Los Angeles International Airport History

“What the choice of a harbor means to a sea port community of the present
and past, the selection of a great metropolitan airport means to the community
of the future even more.”
The Daily Californian, March 17, 1928
1928 > Los Angeles
1928 Mines Field > 1928 Los Angeles Municipal Airport > 1941 Los Angeles Airport > 1950 Los Angeles International Airport
Below: Bean and barley fields, 1928.
Los Angeles > Heritage
The year was 1928. The burgeoning community of
Los Angeles was struggling to meet the rising demands
of the post-World War I aviation boom. Small,
privately operated airports dotted the Southland map.
Aviation was an exciting adventure in this land of
Hollywood glamour.
A group of enlightened businessmen, with support
from the City Council, recognized that the city
desperately needed a single airport that would meet
the exploding demands for passenger flight, as well
as air mail and cargo.
In a prescient editorial on March 17, 1928, the Daily
Californian opined, in part, “…the great metropolitan
airport of a thousand acres, an area comparing with
the largest similar airports of the world, is to be on the
site… in Los Angeles.” The editorial went on: “The
reader can no doubt vision the importance to this
community that the choice of the site entails. …in a
comparatively few years (giant liners of the air) will
make port here, with hundreds of passengers where
one to a dozen now travel by air.”
A wind-blown bean and barley field “out in the
country” at Inglewood-Redondo Road and Imperial
Highway was selected by the Los Angeles Council.
Considerable influence on site selection was brought
by its choice for the 1928 National Air Races in
September that would attract 200,000 spectators and
include three dirt runways, a 200,000-square-foot
display building, a 40,000-car parking lot and a 20,000
seat grandstand. Mines Field (named for realtor,
William W. Mines, who brokered the land) was created
on 640 acres of 10-year leased land. Two 100-foot by
100-foot “modern hangars” were constructed. Hangar
No.1, off Imperial, is the sole remaining building of
the original airport.
Famed American aviator, Charles “Lucky Lindy”
Lindbergh helped promote the site selection. In addition to Lindbergh, who flew with the U.S. Army Air
Corps Three Musketeers Flying Trapeze aerobatic
team, the 1928 National Air Races attracted aviation
boosters such as Will Rogers, Amelia Earhart, Jimmy
Doolittle and Roscoe Turner. Aviation pioneering
designer Jack Northrop (who would later locate an
aircraft production facility on the airport) was there.
That same year, Mines Field (as the airport was
known for many years) was officially named Los
Angeles Municipal Airport. The Los Angeles Department of Airports was created that October. Cliff
Henderson, known as the father of the National Air
Races, was named first airport director.
The airport became the focal point for Western
aviation. Curtiss Wright established a flight school
in 1928, then designed and constructed two original
buildings. The famed Graf Zeppelin arrived in 1929
following its transpacific flight from Japan.
The airport was officially dedicated on June 7, 1930.
Douglas Aircraft began operations in 1932, followed
by Northrop, and North American Aviation in 1936.
Los Angeles became known as the “Detroit of aviation.”
The airport again hosted the National Air Races in
1933 and 1936. They eventually became the Cleveland
Air Races, continuing under the aegis of Los Angeles
entrepreneur Cliff Henderson. In 1937 the city purchased title to the airport for $2.24 million, saving $3
million over the life of the lease.
Those 1928 decisions laid the groundwork for 75
years of continuing progress, making aviation and its
elements one of the principal economic drivers in
Southern California.
Opposite page: Above: Hangars No. 1, 2 and 3, 1929.
This page: Above: Rooftop signs guided pilots to Mines Field, 1930, photo from the
Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library. Inset: U.S. Army aerobatic team at
airport dedication, 1930. Below: Airport dedication, 1930.
Aviation in America Focused on Los Angeles
This page: Above: Monoplane demonstration flyby, National Air Races, 1933. Below: Cliff
Henderson with Air Races model, Sid Grauman (Grauman’s Chinese Theater), 1928.
Opposite page: Above: Aerobatic demonstration, 1928. Above, inset: National Air Races program
covers, 1928, 1933 and 1936. Below: All eyes skyward, 1933 National Air Races.
Although the 1928 National Air Races were not the
ultimate reason for the site selection of LAX, they
played a major role. Entrepreneur Cliff Henderson
(who later became first airport director of Los Angeles
Municipal Airport) recognized that the location was
already something of a landing field — albeit scruffy
and ill-prepared. Henderson and his team worked
feverishly to lay out three runways; erect grandstands,
temporary buildings and fencing; build access roads;
and install utilities and sanitary facilities.
