean flew on Pan Am. I was fascinated by their terminal. Then, when I got the chance to fly out of there, on my own (as an unaccompanied minor) my excitement could not be contained. After that trip, the Pan Am terminal became my cathedral. I would take 2 trains and a bus to go out to the airport and just explore and study the terminal. Quite honestly, I can still hear the whir of the 707 engines as I watched people walk down the entry ramp. My fantasy was to, one day take Pan Am’s flight #1. It was their round the world flight. (I could kill myself for not holding into their flight schedule book.) Pan Am was everything!!
I passed through that terminal on connecting Pan-Am flights to the USA. It was one of the coolest terminals I saw as a kid. The biggest drawback to the Worldport terminal was the long overhang of the roof blocked the view of departing or landing planes. In my opinion, it was surpassed in the 70s by Charles de Gaule in Paris. Growing up, and even to this day, airports are my favorite places to be; the busier, the better! Great video and great memories! By the way, my first 747 flight in 1971 was from Rio to New York. I'll never forget coming into JFK early in the morning and seeing 747s from at around a dozen countries there.
It seems I’m the only one who has been to the Pan Am terminal. It was 1960 and I was very impressed.
Lucky you! How was the occasion, and where were you going?
I have been there also flew Sto Fra Nyc Mia Lax Hnl Tyo etc etc even been working for the company
Wow 😮 it’ would be so fun. Actually in the 70 s me and my parents wanted to visit New York from Delhi on a Pan American Airways 747 but then I didn’t go because my grandma 👵 was not well .
Flew in and out there many times in the 1980’s.
I have used the worldport terminal, Flying pan am and remember its impresive architecture!
My grandfather used to take me as a kid to tour around the basement to where he worked at in janitorial and got to see the confiscated items room. Also remember walking alone to terminal 2 and getting to know everybody there. The 90's as a kid hits different back then.
Edit: Thanks for bringing back memories that I forgot I had.
The flying saucer !
I worked there with Delta Airlines in the late nineties. I have beautiful memories working there with my wife. It was very sad seeing this terminal getting demolished.
I was a PAA flight attendant from 78-83 and based at JFK. I remember the old Worldport fondly including the many celebrities who passed through there.
I was 11 in the winter of 1991. My grandfather took us to JFK to look at the planes and walk the terminals which you could still do back then. I remember seeing several snow covered PanAm 727s parked under the saucer and an Air France Concorde further away.
A few years later in 1995 I flew on a Delta 767 to Rome from the World Port. It was my first flight outside the country.
In 2010, as a pilot for Delta Connection I was based out of Terminal 2/3. I remember eating lunch in the employee cafeteria in the basement. It was very “industrial” down there. I would walk through the terminal and think about the history of that building. It was starting to show its age. The Delta Tel Aviv flight was the only 747 still flying from the WorldPort.
In 2013 I was a 747 cargo pilot based in JFK and I hailed a taxi to take me to my hotel. We drove past the WorldPort and the roof was being demolished. It was hard not to shed a tear.
Thank you for sharing this!
As a kid I have wonderful memories in the 60s taking a bus to JFK after school in the summers and watching the activities from a corner of the parking lot on top of the WP with my little Realistic radio with aircraft band. It a tremendous 360 viewing platform. I still miss that so much, I guess never to be able to have those spots at Kennedy ever again.
Wow. Me too! Used to beg my dad to take me there. So much fun.
I had the same radio!
You can still do rooftop viewing of flights at the TWA hotel... There is a bar and heated pool too!
emm... i feel that the background music is too loud.
I too felt that
yep
didn't feel it haha
Agreed
Yeah I came here to see if it was just me. It was distracting to the great content in the commentary
Been here since 10K subs now this channel is growing more awesome everyday
Was a crime to demolish the World Port. It was such an iconic Building. Would be nice to see more videos about airport history. Would like to see one about TPA and the old ATL terminal.
You really need to reduce the volume of the background music. That was what I could hear more.
I very clearly remember seeing the first Pan Am 747 at this terminal in the winter of 1970! It was a shockingly huge airplane that challenged most people's conception that such a large object could actually fly!!!
1st generation 747 was a beautiful aircraft!!!!
The first time I used this terminal was June 1972 when I flew out on PA flight 002 to LHR. I was fascinated by the arrival/departure board and all the exotic places listed. The second time was June 1974 when I flew to NBO via Monrovia, Accra, Lagos, and finally Nairobi. This was a Peace Corps flight. After that I flew in and out several times, but these flight were "routine".
