Theme Building
{{Short description|Historic structure at Los Angeles International Airport, California, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Theme Building
| image = LAX LA.jpg
| image_size = 325px
| caption = The illuminated exterior of the Theme Building at night, 2007
| location = 201 World Way
Westchester, Los Angeles, California
United States
| coordinates = {{coord|33|56|38.76|N|118|24|8.64|W|region:US-LA_type:landmark_scale:3000|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Los Angeles
| area =
| built = 1957–1961
| architect = Pereira & Luckman, Paul Williams and Welton Becket
| architecture = Mid-century modern, Googie
| designation1 = Los Angeles
| designation1_date = December 18, 1993{{r|HCMLISTING 2007-09-7}}
| designation1_number = 570
| governing_body = Los Angeles World Airports
}}
The Theme Building is a structure at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), considered an architectural example of the Space Age design style. Influenced by "Populuxe" architecture, it is an example of the Mid-century modern design movement, later to become known as "Googie".{{Cite news |last=Novak |first=Matt |title=Googie: Architecture of the Space Age |language=en |work=Smithsonian |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/googie-architecture-of-the-space-age-122837470/ |access-date=September 19, 2017}} In 1993, the city designated the exterior and interior of the Theme Building as a historic-cultural monument.{{r|HPLA report}}
Architecture
The distinctive white building resembles a flying saucer that has landed on its four legs.{{Cite web |title=The "Theme Building," Los Angeles International Airport |url=http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/Text/Concepts/Icons/Icons_LAX.htm |publisher=University of Southern California |access-date=November 18, 2008 |archive-date=March 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313064139/http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/Text/Concepts/Icons/Icons_LAX.htm |url-status=dead }} The initial design was created by James Langenheim,{{cite web | url=https://spektra.global/iconic-building-of-the-month-the-theme-building/ | title=ICONIC BUILDING OF THE MONTH: THE THEME BUILDING | Spektra Global | date=June 21, 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://iconographika.com/products/lax-theme-building | title=LAX Theme Building }} of Pereira & Luckman,{{r|HPLA report}} subsequently taken to fruition by a team of architects and engineers, headed by William Pereira and Charles Luckman, that also included Paul Williams and Welton Becket. The civil engineer was Richard Bradshaw.
The appearance of the building's signature crossed arches as homogeneous structures is a design illusion, created by topping four steel-reinforced concrete legs extending approximately 15 feet above the ground with hollow stucco-covered steel trusses. To counteract earthquake movements, the Theme Building was retrofitted in 2010 with a tuned mass damper without changing its outward appearance.{{Cite news |last=Steinhauer |first=Jennifer |date=April 17, 2010 |title=In Los Angeles, the Saucer Is Ready to Land Again |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/us/18lax.html?hpw |access-date=April 17, 2010}}
Constructed near the beginning of the Space Age, the building is an example of how aeronautics and pop culture, design and architecture came together in Los Angeles.{{Cite web |last=Anderton |first=Frances |date=July 16, 2019 |title=How the Space Age influenced Southland design and architecture |url=https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/design-and-architecture/hollyhock-house-space-age-design-guo-pei/how-the-space-age-influenced-southland-design-and-architecture |access-date=July 31, 2019 |website=KCRW |language=en}}
History
The original design for the airport created by Pereira & Luckman in 1959 had all the terminal buildings and parking structures connected to a huge glass dome, which would serve as a central hub for traffic circulation. The plan was eventually scaled down considerably, and the terminals were constructed elsewhere on the property.{{Cite web |date=February 8, 2013 |title=The Unlikely History of Pereira's Theme Building |url=http://fentresspulse.com/2013/02/08/the-unlikely-history-of-pereiras-theme-building/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301042522/http://fentresspulse.com/2013/02/08/the-unlikely-history-of-pereiras-theme-building/ |archive-date=March 1, 2013 |access-date=March 10, 2013 |publisher=Fentress Architects}} The Theme Building was subsequently built to mark the spot intended for the dome structure, as a reminder of the original plan.