The 1928 Air Races introduced more than 200,000
people – including Bill Boeing, Donald Douglas,
Amelia Earhart and Marion Davies – to the site of
what would become one of the world’s busiest airports. A highlight of these 1928 Air Races was the
appearance of America’s aviation hero, Charles
Lindbergh, who flew with the U.S. Army Air Corps
Three Musketeers Flying Trapeze aerobatic team.
The Air Races spotlight continued to shine on
Southern California in 1933 and 1936 when this
national event returned to the airport, attracting
even more people than the 1928 inaugural, including
well-known Hollywood celebrities.
The Decade of the 1940s > Los Angeles
World War II and the post-war years were a decade
to remember! On the ground it was an airport, from
the air it looked like a farm, made that way by some
of the most massive camouflage ever conceived—
including wooden cows. The city turned over airport
operations to the federal government “for the duration.”
It was the hub of a vast military complex. Southern
California was the aircraft production center of
America—making more than a third of the 40,000
planes produced annually in the U.S.
Despite wartime conditions, a 1944 master plan
called for expansion in two stages when the war ended.
That plan went into effect in 1946 with terminals
and offices built and runways extended to 6,000 feet.
On December 9, 1946, four major carriers (American,
Trans World, United and Western Airlines) moved
overnight from Burbank, establishing Los Angeles
Airport as the region’s premier air facility. A month
later, Pan American Airlines moved from Burbank
to Los Angeles.
When Los Angeles Department of Airports acquired
Van Nuys Airport for $1 from the War Assets Administration in 1949, it was the first step toward the city
department’s current regional airport system.
Opposite page: Above: Sentry guards airport buildings, World War II, ca. 1943.
Below: Camouflage netting, buildings, parking lots, ca. 1943.
This page: Above: Terminals, hangars, airfield, 1947; logos of airlines that moved to Los Angeles
Airport, 1946. Inset: WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) aircraft delivery pilot, North
American P-51, camouflage, ca. 1944. Below: North American P-51s awaiting delivery flights,
ca. 1944.
LAX
The Decade of the 1950s > Los Angeles
The airport grew up in the 1950s. In 1950 it was officially named Los Angeles International and designated
LAX (the “X” is a space filler for when airport codes
expanded from two letters to three to accommodate
the growth in aviation).
In 1952 for the first time in its history, the airport’s
finances went into the black—with a net income of
$185,701. The airport’s profitability continues today.
The Sepulveda Boulevard underpass was completed
in 1953, allowing two runways to pass overhead. It
was the first such underpass in the world. Anticipating
the popularity of air travel and passenger growth, a
new terminal complex was designed by a team of
renowned architects. Ground-breaking for this new
complex was in 1957. Runways were extended.
The seminal event for Los Angeles Airport occurred
on January 25, 1959, when American Airlines inaugurated the airport’s first jet service with its New YorkLos Angeles nonstop flight of a Boeing 707-123.
Although there was still a plethora of piston-engine,
propeller aircraft in service with most of the airlines
serving LAX, more than a quarter million passengers
flew in and out of LAX on jetliners that year.
Opposite page: Above: Airline stewardesses and flight engineer help install new LAX sign, ca. 1950.
Below: Terminal shoppers, 1950.
This page: Above, left: Sepulveda Boulevard underpass, 1953. Above, right: Third LAX Air Traffic
Control Tower, 1951. Left: U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower deplanes at LAX, 1951. Below: American
Airlines 707-123 first jet flight arrives at LAX, January 25, 1959.
The Decade of the 1960s > Los Angeles
This page: Above: Architect’s concept of airport administration building and control tower, 1960,
photo from the Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Opposite page: Above: Airline signs evoke international service, ca. 1965. Insets: U.S. President
John F. Kennedy welcomed to LAX by California Governor Pat Brown, 1961; U.S. Vice President
Lyndon Johnson dedicates Jet Age airport, 1961. Below: Theme Building construction, 1960.
The Jet Age arrived in 1959. Despite the continued
operation by leading airlines of a host of piston-powered,
propeller airplanes, by 1961 more than one million jet
flights were logged at LAX.