I came into this terminal in 1968 as a 20 month old baby. When I was adopted from Italy. God bless America.
Vito!
I fell in love with aviation because of this terminal
It and the TWA terminals were the golden age.
Atleast the TWA flight center survived and is now probably the most unique airport hotel. The worldport would've probably also become a hotel if it survived.
It was probably too valuable land to preserve as a hotel, they needed the space for terminal gates.
The TWA terminal was designated a landmark, the Worldport never was. That's why the TWA terminal is still standing and Delta was able to take down the Worldport.
I went into this terminal as an UM(unaccompanied minor) in December of 1975 to board a PA 747 to Frankfurt. The flight went on around the world. The elegance of the passengers was impressive and the terminal quite exotic and the highlight was to be at the gate and look at the nose of that 747 with the eyes of a child and a PanAm employee watching over you. And then...first to board! Years later it was still wonderful, but after 9/11 it became overcrowded due to the TSA and mass air travel.
While I am sure it offered the best flying experience in it’s heyday, by 1989 that building was in disrepair, as well as the airline. I recall making a connection to Boston there. I was excited to fly on Pan Am for the first time, then disappointed by the reality of the flight as well as the building. Sadly they did not adapt.
Interesting news.
United will be building its own new terminal where the Pan Am terminal was!
@simpleflying: If you have not yet done a video like this one about it, please do a video about the futuristic TWA terminal at JFK too. Thanks.
Nice vid the terminal looks cool !
It's sad it Is been demolished.
Now i get it! I don’t live in the States and i have been re-watching the “Pan Am” tv series recently when i noticed how the 707s would park under this disk shaped terminal roof. So the Worldport was prominently displayed in the series! I guess it was all CGI but all the 707s taxiing in the background were very convincing. I really enjoeyd the series, very nostalgic (though i was born in 1971), such a let down that a 2nd series didn’t follow 😢
Please do a video on PAN AM fleet!
1962. 14 years old. Blown away (figuratively) by the air doors. To Rome and then Tehran on Pan Am 707s. And from there to Kabul, Afghanistan on a beat up unpressurized DC4 also operated by Pan Am.
Do you have a video of TWA's terminal by Eero Saarinen?
I flew Pan Am to London out of the World Port in 1989. By that time, it was sadly worn and shabby. Pan Am was heading toward bankruptcy and couldn't maintain its terminals.
So sad!
I can remember Pan Am Worldport vividly from that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It might not quite have been TWA terminal iconic, but I really wish they would have saved this building as well.
Loved the roof top parking lot. I would beg my family to stay there for hours.
The greatest part of the Pan Am terminal was the rooftop parking which gave a great view of departures from runway 13R. Every aviation lover who lived near JFK spent time on that rooftop until the fence went up and then closed.
My Dad took us to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the late 1960s to watch planes take off and land...you could get up close in those days before "terrorism" (sadly). My Dad loved it , we mostly were bored..too young to appreciate these great adventures.....air travel was great back then!
Nothing dates faster than avant garde. Reminds me of CDG1, Froggy's answer to Disneyland.
As a european, it seems american feel unfathomable nostalgic as soon Pan Am is discussed....
It was the closest thing the we had to a flag carrier. It was already in decline by the time I was born, but it still had an iconic reputation.
I'm from the UK, have never been to the US and was born almost 9 years after Pan Am went under and even i feel a weird sense of nostalgia for it lol
Because Pan Am was an icon from the glamor days of flight...killed off by terrorism.
From the days when flight was an adventure...not an ordeal.
@@charlesharper2357 I would love to go back in time and fly PanAm's China Clipper to Asia. That was truly an adventure!
@@johnsymonstcu
And something very few other people had done.
My aunt was a stewardess for 23 years for Pan-AM retired in the 80's.
So when Delta calls something a facelift, it really means bringing it down. Hopefully they never announce a facelift of one their planes in mid air. ;-))
Delta is the worst. They drive the final nail into pan ams coffin.
They also let the world port go to seed.
