LAX Presentation - Los Angeles International Airport CE 101...

Los Angeles International Airport
CE 101 Term Project
Sarah Milbes
Noor Nabulsi
George Mikhaiel
Paul Van Dyk

A Brief History of The Los
Angeles International Airport ,
Los Angeles, California
By
Sarah Milbes
CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM

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The Beginning
The original site of the Los Angeles airport was once
a bean field back in the 1920’s. In 1928, the Los
Angeles City Council selected 640 acres, in nearby
Westchester, as the location of a new airport for the
growing city. Hangar No. 1, was erected in 1929.
Figure 1: Los Angeles Airport in 1931
CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM

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LAX was originally named “Mines Field” after
William W. Mines, the real estate agent who
arranged its lease.
Mines Field was dedicated as the official airport of
Los Angeles in 1930. Originally leased at $100,000
per year, the city of Los Angeles purchased it later
in 1937 for $2,000,000.
In the 1940’s, expansion and redevelopment plans
were implemented costing more than $73,000,000.
The Beginning
CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM

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The Post-World War II Period
Mines Field was officially changed to Los Angeles Airport
in 1941, then to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in
1949. In 1953 a tunnel was constructed below the runway
to accommodate the street traffic on Sepulveda Boulevard
so as to allow the airport to extend to the Pacific Ocean. It
was the first tunnel of its kind.
Figure 2: Los Angeles Airport abutting the Pacific Ocean
CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM

The “X” in LAX?
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A two-letter abbreviation based on the
weather station at the airports were
used before the 1930s. So, at that time,
LA served as the designation for Los
Angeles International Airport. But, with
the rapid growth in the aviation industry,
it was expanded to three letters, and LA
became LAX. The letter X does not
otherwise have any specific meaning in
this identifier
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CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM

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The Jet Age
The first jet service at LAX was inaugurated in 1959, serving
passengers between Los Angeles and New York.
Today, LAX is the world’s fifth-busiest airport handling over 60
million passengers and more than two million tons of freight
annually. The airport supplies Southern California with an estimated
59,000 jobs and is projected to provide over 100,000 jobs by the
end of the next decade.
CE 101: Introduction to CE & CEM
Figure 3: Los Angeles International Airport
today

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Thank you for your attention!