The decade was marked by significant airport expansion. In 1961 U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson
officially dedicated the new airport. All new were the
main terminal complex (Central Terminal); additional
ticketing and satellite buildings; and a 12-story, 172foot tall combination airport administration building
and air traffic control tower housing all Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) operations and offices.
By June 1962, 21 airlines served LAX, including 11
international carriers. Air mail increased 400 percent
from 1947 to 1962, air express 200 percent, and air
cargo an astounding 1,300 percent. The new Cargo
City began operations in 1964 with several airlines
building their own cargo facilities in 1965-66. A $10million postal center in Cargo City began operations
in June 1968.
The City’s Department of Airports furthered the
concept of regional air service with the 1967 acquisition of Ontario International Airport (in an agreement
with the City of Ontario). In 1969, the Department
began acquiring 17,500 acres of land in northern Los
Angeles County that would eventually become
Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD).
The Decade of the 1970s > Los Angeles
This page: Above: Terminal 5, full house of jets loading, 1970s.
Opposite page: Above: Television coverage, dignitary arrival of Pan Am 747 at LAX, 1976.
Insets: U.S. presidents at LAX, President and Mrs. Richard Nixon departing for China, 1976;
President Gerald Ford, 1974; President Jimmy Carter, 1977. Bottom: LAX panorama,
Administration Tower, Theme Building, complex of hangars, roads, a booming airport, 1970.
The era of widebody jets – B-747s, DC-10s, L-1011s
– began in the 1970s. TWA (Trans World Airlines)
inaugurated Los Angeles-New York service with
Boeing 747s. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10, built
in Long Beach, 20 miles south of Los Angeles, was the
first aircraft to meet new federal standards for reduced
noise and emissions. The British/French Concorde,
the world’s first supersonic transport, made a courtesy
visit to Los Angeles on October 24, 1974. When the
city celebrated 25 years of commercial passenger service in 1971, LAX had served more than 200 million
passengers.
In 1978, LAX and Van Nuys Airport marked their
50th anniversaries, Ontario International Airport its 55th.
The Decade of the 1980s > Los Angeles
This page: Above: Refurbished interior of Terminal 5 (Delta). Below: Looking west toward
the Pacific Ocean, with two runways on the left and two more on the right, ca. 1985.
Opposite page: Above: Tom Bradley International Terminal view of airfield. Inset: Department
of Airports Executive Director Clifton Moore, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley with cornerstone
of new International Terminal, 1982; U.S. President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan welcomed to LAX,
1989. Below: Busy Tom Bradley International Terminal at night.
The 1980s could very well be designated the “international decade.” The Tom Bradley International
Terminal was built in time to host thousands of athletes
and officials from around the world arriving for the
Los Angeles-hosted 1984 Olympics. The 963,000square-foot Bradley Terminal housed 11 aircraft gates.
The second-level roadway was also completed in
time for the Olympics, doubling curb space in front
of each passenger terminal, speeding vehicles through
the airport. Parking for LAX increased with completion of three new structures in the Central Terminal
Area, and the addition of Lots C and D. A total of
26,550 parking spaces are available at LAX today.
In December 1989 the Department of Airports
presented a $59.7-million check to the city to retire
bonds originated in 1956. The bonds financed the
Jet Age airport, including the Theme Building.
Repayment of the bond issue was made without
imposing any expense to Los Angeles taxpayers.
The Decade of the 1990s… and into the 21st Century
This page: Above left: United Airlines cargo terminal, 2001. Above right: Renovated American
Airlines terminal, 2002. Below: New Air Traffic Control Tower, 1996.
Opposite page: Above: LAX Gateway at sunset, Theme Building and Control Tower in center, 2000.
Insets: U.S. President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush, LAX, 1991; U.S. President William J. Clinton, LAX,
1999; U.S. President George W. Bush, LAX, 2002; Below left, top: Interior of Tom Bradley International Terminal, 1997; Below left, bottom: Eerie, quiet LAX roadway and curbside, September 11,
2001; Below right: Metro Rail Green Line terminal, rail cars, LAX Shuttle buses.
Major growth in air travel and air cargo marked the
1990s and made modernizing the airport for the 21st century a vital concern. Hangar No. 1 (the only building
remaining from Mines Field) was designated a National
Historic Landmark, and the Theme Building a City of
Los Angeles cultural and historic landmark.
Tom Bradley International Terminal underwent a $14million renovation in 1997, adding 35,000 square feet of
eateries and shops. The LAX Gateway and its pylons,
some over 100 feet tall, were lit August 2000 to welcome
the Democratic National Convention.
