From the highway to Broadway! Click through the photos of Connie's historic jaunt to Times Square.
A 220-foot-long billboard proclaims Connie’s love for her future home, the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport, on March 23, 2019.
Lights, camera, airplane! Our 1958 Connie swings by the Times Square site where her eight-story billboard hung from 1955-1960
Start spreading the news: The 1958 Lockheed Constellation “Connie” airplane bound to become a cocktail lounge at the TWA Hotel — the only on-airport hotel at JFK — parked in Times Square at Broadway and 45th Street on Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24.
The fuselage of the fully restored plane, which was disassembled and trucked from Maine in October 2018, rode from JFK Airport on Friday, March 22, to Avenue of the Americas and Canal Street. After spending the night in the city that never sleeps, the fuselage — carried on a trailer by Worldwide Aircraft Recovery, Ltd. — made its way up Avenue of the Americas, through Columbus Circle and down Seventh Avenue before landing at a pedestrian plaza.
Connie’s spin through NYC was filmed for the documentary The Rebirth of the TWA Flight Center helmed by Peter Rosen, director of 2016’s Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future. Suite Spot, an NYC production company, captured the move from land and air. Chronicling the transformation of architect Saarinen’s landmark 1962 TWA terminal into the TWA Hotel, the documentary also traces the history of the building, which was designed around the Connie airplane.
The Connie billboard lit up Times Square at Broadway and West 43rd Street in 1959; photo by Ken Peacock.
Connie flew into JFK (then named Idlewild) while it was in service as a Trans World Airlines passenger plane. The 116-foot-long plane with a 150-foot wingspan was so special to TWA that, in 1955, the airline erected an eight-story billboard of the Constellation in Times Square on Broadway and 43rd Street. In addition to a two-fifths scale Connie model with a working propeller, the billboard had 20,000 lightbulbs and 50 miles of electrical wiring for a total electrical load of ½ million watts!
The plane’s fuselage returned to JFK Airport in the early hours of Monday, March 25. Connie then began her final makeover into a cocktail lounge on the tarmac outside the TWA Hotel.
Connie's Wild Weekend
Homeward bound! Connie crosses the Manhattan Bridge on her way back to JFK on March 25, 2019.
The city never sleeps — and neither does Connie on March 24, 2019.
Connie enjoys her final night in Times Square on March 24, 2019.
A true New York icon: Connie basks in the lights of Times Square on March 24, 2019.
It doesn’t get more Times Square than this! The Naked Cowboy photobombs Connie on March 24, 2019.
Like many New Yorkers, Connie flouted a no-parking sign in Times Square — and landed herself a (faux) ticket on March 24, 2019.
Crowds flocked to see Connie on March 24, 2019.
An actress in a vintage TWA flight attendant uniform educates a passerby about Connie’s storied history on March 24, 2019.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (center) with CEO and Managing Partner of MCR and MORSE Development Tyler Morse (left) and New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council President Peter Ward (right) on March 23, 2019.
“We’re celebrating what this means not only to New York City in general, but to the people of Queens who are going to have all these great new jobs,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (center) of the TWA Hotel on March 23, 2019.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (left) takes the controls in Connie’s cockpit with CEO and Managing Partner of MCR and MORSE Development Tyler Morse on March 23, 2019.
Thumbs up! New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hops aboard Connie on March 23, 2019.
Connie can’t wait to become a cocktail lounge at JFK Airport, as this billboard attests on March 23, 2019.
What’s a trip to Times Square without a run-in with the infamous Naked Cowboy? The NYC mainstay poses with Connie on March 23, 2019.
She’s bound for Queens eventually, but Connie enjoys a Saturday in Times Square on March 23, 2019.
The TWA Hotel is inspired by 1962 — the year the landmark TWA terminal first opened — as Connie’s billboard references on March 23, 1019.
Connie’s captain! Tyler Morse, CEO and Managing Partner of MCR and MORSE Development, stands alongside the fully restored plane on March 23, 2019.
Two for the road: Tyler Morse, CEO and Managing Partner of MCR and MORSE Development, and Marty Batura of Worldwide Aircraft Recovery, Ltd, on March 23, 2019.
Connie’s billboard flashed TWA’s famous slogan — Up Up & Away — on March 23, 2019.
Does this plane stop on Sesame Street? Elmo visits Connie on March 23, 2019.
Connie’s crew — dressed in authentic vintage TWA uniforms — greet the Times Square crowds on March 23, 2019.
Connie’s 220-foot-long billboard lit up Times Square for five minutes on March 23, 2019.
The 116-foot-long Connie plane stretches out in Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Bound for greatness: Connie will soon become a cocktail lounge at the TWA Hotel, opening May 15, 2019.
Connie’s final home is the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport — but she enjoys Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Good morning, NYC! Connie lands in Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Connie rolls up Sixth Avenue on March 23, 2019.
Future Rockette? Connie approaches Radio City Music Hall on March 23, 2019.
Connie cruises by Columbus Circle on her way to Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Connie makes a Central Park cameo on March 23, 2019.
Bird’s-eye view! A helicopter captured this shot of Connie rolling up Avenue of the Americas on her way to Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Oversize load, indeed! Connie and her NYPD escort venture up the Avenue of the Americas on March 23, 2019.
A dedicated team of NYPD Highway officers poses with Connie before escorting her to Times Square on March 23, 2019.
New York’s finest! A team of 75 NYPD officers escorted Connie to Times Square on March 23, 2019.
Nothing’s going to stop her now: Connie crosses the Bowery on March 22, 2019.
Nose first! Connie heads into Manhattan on March 22, 2019.
Bridging the distance! Connie crosses the Koscuiuszko Bridge from Queens to Brooklyn on March 22, 2019.
Can you spot the Connie? The 1958 propliner makes her way out of JFK Airport on March 22, 2019.
Coming Home to JFK
Fly, girl! On April 9, Connie N8083H is hoisted into the same spot at the TWA terminal where she parked in 1962, when JFK was named Idlewild Airport.
Bay Crane's heavy machinery gingerly lift Connie's fuselage onto the tarmac behind the TWA Hotel.
Careful now! The L-1649A fuselage slowly glides toward its wings already in place on the tarmac.
A ground team guides the precious propliner with ropes and extreme concentration.
Reunited, and it feels so good! Connie prepares to regain her 150-foot wingspan.
A perfect fit: The Starliner lands back home at JFK for a night of beauty rest before she morphs into a cocktail lounge. Only 36 days till the hotel opening!
Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force.
Meet TWA Hotel's Connie Plane
The 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane has a glamorous past.
Connie Becomes a Cocktail Lounge
A meticulous renovation restores Connie to her glory days.
Connie's Epic Road Trip
See photos and video of the plane’s journey to JFK.