Thank you for a wonderful remembrance Jeff. I recall the old TWA terminal well, having first toured it as a first grader in 1970 on a school trip to JFK Airport. It is a shame how charmless and utilitarian the airport has become. When I returned earlier this month from Israel, I was struck by how passport control had devolved into a space with all the personality and warmth of a welfare office. I could only wonder what foreign travelers must think of the United States when they arrive at JFK. They probably think that our country has become a dystopian nightmare where faceless bureaucrats are charged with greeting visitors and returning citizens like unwanted guests at a funeral.
Hi Fred, thanks, as always, for your comments. When they were building the JetBlue terminal I was terrified that they we’re going tear the Saarenin building down in a reenactment of the Penn Station debacle.
The point of entry seems designed to either diminish the joy of one’s travels or the excitement of having arrived at the greatest city in the world. Invariably I ask myself. “ is this the best we can do”?
Thank you for a wonderful remembrance Jeff. I recall the old TWA terminal well, having first toured it as a first grader in 1970 on a school trip to JFK Airport. It is a shame how charmless and utilitarian the airport has become. When I returned earlier this month from Israel, I was struck by how passport control had devolved into a space with all the personality and warmth of a welfare office. I could only wonder what foreign travelers must think of the United States when they arrive at JFK. They probably think that our country has become a dystopian nightmare where faceless bureaucrats are charged with greeting visitors and returning citizens like unwanted guests at a funeral.
Hi Fred, thanks, as always, for your comments. When they were building the JetBlue terminal I was terrified that they we’re going tear the Saarenin building down in a reenactment of the Penn Station debacle.
The point of entry seems designed to either diminish the joy of one’s travels or the excitement of having arrived at the greatest city in the world. Invariably I ask myself. “ is this the best we can do”?
More often than not the answer is:”apparently so”