United Airlines completed a $300-million renovation
of three terminals and built a new cargo facility in 2001.
American Airlines completed a $250-million renovation
of Terminal 4 in 2002.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four flights –
three of them bound for LAX – and flew them into
the New York World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a
Pennsylania field. Immediately following the attacks,
LAX employees worked diligently and stoically to secure
the airport and transport thousands of stranded passengers.
The airport was closed for the first time in its history –
for 2 1/2 days – as 178 aircraft sat grounded on the airfield.
LAX was among the first U.S. airport to reopen after
security recertification. Since then, LAX has led U.S.
airports in implementing a myriad of new federally
mandated security measures to enhance public safety.
This page: Early airfield, hangars, ca. 1928.
Opposite page: The LAX metropolis from above, 2003.
1928 > 2003
75 Years of Airport Planning
In 1928, when it was barley and bean fields with a
dirt strip, Mines Field planning was in the eyes of the
beholders, dreamers envisioning a booming airfield to
serve the biplanes and monoplanes then cutting through
the sky. It soon became evident that more formalized
planning was required. Whether identified officially
as a Master Plan or just plain planning, the sequential
expansion of LAX (and its sister airports, VNY and
ONT) was carefully structured in the 75 years since
those agricultural days.
When the City of Los Angeles took title to the land
in 1937, a plan for future use of the field was created.
The first study officially identified as a Master Plan
wasn’t developed until 1944. It was a two-stage plan
designed to “better serve air carriers.” World War
II and the airport’s major role in military aircraft
production skewed practical planning, but post-war
suburban tract houses began to sprout in surrounding
El Segundo, Inglewood, Westchester and Playa del
Rey. The embryonic communities became major
factors in future airport planning.
Successive detailed documents – usually identified
as a Master Plan – were created in 1951 by renowned
architects William L. Pereira and Charles Luckman; in
1967 when a new, comprehensive Master Plan was created in conjunction with William Pereira & Associates;
and in 1978 when the Board of Airport Commissioners
approved an Environmental Impact Report. The 1978
plan included two new terminals, remodeling existing
terminals, parking expansion, upgrading a central
utility plant, a new upper level roadway, and airfield
improvements.
The most recent Master Plan explores ways that the
Southern California region can meet projected needs
for air transportation while balancing those needs with
the concerns of airport area communities. This cannot
take place without careful consideration and thoughtful planning. Public involvement is key to airport
planning. Draft environmental studies and an accompanying master plan are available to facilitate the
public review process.
Master Plans through the years have continuously
ensured the airport’s position as one of the world’s
best known and most used air fields.
Now encompassing 3,600 acres, annually handling
nearly 57 million passengers, 1.9 million tons of cargo
and with an asset value to the City of Los Angeles
of more than $2.1 billion, LAX has grown to be one
of the world’s most important aviation sites. LAX
operations are responsible for more than 400,000 jobs
in Southern California and contributes more than
$60 billion annually to the regional economy.
From the rough, oil-drenched strips of 1928 has
grown an airport with a unique, four-parallel runway
system that handles more than 650,000 operations
(airlines, air taxi, military, general aviation takeoffs
and landings) each year.
From a site thought to be “out in the country,” LAX
is now a center for Southern California commerce.
The airport is surrounded by a beehive of businesses
that depend on the aviation industry and owe their
existence to LAX operations, including air freight
companies, hotels, restaurants, rental car agencies,
expediters and retail shops.
Passengers: From Hundreds to Millions
This page: Top: Dedicated air travelers, Mines Field, 1931. Below: Graf Zeppelin dirigible at LAX, 1929.
Opposite page: Top left: First two paying passengers, Mines Field, ca. 1930. Top right: Passengers
enplane DC-3, ca. 1935.
In 1928 travel by air was an adventure. Seventy-five
years later, it has become routine. Today, LAX is the
fifth busiest airport in the world behind Chicago’s
O’Hare International Airport, Atlanta’s Hartfield,
Dallas/Ft. Worth and London’s Heathrow. However,
LAX leads the world in origination and destination
passengers. That means more people begin and end
their trips in Los Angeles than any other airport in
the world.
Intrepid passengers annually using the original Mines
Field could be counted in only two digits. The early
1930s were the beginning of passenger air travel. Boeing’s
twin-engine 247 and Douglas’ DC-1 (that led to the
famed DC-3) made their inaugural flights in 1933.
