Fascinating Transit Lounge in The Terminal

Anytime I see the interior of this terminal I am still fascinated. The unusual thing is it was only built as a movie set. No detail was spared and it appears to be part of a fully working airport. I've asked people who have seen "The Terminal" (directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones) and so far all thought the set to be an actual transit lounge in a real terminal in New York.

I previously wrote about the film and it came to mind again today after watching it once more on video. Production Designer Alex McDowell should have but did not receive an Academy Award nomination for the film (or for his wondrous designs for "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory").

Below are more pics of this piece of unreal estate. The Terminal is available on DVD. The collectors edition is no longer available.

Related link: The Terminal Playground: A Transit Lounge to Nowhere for my previous post with more info about the film and additional production photos.

Real escalators lead up to airport gates to nowhere.

A fake Starbucks.

A faux entrance to a United Airlines first class lounge.

Unreal Verizon and Duty Free Shops.

A make-believe transit lounge.

A reproduction of a flight board with fake flights.

A reproduction of a terminal in the winter.

Real granite was used for the flooring.

Can you name all the food shops featured in the film?

The film is directed from various angles to constantly show a different view of the movie set.

Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones play flight attendant and traveler.

Unusual was the balcony in the lounge overlooking the runway.

The food court was lined with replicas of airport eateries.