One of the most famous airport terminals in the world is about to become a swanky hotel

Max Touhey

The TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport in New York.

The Trans World Airlines Flight Center at JFK International Airport is one of the most famous terminals buildings in the world. With its instantly recognizable lines, the Eero Saarinen designed building has been a New York landmark since 1962.

However, with TWA's demise in 2001, the terminal has sat abandoned for the past decade and a half. Now, the iconic structure is getting a new lease on life as an airport hotel. MCR Development, the hotel investment firm behind the terminal's revival, plans to restore the build to its original state while adding a 505-room hotel.

"The passion for this incredible building and the outpouring of support for our plan to preserve Saarinen's masterpiece and permanently reopen it to the public as a 500-room hotel has been astounding," MCR Development CEO Tyler Morse said in a statement.

The TWA Hotel project has the support of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

"The conversion of the TWA Flight Center into a new state-of-the-art hotel will preserve this iconic landmark while cementing JFK's status as a crown jewel of aviation," The Governor said during the hotel's groundbreaking last year.

According to MCR, the project is privately funded with no government subsidies.

The hotel is slated to open in 2019. Here's a closer look at the building, and some renderings of what it'll look like once the hotel is built: