The famous winged TWA terminal at New York�s John F. Kennedy Airport came out of its decades-long retirement Wednesday with a new life as a luxury hotel.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo was on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the $268 million project.

He said he remembers seeing the terminal as a Queens boy �and saying, �Wow! Wow! It was ahead of its time and it was New York�s vision and creativity and boldness, and outside of the box thinking that made New York, New York.��

The Finnish architect Eero Saarinen didn�t have a hotel in mind when he designed the futuristic structure that opened in 1962.

Those were the heady jet-age days of the first space flights and President John F. Kennedy�s promise of a moon landing.

Developer Tyler Morse hopes the proximity to the tarmac will draw travelers who don�t want to fight nightmarish city traffic to catch their flights.

Beyond today�s practical concerns lies a half-century-old dream.

�This TWA Flight Center was built as a cathedral to aviation,� Morse said.

The history of TWA and its era will be on display in the 200,000-square-foot curving lobby that has no right angles, like the rest of the building, and is in TWA�s red and white colors.

Hotel rooms are in an attached building.

The 512 rooms, starting at about $250 a night, have thick, noise-dampening windows near JFK�s Terminal 5 in view of planes taking off. The Beatles arrived at the TWA terminal in 1965 to a frenzied crowd.

The hotel has six restaurants, including one operated by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. One of its eight bars is housed inside a vintage TWA aircraft Morse said was once purchased and used by South American drug dealers.

The hotel also features a 10,000 square-foot observation deck with a pool.

Kennedy is catching up with other international flight hubs that have hotels. Right now, most New York options are either a few budget accommodations in a neighborhood by the airport, or a very long train or cab ride into the city center.

New York�s aging airport, which is itself undergoing a $13 billion renovation, was home to TWA until the airline went out of business in 2001 and was absorbed by American Airlines.

A lone TWA sign still marks its winged, white former terminal that remains a bold, elegant example of mid-20th century design.

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(AP)