A taste of '60s L.A. architecture, from Space Park to LAX
Has AMC's "Mad Men" put you in the mood for some '60s-era nostalgia?
The much-discussed television show is set amid the skyscrapers of New York, but for those of us in L.A., there's still an abundance of architectural gems from the early Cold War period for our communal delectation.
Perhaps the best and most efficient way to experience these architectural icons is through the Los Angeles Conservancy's one-time-only tour that will be held Sunday. "It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod City" offers a survey of several 1960s buildings in the South Bay and includes stops at such venues as the IBM Aerospace headquarters building, the Proud Bird Restaurant and the Los Angeles International Airport.
The tour also includes an exclusive stop at the TRW Space Park campus in Redondo Beach. Built in 1960, the facility houses offices and labs dedicated to the aerospace and defense industries. Since the Space Park campus is a high-security site, advance online registration is required along with a security clearance.
The tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Attendees will drive themselves to each of the official tour stops. At each venue along the way, you will receive a docent-led tour of the site.
Among the other stops are the LAX Theme Building (pictured), the Imperial Terminal at LAX and St. Jerome Catholic Church in Westchester.
The architects whose works are featured on the tour include Welton Becket, Charles Luckman, William Pereira, Paul Williams, Frederick Emmons Terman, Eliot Noyes, A. Quincy Jones, Kenneth S. Wing, Wally Jeong and A.C. Martin.
The tour is part of the L.A. Conservancy's program "The Sixties Turn 50," which celebrates the architecture from the period and seeks ways to preserve it.
-- David Ng
Photo: The LAX Theme Building. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Near Hawthorne Airport, where Jack Northrop headquartered his aircraft/aerospace company, there's a street called 'Rocket Way'. Whenever I pass it, I can imagine the nearby buildings filled with 1000s of workers ... making rockets! Now THAT'S a living cold war memory!
Posted by: steve parker | November 04, 2009 at 12:56 AM
I love the 60s culture and the music and fashions and personalities. We even get our baby and two toddlers clothes with 60s images. I have included the websites address above.
Posted by: Baby CeCes Mom | November 12, 2009 at 12:15 PM