Both the B-247 and DC-1 demonstrated that passengers
could be carried safely and more quickly than ground
transport. Moreover, when they entered passenger
service, these pioneering aircraft proved that an airline
could be profitable flying passengers. They transformed
flying from an adventurous novelty into a practical
mode of transportation.
An unofficial imprimatur for LAX came in 1946
when four of five major U.S. airlines moved all operations and equipment from Burbank to Los Angeles
Airport. The morning after their overnight move,
American, TWA, Western and United along with
Total Passengers Handled > 1928 > 2002
56,233,843
51,050,275
44,873,100
28,361,900
18,125,200
4,669,060
1,233,620
#
n/a
n/a
Year
1928
1938
1948
1958
1968
1978
1988
1998
2002
Passengers: From Hundreds to Millions
newcomer regional carrier, Southwest (not the current
Houston-based airline), dispatched 1,900 passengers
on 100 flights—all without problems. Pan American
moved from Burbank to Los Angeles a month later.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service in December 1946
moved all air mail operations to Los Angeles Airport.
In 1947 international operations began when Mexicana
Airlines began service to cities in Mexico.
By 1971, the 25th anniversary of commercial airline
service at LAX, more than 200 million passengers
had used the airport. By the end of 2002, LAX
served more than 56 million passengers annually.
The change in clothing attire of typical passengers
from 75 years ago to today reflects the evolution of
America. From suits and ties for men to stylish hats
and furs for women in the 1920s through the 1950s,
the air passenger of the 21st century is casual, informal,
often with a floppy hat and comfortable shoes. Family
travel has become a norm, particularly with airfares
that attract even more passengers. Air travel has brought
almost any spot in the world within one day’s flight time
from LAX.
Today, LAX offers nonstop flights to 71 domestic
and 42 international destinations.
Opposite page: Top: Busy passenger terminal, 1960s. Below: Luggage volume has expanded, 1999.
This page: Above: Today’s informal international traveler, 2001. Below: Passengers deplane from
American Airlines DC-6, 1950.
Cargo, Mail Add to Airport Revenues, Growth
Total Air Cargo > 1928 > 2002
(in tons)
1,962,354
1,703,445
1,160,030
812,289
360,264
16,777
Tons
n/a
n/a
Year
1928
1938
1948
70,360
1958
1968
1978
1988
1998
2002
In 1962 construction began on what is now known
as “Cargo City” (east of passenger operations) to
handle ever-increasing air freight traffic. A $10-million
postal center in Cargo City was completed in 1968.
In 1971, a new $1.4-million joint-use cargo facility
called Air Freight Building No. 1 was dedicated. It was
the first building since 1951 constructed exclusively
for freight handling. The $3.5-million Gateway Cargo
Center, serving airlines without their own cargo facilities, was dedicated in 1985 as part of the Imperial cargo
complex.
Total air cargo topped the one-million ton mark in
1970. By 2000, LAX air cargo exceeded 1.9 million
tons with just the international freight portion of one
million tons valued at over $75 billion.
Today, LAX is the fifth busiest cargo airport in the
world. LAX has been named the top cargo airport in
North America eight times since 1994 by CargoNews
Asia’s Asian Freight Industry Awards. The Asia-Pacific
region is LAX’s top trading partner with nearly 430,000
tons of international air cargo valued at $53.3 billion.
The nation’s leading exports and imports, including
semiconductors and electronic components, computers, biomedical instruments, film and music products,
aircraft and aerospace products, apparel and perishable
goods are processed through LAX.
Air cargo at LAX, like passengers, has become a principal contributor to the Southland’s and America’s economy.
Opposite page: Western Air Express airmail pilot Art Kelley, ca. 1930.
This page: Above: Nose loading of B-747 cargo aircraft, 1996. Below left: Loading airmail sacks
(workers dressed for the photo), Mines Field, ca. 1930. Below right: United DC-6A Cargoliner,
LAX, ca. 1960.
As Americans in the 1920s and 1930s grew ever more
comfortable with air travel, it became evident that
these same airplanes could carry freight (goods) and
mail. Although spawned in the pioneering days of
the early 1900s and then visibly demonstrated during
World War I by “those magnificent men in their
flying machines,” aeroplanes were basically vehicles
of adventure, flown by barnstorming pioneers. But,
they also carried cargo, particularly mail, before they
carried passengers between selected cities.
