When taking off from Los Angeles, I looked out the window on the right hand side where I was sitting, and, once again, saw these patterns on the ground, right at the end of the runways on the west side of the airport. I had seen them before and wondered about them. This time, when I got home, I looked really carefully at the "streets" on Google Earth, and they did really look like streets. So I went to one of my favorite places on the web, "Quora," which is an American question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, followed, and edited by Internet users. I asked: "What are the cement "roads" in the land off the west end of the the runways at Los Angeles International Airport?" Within a few hours I received this reply from a pilot named Mike: "Once upon a time there was an area sort of out in the country near a much smaller Los Angeles called “Mines Field”. As aviation seemed to be the next big thing, it opened as an airport in 1930, and in 1937, the City of Los Angeles purchased the airport to serve as their municipal airport. Aircraft were much smaller, and jet engines were not yet in existence. A community grew up around the airport - businesses, and residences as well. A developer had the wonderful idea that the neighborhood between the end of the runways, and the ocean, would be a great place for a community - and it probably was, for a while. With the introduction of larger and louder aircraft, and then the jet-engine powered Boeing 707, the residents of this wonderful community began to complain about the noise of departing aircraft right over their homes. The friction between community and airport became so great that the City of Los Angeles was forced to “buy” all the homes, and tear them down to end the squabble. The roads you see are from yesterday’s community." Wow, how amazing is that! Then I got another reply from Robert: That used to be the neighborhood of Surfridge. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Los Angeles bought all those homes (and a number along the north side of the airport), to make room for runway expansion. About 800 homes in total, and the land is now a butterfly sanctuary." What an astounding story! And all this from a view of some puzzling markings on the landscape as seen from an airplane!
5 comments:
What a fantastic story! All because you were curious about the patterns between the airport and the beach. Isn't it wonderful to be able to ask the questions and get factual answers within hours. Thanks for my "learning something new" today. betsey
Amazing. I am thankful that your curiosity leads you to finding answers one way or another! What we can achieve through the internet is astounding and thankful that you received two very informative answers. Always learning something new from my big brother! :-)
Joan
A very cool shot from your window seat leaving LAX for your return trip home. Because I am usually strapped into an aisle seat over a wing, I miss many of the ground effects when flying. I was surprised by how much real estate this is between the end of the LAX runways and the Pacific ocean. Who knew about the lost village there many years ago? I always thought the west end of LAX runways almost dead ended near the sea. I need to sign up for the Quora App so I won't be known as clueless in Seattle!
What "thorough" research you did for this story, Ken. I was impressed. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! Thank you all for your comments, and I am so glad you enjoyed what I discovered through the help of others! You all made my day!
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