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)
This is a city — my home — that can’t even address the worst homeless crisis in the nation, and yet we’re supposed to believe they can competently operate an airport? These timelines aren’t based on reality, because the people behind them aren’t serious. Just look at the Automated People Mover as a textbook example of mismanagement. Or LAXit. I could go on…
Instead of removing the “LAX” letters, I recommend keeping them in place and adding the letters “EX” followed by a hyphen. Passengers would then see a sign that reads “EX-LAX.” Many travelers who use LAX perceive the airport as congested and believe that the staff is unresponsive due to stress, chaos, and constipation. Taking “EX-LAX” as directed is a remedy for LAX employee constipation.
Airport revenues at LAX come from aircraft landing fees, lease fees from over 350 tenants, concession fees, and parking fees. If the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) authority started earning millions of dollars in new advertising revenue, LAWA could use this bonus income to offset airport expenditures, such as bond redemption and interest, construction, maintenance of buildings and airfields, operating and administrative expenses, equipment, and road maintenance.
I was going to suggest adding a “RE” in front, but @Ken A’s idea is more amusing.
LAX is a big money maker for the City of Los Angeles. Certain revenues from the airport can only be used for the airport but hospitality revenues have taxes that go to the city and the airport creates many jobs in the city.
@Ken A & @L737 — You both win.
They should turn the Theme building into a Capital One Landing lounge.
@1990 – Category five “winner”!
@Nate – Now that’s a fantastic idea, how do we manifest this.
$30B to modernise an airport, not even build a brand new one. What a grift.
Demolish the theme building. I know it’s iconic but LAX outgrew it and in doing so rendered it irrelevant. They built up all around it so the value of the observation deck is questionable. There can be no airside ramp access. Pedestrian external access is problematic. And, honestly, who is going to endure LAX traffic just to day trip it? This isn’t the TWA terminal at JFK which found a second life as part of a hotel with some great spotting views (at least until the owners started gouging the customers). There is little future for the theme building at an airport which could really use the space for something else. Tear it down.
I think that the theme building should be refurbished and set up as a restaurant again, hopefully with reasonable prices. People getting to LAX early could go to it after checking in and still make their flights. People waiting for arriving passengers could arrive a bit early and enjoy a meal. Maybe even have elementary school airport tours go to it to have a meal and see LAX from a different perspective.