Photo: PANYNJ
Atrium Features Richard Lippold’s Iconic Orpheus and Apollo Sculpture After Relocation from Lincoln Center
New Business & Conference Center with Meetings Rooms and New Concessions at LaGuardia Airport Will Be Important Addition to Concessions Program and to Business Travelers
Located Adjacent to Departures Level of LaGuardia’s Award-Winning Terminal B, Latest Addition to Airport Opens to Public on Thursday, Oct. 19
New Atrium Offers Panoramic Views of Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport Airfield
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced the completion of the new Atrium Business & Conference Center at LaGuardia Airport. The center will open to the public on Thursday, Oct. 19, and will include conference rooms, business center services and several new lounges. Floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the center reveal sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline and the airport’s runways. The Atrium Business & Conference Center will be programmed and operated by MCR, the award-winning hotelier that operates the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
On display to the public for the first time in nearly 10 years will be Richard Lippold’s world-renowned sculpture, Orpheus and Apollo. The sculpture was originally displayed in the Grand Promenade at Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall, where it hung from 1962 until 2014, when it was removed during the reconstruction of what is now David Geffen Hall. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Port Authority worked together to restore Orpheus and Apollo and facilitate its installation at LaGuardia Airport, where it joins the airport’s collection of public artworks that create a unique sense of place for travelers.
“Rather than being stored away in crates for an indeterminable amount of time, Richard Lippold’s wonderous sculpture has been fully restored and will now make its second debut at LaGuardia Airport, where it will be seen by millions,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “In a region known as the art capital of the world, Orpheus and Apollo will provide a fitting welcome to visitors from around the nation.”
The Atrium Business & Conference Center at LaGuardia will further enhance the world-class travel experience created by the successful $8 billion transformation of LaGuardia Airport, which is the region’s premier destination for business travelers. Nearly 30 percent of travelers using LaGuardia identified as business travelers in 2019. That number has steadily increased since the precipitous decline caused by COVID-19 in 2020, reaching 25.5 percent in 2022. The new center will allow business travelers to conduct meetings and attend conferences at the airport, an increasingly popular function at airports around the world including the MCR operated TWA Hotel at JFK. Since opening in May 2019, the TWA Hotel has hosted 10,000 events, ranging from large holiday parties to small board meetings.
About the LaGuardia Redevelopment Project
In 2015, a comprehensive plan to construct a whole new LaGuardia Airport was unveiled with the goal of creating a world-class, 21st century passenger experience featuring modern customer amenities, state-of-the-art architecture, more spacious gate areas and a unified terminal system. The $8 billion project, two-thirds of which is funded through private financing and existing passenger fees, broke ground in 2016 and was substantially completed in 2022.
In December 2018, the first 18 new gates and the first new concourse in Terminal B opened. In June 2020, the soaring new 1.3 million-square-foot arrivals and departures hall at Terminal B opened its doors. Terminal B, with 35 gates, has since won awards as best new airport terminal in the world, including the Prix Versailles from UNESCO and Skytrax, which also gave the terminal the first 5-star rating in the nation. In November 2019, the first new concourse and gates at the new Terminal C opened. In June 2022, Delta Air Lines’ new 1.3 million-square-foot Terminal C opened, which features 37 gates across four new or transformed concourses, world-class amenities, state-of-the-art technology and inspiring public art.
About MCR
Founded in 2006, MCR is the third-largest hotel owner-operator in the United States with a $5 billion portfolio of 150 premium-branded hotels, including the TWA Hotel at JFK. At the TWA Hotel, MCR oversees a 50,000-square-foot event center that hosts social and corporate events for up to 1,600 people. Since opening in May 2019, the TWA Hotel has hosted 10,000 events, ranging from large holiday parties to small board meetings. For the TWA Hotel, MCR won the Development of the Year (Full Service) Award at The Americas Lodging Investment Summit, the Urban Land Institute New York Excellence in Hotel Development Award and the American Institute of Architects national Architecture Award, the highest honor given by the AIA. MCR has been named one of Fast Company’s 10 Most Innovative Travel Companies.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency that builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. For over a century, the agency’s network of major airports; critical bridges, tunnels and bus terminals; a commuter rail line; and the busiest seaport on the East Coast has been among the most vital in the country – transporting hundreds of millions of people and moving essential goods into and out of the region. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, which today welcomes tens of thousands of office workers and millions of annual visitors. The agency’s historic $37 billion 10-year capital plan includes unprecedented transformation of the region’s three major airports – LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK – as well as an array of other new and upgraded assets, including the $2 billion renovation of the 90-year-old George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority’s annual budget of $8 billion includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information, visit www.panynj.gov or check out the Now Arriving blog.
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