America’s air hero of the 1920s, Charles “Lucky
Lindy” Lindbergh, flew the mail even before he
captured the world’s attention with his solo, nonstop
1927 New York-to-Paris flight.
An oft-repeated aviation legend is told about humorist
Will Rogers, a dedicated aviation buff. When he found
he could not be carried as an air passenger but that mail
was being flown by air, Rogers had himself weighed,
then pasted enough stamps on himself to be transported
by air to his destination.
But it wasn’t until after World War II that air shipments became accepted as a way of doing business.
Even then, air cargo concentration was on perishable
goods such as flowers, fruit and other foodstuffs.
In 1951 an Air Freight Terminal was completed and
cargo operations moved out of passenger terminals.
1928 > 2003 > 75 Years of Wings
Total Aircraft Movements > 1928 > 2002
667,200
689,888
645,424
482,774
500,976
1968
1978
319,590
160,000
#
n/a
n/a
Year
1928
1938
1948
1958
1988
1998
2002
Clockwise from top left: Curtiss Pusher, ca. 1931; Stearman Biplane, ca. 1931; Marcoux Bromberg
racer, ca. 1936; Western Airlines Convair 340, ca. 1951; American Airlines DC-6, ca. 1953; Boeing
747, ca. 1972; Air France Concorde SST, ca. 1974; Western Airlines DC-3, ca. 1951; North American
AT6, ca. 1941, photo from the Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library; Sikorsky
S-43, ca. 1938; Travelaire (American Girl). ca. 1930; United Airlines DC-4, ca. 1946.
From the stick, wire and canvas post-World War I
aeroplanes flown by barnstormers, stunt pilots and
airmail carriers of the 1920s to the giant, silver-winged
behemoths of the Jet Age, LAX has been a home for all.
Many of the aeroplanes viewed at Mines Field in
1928 were remnants of the 1914-1918 “Great War.”
Mostly biplanes, the pilots (like Henry Bakes who
was the airport’s first employee in 1928 and who retired
in 1970; see cover) flew in open cockpits dressed in
traditional aviator’s togs (boots, jodhpurs, leather jacket,
helmet and goggles).
Aircraft movements during the airport’s first 10
years were almost negligible, but by 1937 takeoffs and
landings had passed the 50,000 annual mark.
During World War II – when Douglas, Northrop
and North American each had production facilities
on the airport – aircraft movements literally soared.
The airport was lined with a variety of military aircraft
awaiting delivery. To make certain trained pilots were
available, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
flew domestic delivery flights of many Southern
California designed and produced combat aircraft.
These aircraft were familiar sights and important in
the WWII European and Pacific campaigns.
The venerable Douglas DC-3, a “workhorse” asset
in passenger service, was a regular sight at the airport,
as was TWA’s Northrop Alpha, the world’s first passenger-carrying, metal fuselage airplane.
The post-WWII years were marked by the utilization
of the final generation of piston-powered passenger
airplanes: Douglas DC-6s and 7s, Lockheed Constellations and Convair 340s and 440s.
Transforming and re-defining passenger air travel,
the Jet Age arrived in Los Angeles January 25, 1959,
when American Airlines inaugurated its New York-toLos Angeles service with a Boeing 707-123. The first
jet service from LAX was February 1, 1959. U.S. Vice
President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated a new Jet Age
airport in 1961.
Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s dominated domestic and international passenger service for several
years. Customers of Lockheed (Eastern Airlines and
several foreign carriers) trumpeted the debut of the
“Jet Age” with the Electra (also designed and produced in California), a turboprop passenger aircraft
that promised greater speed and lower cabin noise
than its piston-engine predecessors.
During the late 1960s when many airlines believed
“bigger is better,” the world’s largest passenger aircraft,
the Boeing 747, was designed and introduced into service.
TWA inaugurated widebody jet service at Los Angeles
in 1970 with nonstop LAX-New York flights.
During the early 1970s, two Southern California
headquartered companies, Lockheed and Douglas,
introduced three-engine widebody aircraft, the
Lockheed L-1011 and Douglas DC-10 (later to
become the MD-11). DC-10 service was inaugurated
in 1971. That jetliner was the first aircraft to meet
federal standards of reduced noise and emission.
By the mid-1970s a half million takeoffs and landings were logged annually at LAX; in the early 1990s
aircraft movements totaled 680,000.
