If you have ever traveled in or out of New York’s JFK Airport you are likely familiar with the stunning translucent stained-glass wall which stands majestically in American Airlines’ Terminal 8. The structure, which measures 317-feet-by-23-feet was built into the terminal when it opened more than four decades ago. It is an icon for many travelers and for years it has been a designated meeting spot for members of my family (when our trips took us through JFK). Now, I just found out that our family will have to find a new meeting spot.
The New York Times is reporting that the wall will be torn down next spring as part of a $1.1 billion expansion project that will connect all of American Airlines’ operations into a single terminal. For those of you who have never walked by the stained-glass wall en-route to your departure gate you don’t know what you are missing. The structure is massive and is made up of an intricate array of red, sapphire and white glass tiles. The wall is considered by many as a part of the New York landscape and is not only an oasis of beauty in an otherwise stark metropolitan airport it is also functional. As one passenger noted “it allows light into the terminal… while keeping those inside from broiling in the south-facing building.”
The dramatic piece of art, which was once considered the “largest stained-glass installation in the world,” apparently was too costly to save. “It would cost $1 million just to take it down,” an American official told the Times.
American passengers (like me) were not the only ones surprised by the decision to demolish the wall, some of the pilots that fly for the company have said they assumed the wall would be saved. Now we know otherwise. But, there is one bright note for American pilots, while the wall won’t be saved in its entirety, the company has announced that when the terminal is demolished some of the glass from the wall will be used to make key chains for airline employees.