Thursday night, crews began dismantling the 32-foot-tall “LAX” letters we all know and love. They started with the “X”, then will move to the “A”, and finally “L” over the course of a week.

The letters are not gone forever. They’re being stored nearby, then will be reinstalled once roadway reconfiguration is completed. The pylons, which are the light towers that flank the sign, are also being removed and stored for later relocation.

Going forward though the recognization “LAX” will… look different.

This is part of the $5 to $6 billion Airfield & Terminal Modernization, within the $15 billion “CIP II” Capital Improvement Program and overall $30 billion LAX modernization. The terminal modernization includes an overhaul of airport access and is timed to the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

Despite the major world evens scheduled for LA, though, the Airfield & Terminal Modernization work isn’t expected to finish until 2030 (which means sometime after 2030). However, elevated road access to the central terminal area is hopefully going to be completed before the 2028 Olympics.

This piece is intended to streamline traffic, improve pedestrian routes, and build dedicated access to economy parking with new elevated roadways separating traffic bound for the airport from local commuters.

The LAX sign will be relocated and reinstalled within the new roadway layout. The letters will be placed differently, integrated into a ‘more pedestrian-friendly setting’. But the letters themselves remain the same.

So when will the sign return? LAX isn’t saying, but we can make a good guess.

• The letters need to be compatible with the new road layout and pedestrian enhancements
  
• So they’ll likely be reinstalled sometime after the elevated roadways are operational
  
• But this will possibly happen before final project completion.

That suggests a rough window of 2028 – 2030 when the sign will return.

As for that other decaying icon at the airport, the Theme Building? The Encounter Restaurant shut down permanently in December 2013. Attempts to revive it never materialized. The observation deck, once open on weekends, was reduced in schedule over time and closed permanently in September 2018.

Credit: monkeytime | brachiator via Wikimedia Commons

Since then, the Theme Building has been a zombie. There’s a 7,100 square foot USO lounge on the ground level that’s been there since 2018, open 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. It’s not airside, and not even inside the terminal itself, but still a special enough space to visit at least on the observation level… that’s closed.

In June 2019, the issued a request for private sector involvement in a project to repurpose the space such as a hotel and conference center that incorporated the building, or potentially just using the space for a restaurant, museum, or meeting facility. No significant action has been taken with that over the past six years. And the broader LAX modernization just ignores the treasured Theme Building.

(HT: Johnny Jet)