My dad worked for pan am for over 45 yrs 1 st out of kenn
Jfk n then orlando n he was a line crew n a macanic n a n he went down to orlando to run the hydrolic shop n he was a good macnic n i rember traveling in n out of jfk n pan am waa a family we had a good life n a good time traveling n i miss pan am n i hope the mem of pan am lives on n i love pan am n miss it very much my dad had 3 macanics lice an e n wheel n brakes hydroluc n weught n balncr n he waa in the line crew n all the shops n he started cleaning the planes he use to fuel them n fix the planes n he was a too knotch n i mias him n pan american so i have good mem
I visited this terminal in 1998 flying with Delta Airlines.
The Clipper Club was really nice and convenient to the gates in the mid 70’s.
Where do u guys get all these airlines stock footage? I can’t anything economical viable
It was built for a very different time, made obsolete soon after it was finished.
A very different era.....!
I never flew into this space during the PanAm days, but going in and out of it in late '00s and '10s, it was pretty abysmal. As an architect, I wish it could have been preserved. At the very least, the rotunda section warranted consideration. But it dark, and the stacked shops, bathrooms and lounges in the middle of the space detracted from the open architecture; the needs of 60s passengers and those of today were in conflict. I can see why it was demolished as it simply didn't work in meeting the needs of today's passengers or planes, but with Delta's split between T2 and T4, I wonder if this could not have been a grand check-in space somehow, or kept as an icon of the golden era of travel.
What an atrocity to lose it.
My uncle flew for both Pan Am and Delta. He said delta was always a huge rival and delta hated Pan Am with a passion. Once world port was sold and delta bought up what was left, delta slapped their name on the side and refused to let pan am be rebranded. And then went on to destroy world port as one final kick in the balls to the former company. Delta even to this very day hates Pan Am
I have used the worldpirt terminal flying with pan am a pleasant terminal, its been demolished but there is terminal one at Heathrow awaiting demolition, and maybe eventually terminal three there as well, the trouble is airports are constantly evolving not really museum pieces!
I remembered searching up pics of JFk in the 60s saw the terminal in pics but by 2010 it disappeard always wanted to know what happend to it thx for doing the vid
Never saw this place with my own eyes. It sounds to me like it was a grand concept for it's time, but eventually became obsolete as air traffic grew, unable to keep up with demand or meet the needs of current operations. The building itself probably decayed over time, buildings (and everything else) are designed with a finite life in mind, it is usually possible to maintain things beyond that but expenses rapidly climb, at which point it's more economical to tear down and rebuild. Thus it simply outlived it's usefulness.
I flew out of it a number of times in its final years. It was worth restoration and preservation in my opinion, but Delta didn't feel the same.
Went through there on a flight i took to Rome Italy 1981
Does anyone know what happened to the art fixture out front? Also, how did the cars get around the round building to the extension building?
Back in 1966 my family and I took the helicopter from the Pan Am building out to JFK for our flight to Milan. I eventually came back to the States, in 1968, from Rome on Pan Am by myself as my family had returned before me as I had to finish up my semester at my boarding school, Notre Dame International.
I flew through that terminal in 1966, Pan Am NY to London.
I have several Pan AM flight schedules which I need to see if i have one with the World Port but I do have one with Pan AM tails at the gate with the World Trade Center in the background.
Not to nitpick, but the footage at 2:10 on this video is Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, before the remodel.
I’m surprised they protected The TWA terminal and Hotel but yet demolished Pan Am terminal. They could kept the shell and do an interior or exterior upgrade.
They learned that lesson and tore it down FAST, before anyone could try to save it .
I remember walking up the curved staircase " to no where".
bruh i can't hear what he's saying bc of the music lmao
I've commenting about irregularity level of their videos' sounds and it keeps happening. smh
Use subtitle
I feel like they could make a restaurant or lounge with some of the saucer design features to pay homage.
I used to work for Delta airlines at JFK Airport and I loved that old terminal. The only remaining building from that time era is terminal 2 . Which is a much smaller building and was the home of Eastern Airlines.. iconic architecture and great historical experience
Eastern was in Terminal 1, dearie.
Terminal 2 was Northwest, Northeast, and Braniff.
I stand corrected . Thanks for letting us know
I remember spending a whole many hours on transit in it and it was not a good experience. The space was very limited for the number of people waiting to catch a flight, and the structure itself was cold and heartless.
They tore it down and made Terminal 4, which is much worse!! You walk for miles, food outlets are too few and fantastically overpriced.
Still not enough seating.
You walk more just in the jetways!
@@kitsiewr So sad to hear it. It was a very impressive structure, in spite of everything I said.