Since the 1970s, Boeing has continued its international passenger jet leadership with introduction of its
three-engine 727, the twin-engine 737; and then the
twin-engine 757 and 767 in the 1980s; and 777 in
the 1990s. Douglas (later acquired by McDonnell
Aircraft of St. Louis) countered with a stretched,
four-engine DC-8 and subsequently the aft-fuselagemounted twin-engine DC-9s and its later version, the
MD-9. A third aircraft builder, Airbus Industries
(a joint company owned by France, the United
Kingdom, Italy and Spain, and headquartered in
Toulouse, France) introduced a line of Airbus aircraft.
Many of these jetliners have regularly served LAX
passengers for the more than four decades of the Jet
Age. A piston-powered passenger aircraft is a unique
sight at LAX, although some air freight carriers
continue to fly them, along with earlier versions of
the B-707 and DC-8.
LAX is considered a veritable Garden of Eden for
airplane spotters and aviation enthusiasts.
The Glamour of Aviation
At left: Media coverage, USSR Premier Nikita Kruschev arrival, 1959.
Above, top row, left to right: Great Britain’s Prince Charles, 1970; Famed aviators Ruth Elder (left) and Amelia Earhart, 1928, photo
from the Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library; Actor John Wayne, ca. 1958, ©Photography Ink; Pope John Paul,
1987; Charles Lindbergh, 1928; Cassius Clay, 1962, ©Photography Ink; The Beatles, 1961; Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, 1966;
Bottom row, left to right: Actor Audrey Hepburn, 1958, ©Photography Ink; Actor Errol Flynn and family, 1956, photo from the Herald
Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library; U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, 1951; Entertainer Bob Hope returns from USO tour
to Vietnam, 1969; Actors Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino with “rushes” from movie HEAT, 1995
By its very nature aviation is glamorous. It is a combination of adventure, excitement, even danger. Glamour
was present 75 years ago when Mines Field first came
into being. It continues to this day. Proximity to
Hollywood and “show biz,” the importance of Los
Angeles in world trade, and the region’s position as a
focal point for international economics and politics, make
LAX the setting for a wide range of familiar personages.
In the early days, Mines Field and the National Air
Races attracted the likes of Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin,
Sid Grauman and aviation icons such as General Jimmy
Doolittle and Dr. Hugh Eckener (commander of the
Graf Zeppelin). In addition, Hollywood stars such as
Jean Harlow, Mary Pickford, Hoot Gibson, Ken
Maynard, Wallace Beery, Carole Lombard, Jimmy
Durante and Lucille Ball were seen flying, spectating
or traveling.
Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh played a role in
airport site selection, the Air Races and even the start
of Transcontinental and Western Airways (precursor
of TWA) service from Los Angeles to New York (with
many stops in between). Howard Hughes began
several of his record-setting flights at Mines Field.
America’s best-known women aviators – Amelia
Earhart, Ruth Elder, Bobbi Trout, Jackie Cochran and
Pancho Barnes – utilized Mines Field and its pristine
sky as the scene for records and exciting exploits.
In later years, the Beatles caused near-chaos when
they arrived at LAX in 1961.
Heads of state, led by U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard
Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan (both as California
governor and president), Bill Clinton, George H. and
George W. Bush have landed at LAX. Personal security
and special handling arrangements were made for
Prince Sihanouk of Thailand, Prime Minister Nehru
of India, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Queen
Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Great Britain, Premier
Nikita Kruschev of the USSR, the Shah of Iran, Prince
Akihito of Japan, and Presidents Lopez Mateo and
Vicenté Fox of Mexico.
Los Angeles World Airport’s four facilities have
provided locations for countless motion pictures.
One of the most famous at Van Nuys Airport was its
location for all airport scenes in 1942’s Casablanca
(including the moving farewell of Humphrey Bogart
and Ingrid Bergman). LAX and Palmdale Regional
Airport runways were settings for the 1994 Keanu
Reeves/Sandra Bullock film Speed.
LAX Imperial Terminal served as Moscow Airport
for the 1997 Harrison Ford film Air Force One.
ONT and LAX were settings for scenes from the
2002 Tom Hanks/Leonardo DiCaprio film Catch Me
If You Can.
The popularity of LAX as a film location continues
today with a commercial production scheduled almost
everyday. LAX is considered by the entertainment
industry as the “Most Filmed Airport in the World,”
with the iconic arches of the Theme Building instantly
establishing a film’s setting as Los Angeles.
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