![]() ![]() The building follows Googie architecture, that mid-century modern style that’s heavily influenced by the space age and geometrical shapes. The dine-in spot was known for its wacky restroom mirrors, lava lamps and spacious views over the airport. What is true is that the building once housed an eatery called Encounter Restaurant, which was open for 16 years before shutting down in December 2013. Some people thought it had a rotating floor, but that legend wasn’t true. The Theme Building was constructed in 1961 by the Pereira and Luckman architectural firm. So… is it a command center? A restaurant? A giant spider covered in concrete? It exists, but rumors tend to cloud public understanding. The Theme Building - that futuristic structure in the middle of LAX - is kind of like Area 51. Instead, what remains of Surfridge are cracked-up roads, barren land and chain-link fences. It’s an eerily similar past to what happened in the neighborhoods at Bunker Hill and Chavez Ravine, but a striking difference is that the community wasn’t replaced with new, modern structures. They forcefully bought and tore down residents’ homes in the ‘60s and early ‘70s, rather than let the buildings become dilapidated. officials excised Surfridge from the map. Those calls were answered with the use of eminent domain. Residents complained and urged the city to reduce noise pollution. Noise was always present in that neighborhood because of the airport, but the arrival of jets made the roaring sounds more of a problem. The neighborhood was “an isolated playground of the wealthy” on the coastline, according to the L.A. ![]() When LAX expanded into jet travel, the seaside community of Surfridge had a front-row seat. Surprise: It’s a government-made ghost town. If you’ve ever driven by Dockweiler Beach along Vista del Mar, you might have noticed an area of land that’s fenced off and desolate. Terminal 1 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal (named after Mayor Tom Bradley) were completed just in time for the summer games. The double-decker roadway was built and more than 1 million square feet of terminal space was added. Terminals 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 began service later that year.Īhead of the Olympic games in 1984, development was in full swing. Terminals 7 and 8 were the first “jet age” buildings at LAX in June 1961. A control tower was built and runways were extended, but a key need was to build more room for passengers. More money flowed into the airport to accommodate jet airliners. With the jet age boom in the ‘60s, air travel nearly tripled. Most public carriers defected to L.A.’s growing airport in 1946. That changed when Burbank manufactured fighter planes during World War II, chipping away at airliners’ ability to expand their services. ![]() enviously stood by as its rival, Lockheed Air Terminal, raked in the cash - public air travel at that point was a luxurious money-maker (sorry, no Spirit Airlines yet). government officials saw the grounds as a perfect place to tap into the growing aviation industry.īut the big dogs of commercial flying were still tied to Burbank’s airport, which had opened in 1930. When Mines orchestrated the 1928 National Air Races, L.A. It was named Mines Field at the time ( a tribute to William W. In the years around 1889, the flat farmland attracted pilots to practice informally near today’s Imperial and Aviation Boulevard, according to Los Angeles World Airports documents.Ī few decades later, it was on its way to becoming a fully-fledged airfield. While the Wright brothers achieved the first powered human-led flight in 1903, there were some attempts at flying already happening around the world. The area’s soaring potential became evident in the late 1800s. Those grounds have been almost everything you’d imagine in old L.A.: a ranch, grazing area, lima bean farmland - you name it. ![]() It included today’s LAX, Playa del Rey - and yes, Redondo Beach. With millions of dollars, what’s now known as Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) slowly developed the land over decades.īack in 1837, when California (known then as Alta California) was under Mexican rule, the governor gave a huge area of land to a ranchero named Antonio Ygnacio Avila. LAX didn’t become an infuriating destination overnight. ![]()
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