Had a professor who was a Nypd at the time saw the Beatles get off the 707.
Please make a video about the death of the CRJ series
With My Parent's To London,England In The Fabulous 60's
Why don’t you do a video about the old twa terminal that’s now a hotel at jfk
I’m going to catch flak for this, but that was the biggest dump of a terminal one could imagine. Security and boarding was like being herded like cattle, the baggage claim looked like a basement and was also cramped, and nothing at all flowed properly through the building. The one fun thing was the rooftop parking and a great view of the apron and runways. It was a neat idea for late 50’s and early 60’s operations, but it was outgrown quickly.
I worked in the baggage room at that terminal after Delta airlines took over ...1993-96
That roof must have been tremendously strong, imagine the torque created by a huge load of snow.
the cables would carry a significant proportion of the load
You mean "moment arm" not "torque"....
I can't believe they demolished and at the same time, I can. I flew into it in the mid-1970s. Talk about futuristic. It was like debarking on a spaceport or something like that. What I remember most from that time was how nice the staff was and elegant.
U mean 1970
@@Lee247Jamaica LOL, yeah I'm a time traveler and very fluent in typonese! You spotted it, thanks.
I'm sorry to whoever is doing these videos but audio mixing is abysmal. The music at times completely drowns out the narrator. It's really bad.
Agreed
I still remember our family's trip to Tokyo in 1971 beginning at the Worldport. I remember walking through the terminal and later waiting in a lounge before boarding our 707. I also remember another visit and watching the 747 park very close to the window! My last trip was just a few years ago on Delta, and it was very depressing to see how they intentionally let the terminal become dilapidated.
Okay, now that is just a complete shame. It definitely should’ve been put on the preservation list.
Never forgiven Delta for forcing us to close, Dec 4 1991, and then demolishing the Worldport. Have refused to fly Delta ever since.
You're spared the misery of Terminal 4 - be grateful!
Though it was overcrowded and needed repair, Pan Am's Worldport was still better. Delta wanted to erase any memory of Pan Am.
My old office
Knowing pan am the roof would be strong enough to take a future vertical take off airliner they were ahead of the game in lots of ways ,yet at Heathrow the had a basic hanger next to the southern perimeter road near where T4 now is remember the 707 and first 747 parked there when I was a child
First like
Well at Delhi airport before 2005 at Terminal 1 there was an international terminal which was T - 1 d and a terminal used for only air India 🇮🇳 flights ✈️. But then all the buildings collapsed and then Terminal 1 was only used for low cost carriers 🛩
For those of you that are wondering why there is no Terminal 3 at JFK Airport, here is your answer. This was Terminal 3.
Sad end to such an ambitious project.
Why is it whenever I think about PanAm I think fatal crash?
Here before 2k views button
Please make a story about the antonov an-900 that was never built and it's 9x times bigger than the antonov an-225
2:58 And thats why i will never fly on delta ever
The model shows the planes backwards.
Music a little too loud over the voice. Drop it a smidge.
CANT HEAAR A DAMN THING, BACKGORUND IS TO DISTRUBING !!!!
I have flown in and out of La Guardia. Never JFK. Do a piece on Tom Bradley LAX International
That would be cool being that it just finished a remod a couple of years ago
The volume of the music is to loud, music has to be 15% and the voice vol 100%
Turn the backing music down.
Annoying background music. You don’t need music at all. It is very annoying, distracting and unnecessary
Anything in that city is ruined by the rude people
I never been to NY nor JFK. But it saddens me when I see majestic architecture get demolished. If the building wasn't being used anymore I get it, but I'm sure Delta has plenty of flights out of JFK. What was/is being built in it's place?
Delta occupies Terminals 4 and 2 (former Northwest Orient terminal), leaving the space where the Worldport (terminal 3) was basically just a parking lot for planes. Plans are now in works to replace terminals 1 & 2 with a massive new terminal that will also extend to the terminal 3 space.
@@brmnyc oh ok, excellent! I'm glad to hear the space will be utilized.
Remember flying out from that terminal in 2008. It felt the whole terminal was neglected and left to rot
That's exactly what they did.
That's exactly why they let it go - "benign neglect" until they could say it was too late.p
funny terminal
Ever noticed how The country Panama contains the words *Panam* a
Why do Americans always demolish buildings (especially historical and/or uniquely designed ones) ??? ;((