The building construction contract was awarded to Robert E. McKee General Contractor, Inc. of El Paso, Texas.{{Cite web |title=PCAD - Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Theme and Arch Building, Westchester, Los Angeles, CA |url=https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/52/ |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=pcad.lib.washington.edu}}
The structure was dedicated on June 25, 1961, by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.{{Cite web |title=PCAD - Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Theme and Arch Building, Westchester, Los Angeles, CA |url=http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/52/ |access-date=2020-06-10 |website=pcad.lib.washington.edu}} The Los Angeles City Council designated the building, which lies within the Westchester neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, a historic-cultural monument (no. 570) in 1993.{{Cite news |last=Moffat |first=Susan |date=December 19, 1992 |title=Landing a Landmark: LAX Monument to '60s Optimism Granted Historical Status |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-19-me-1999-story.html |access-date=April 18, 2010}}
File:Interior of Encounter Restaurant & Bar at Los Angeles International Airport (10818559866).jpg
A $4 million renovation, with retro-futuristic interior and electric lighting designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, was completed before the Encounter Restaurant opened there in 1997.{{Cite web |last=Martens |first=Todd |date=2025-02-21 |title=14 places in L.A. that every Disney lover must visit at least once |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/list/walt-disney-history-los-angeles#p=gaze-from-afar-at-a-lost-disney-designed-space-age-restaurant |access-date= |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Visitors are able to take an elevator up to the Observation Level to get a 360-degree view of arriving and departing planes.Kreuzer, Nikki "[http://thelosangelesbeat.com/2013/05/offbeat-l-a-sexy-space-age-the-theme-building-at-lax/ Offbeat L.A.: Sexy Space Age – The Theme Building at LAX]", The Los Angeles Beat, May 30, 2013. An airport spokeswoman said that because of its appearance and views, some people thought it revolved after visiting it, even though it did not.{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Christopher |date=January 19, 1997 |title=Theme Building: 60-Second Appraisal |url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/35454944/lax_theme_building/ |access-date=September 6, 2019 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en}}
After the September 11 attacks, the Observation Level was closed for security reasons. Following a $12.3 million restoration of the building completed in 2010, the observation level re-opened to the public on Saturdays and Sundays starting July 10.{{Cite news |date=July 2, 2010 |title=Iconic LAX Theme Building ready for its close-up |work=KPCC |url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/07/02/iconic-lax-theme-building-ready-its-close-/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622013915/http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/07/02/iconic-lax-theme-building-ready-its-close-/ |archive-date=June 22, 2011}} Additionally, on September 9, 2003, a permanent memorial honoring those who perished in the attacks of September 11 was opened on the grounds of the Theme Building.{{Cite web |title=Art Program – LAX 9/11 Memorial |url=http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=1612 |website=lawa.org |access-date=April 7, 2013}}
The Encounter Restaurant closed for business in December 2013 with no future plans to reopen. The reason cited was that the restaurant was in a non-secure area of the airport, so travelers were reluctant to spend time there when a possibly lengthy security checkpoint lay ahead, or leave after being screened and have to go through security again upon returning.{{Cite web |date=January 8, 2014 |title=LAX's Encounter Restaurant Closes With No Plans To Reopen « CBS Los Angeles |url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/01/08/laxs-encounter-restaurant-closes-with-no-plans-to-reopen/ |publisher=Losangeles.cbslocal.com |access-date=September 11, 2017}} The observation level of the building was then open on weekends until 2016 when its schedule was reduced to one weekend per month, before closing permanently in September 2018.{{Cite news |last=Forgione |first=Mary |date=January 8, 2014 |title=Encounter, LAX Theme Building restaurant, closes with no plan in sight |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2014-jan-08-la-trb-lax-theme-building-closes-20140107-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223030304/http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/08/news/la-trb-lax-theme-building-closes-20140107 |archive-date=December 23, 2014 |url-status=live |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web |title=LAX at a Glance: The Theme Building |url=https://www.flylax.com/-/media/flylax/media-center/pdfs/fs---theme-building |publisher=LAX |format=pdf |date=April 2020}}
Previously, the restaurant had been closed for repairs in March 2007, after a {{convert|1/2|t|kg}} piece of the stucco skin on the upper arches crashed onto the roof of the restaurant. The restaurant reopened on November 12, 2007.{{Cite news |last=Marroquin |first=Art |date=November 11, 2007 |title=Spruced-up Encounter Restaurant to reopen Monday at LAX |work=Los Angeles Daily News |url=http://origin.dailynews.com/news/ci_7430516 |access-date=November 11, 2007 |archive-date=November 15, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115115434/http://origin.dailynews.com/news/ci_7430516 |url-status=dead }} Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services operated the restaurant.{{Cite web |title=Encounter Restaurant & Bar: Genesis of the Encounter and FAQs |url=http://www.encounterlax.com/encounter_genesis.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104033435/http://www.encounterlax.com/encounter_genesis.html |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |website=Encounter LAX}}
In 2018, the Bob Hope USO at LAX relocated to the ground floor of the Theme Building, opening a 7,100 square foot facility described by its president as "the most technologically advanced USO in existence."{{Cite news |title=Bob Hope USO Opens New Airport Center Inside Iconic LAX Theme Building |url=https://www.uso.org/stories/2272-bob-hope-uso-re-opens-lax-center-inside-iconic-theme-building |website=Bob Hope USO}}{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Christopher |date=June 12, 2018 |title=Is LAX's Theme Building coming back to life as part of an on-airport hotel? |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-lax-theme-building-hotel-idea-future-20190612-story.html |access-date=June 13, 2019}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|refs=
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External links
{{Commons category|Theme Building}}
- [http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/Text/Concepts/Icons/Icons_LAX.htm Theme Building] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313064139/http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/Text/Concepts/Icons/Icons_LAX.htm |date=March 13, 2013 }} – via USC
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040629192431/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=202394 Theme Building]}} via Emporis
{{Los Angeles International Airport}}
{{Westchester, Los Angeles}}
{{LAHMC}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1961 establishments in California
Category:Buildings and structures in Los Angeles
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1961
Category:Landmarks in Los Angeles
Category:Culture of Los Angeles
Category:Googie architecture in California
Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Category:Los Angeles International Airport
Category:Modernist architecture in California
Category:William Pereira buildings