Etan Does LA 222: LAX's Hangar One | Los Angeles aviation history

National Register visit 222: Hangar One📍5701 W. Imperial Highway, Los Angeles

Here we have the first building constructed for the LA Municipal Airport (now LAX), in 1929, and the only one still standing from the airport’s earliest days. As commercial flight came to LAX mid-century, Hangar One became outmoded. It was built for biplanes, after all! But the city worked out a deal with a private developer to restore and reinforce it, so if you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of this gleaming Spanish colonial beauty as you taxi past LAX’s southeastern tip. Otherwise, you’re limited to seeing this vital node of aviation history from a DHL parking lot like a chump (::ahem:: like me).

I'm visiting all 600+ LA landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. Read more about this one and many more at EtanDoesLA.com: https://etandoesla.com/hangar-one-lax...

Photo credits:
📷1: Mott Studios: Hangar One, 1931 (CA State Library)
📷2: Aerial view, 1930 (Security Pacific National Bank Collection / LA Public Library)
📷3: LA Municipal Airport on Army Day, circa 1931 (Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection)
📷4: The runway at Mines Field (Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)
📷5: National Air Races, 1928 (LA Public Library Photo Collection)
📷6 & 7: Lindbergh leads demonstration of combat flying, 1928 / Airport dedication, 1930 (Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection / LA Public Library)
📷8: Goodyear Blimp at Mines Field, February 7, 1930 (PD, via USC Libraries & CA Historical Society)
📷9: Dick Whittington Studios: Sheep graze at the LA Municipal Airport, 1930 (Huntington Digital Library)
📷10 & 11: Flying service building, Mines Field / Buildings at Mines Field (Security Pacific National Bank Collection / LA Public Library)
📷12: Graf Zeppelin with crowd, August 26, 1929 (Ernest Marquez Collection / Huntington Digital Library)
📷13: Graf Zeppelin at Mines Field, 1929 (PD, via University of Southern California Libraries & California Historical Society)
📷14: Charles Lindbergh (PD)
📷15: Jimmy Doolittle (PD)
📷16: Jimmy Stewart portrait (PD)
📷17: Admin building at Mines Field (Security Pacific National Bank Collection / LA Public Library)
📷18: Wiki user Bobak Ha'Eri (via Creative Commons license)

#lax #airports #losangeleshistory #lahistory #hangar #aviation #zeppelin #flying