This reminds me that LAX looked a lot more like this when I first moved there in 1977 than it does now.
Early on, there’s a couple of nice “airporters”, a stretched Chevy Suburban and a Checker Aerobus. There’s also a ’64 GTO, as well as some other interesting iron on the loop.
What was the flashing thing on the Falcon when it changed lanes?
HaHa…nobody uses those any more, even though they paid for them when they bought their cars!
I think it’s one of those flashing things I see on cars driven by old men at 55 in the fast lane, on a freeway posted 65.
The really noticeable thing to me was just how little traffic there was on the loop road. I was just reading a discussion on another site where people were complaining about the congestion on the loop, with some blaming Uber/Lyft for the increase in traffic.
Probably the biggest change in the look of LAX came in 1984 just before the LA Olympics when they added the separate levels for departures and arrivals and built the International Terminal.
The next big change is under construction. By 2023 a “people mover” will tower above the existing upper roadway level down the middle of the airport. It will connect with a central rental car facility, eliminating much of the current bus traffic, and the light rail system.
Currently, Uber/Lyft carry more passengers than any other mode of ground transportation. Taxis are the biggest losers. Prime Time Shuttle is also pretty much out of business, though Super Shuttle is doing better than ever.
As I was watching the video, a banner ad popped up at the bottom that said: “Finance a new 2018 Elantra!” And that just made me sad.
I noticed that most of the cars were unusually very new. But then as they pull out of the airport the older iron becomes much more common. The poor folks wouldn’t have had any business in the airport.
Maybe the folks with old cars worked there as service employees?
Yeah, someone has to clean the terminal and load the bags. But they still wouldn’t have any business driving up to the front of the terminal. Their cars would be in the employee parking lot, wherever that might have been.
Also, the older cars could be driven by local elderly people of the time, who may they keep cars longer, since no rust/salt.
What with the well paying union jobs and those jobs in the aerospace/defense plants; people could afford to buy new/near new cars much more easily than today.
Somewhat true. Notice that most of the cars were Ford/Chevy/Plymouth, and a few VW’s, not too many higher priced brands. My dad was an aerospace engineer and fit that profile. He bought mostly low priced cars, but traded every 2-4 years. That was not uncommon, as styles changed drastically and warranties were short.
Being in that business, he was also more inclined to use the airlines for personal travel than the average American back then.
In the days before the deregulation of airlines, flying was largely the province of the well-to-do, government employees and members of the military. (That was also a big reason why people dressed up when visiting the airport.)
When my family went to Disney World in 1973 (from Pennsylvania), there was no question that we would take the car. Flying was too expensive.
Today even low-income people have flown.
Very cool! Think I saw a ’63 Chevy Bel-Air (or Biscayne?) in the closing shot. Those early 60s Falcons, I remember them being all over the place as late as the early 80s. That GTO early in the clip is gorgeous. Love the Ventures style music too.
Great clip, very cool. That GTO is gorgeous, and think I spotted a ’63 Biscayne or Bel-Air later on. Those early 60s Falcons must’ve been very durable, I remember seeing them on the road well up to the early 80s. And the ’64 Galaxie wagon, that was the Honda CR-V or Toyota Highlander of its day. The Ventures style music is terrific too.
Yup! Those first generation Falcons were indeed simple, slow & durable.
The Falcon appears to be a top-of-the-line (for 1962) Futura.
At 2:01-08 in the film, a 1954 Cadillac Series 62 sedan appears, and it looks as though it is being used as a cab.
A pleasant, endearing slice of 1960’s Nostalgia!
I half expected to see “Hazel” or “My Three Sons” in there somewhere.
Thanks for posting this, Paul.
I love the wood treatment Ford gave the 64 Country Squire.
A couple of miles from my house is a buy here/pay here lot with several vintage cars. One of the cars is a 64 Country Squire that is an unusual (for a 64 full sized Ford) shade of maroon. I noticed this past week that it has been joined by a 59 Buick convertible.
Love the 64 Thunderbird and the 62 Continental (parked).
I moved here in 72 and there was still a bit of the 60’s left – less congestion, affordable real estate, Tiki restaurants, terrible smog. Would change very quickly as the 70’s progressed and, among other things, LA experienced the impact of Congressional changes in national immigration law passed in 1965.
I remember rolling into LAX on a Friday night less than an hour before our flight, parking my friend’s car in a very affordable lot directly across from the terminal, and taking a $7.00 one-way flight to San Diego on Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA flew 727s constantly up and down the coast at deeply discounted rates – in the days when intrastate-only airlines were exempt from federal fare regulations.) Different times.
Also loved the ’64 Pontiac GTO, or was it a LeMans in the same shot, my first car :>)
My father flew frequently out of LAX throughout the 60’s, our family would be able to park across from whatever terminal he was using and see him off at the gate. We would wait until he was seated on the plane and wave to him through the terminal window. He would get his seat assignment at the departure gate, he’d choose a seat from an airplane floor plan and the gate agent would manually remove a little sticker for that seat. The lack of traffic and congestion in this video are amazing, it was such an easy trek into and out of LAX back then. And it pretty much remained that way into the 70’s, I flew frequently for my first job from about 1972-75 and it was an easy park in Lot A and a quick walk to the terminal. I remember those cheap fares on PSA to San Francisco, like $16 each way, if memory serves correctly. Also loved the view of the entrance/exit to the airport at the intersection of the main airport road and Sepulveda Blvd., all single level and traffic light controlled, long gone at this point. As you say, different times.
If you really want to delve back into old LAX history, the original terminal was on the east side of Sepulveda Blvd., before the current site on the west side was developed and opened in 1962, I think. You’d park across the street from the terminal, check in, and walk out on the tarmac to a chain link fence and gate, where you would climb the movable stairway to board the propeller driven planes. No congestion, no security, everyone dressed up. I can still recall my dad taking me on my first plane trip to San Diego in a DC-6 in 1956, like a scene from “The High and the Mighty.” Long ago and far away!
Quite a contrast to the LAX of today.
There are only two airports in the world I go out of my way to avoid: LAX and Charles de Gaul. Both are nightmares if you have a close connection. Both are horribly designed and inconvenient.
Best airports? Vancouver and Shanghai. In Vancouver, from the time the wheels hit the tarmac, I can be in my home in 30 min using public transit, and spend $2.85 doing it. Shanghai is connected by train to everything, within and hour, for less than $1.00.
LAX is my home airport and I totally agree – one of the worst airports for a major city anywhere in the world. Lack of decent public transit, traffic clogged access lanes, overtaxed terminals/gates, inadequate restaurant and shopping facilities, insufficient runway capacity causing flight delays, etc. Changes are underway but I’m not convinced they are sufficient to meet the needs of SoCal. And Long Beach, Ontario, Hollywood Burbank, and John Wayne airports are not convenient or fully realized alternatives for many travelers.
“insufficient runway capacity causing flight delays…”
Actually I thought LAX was one of the least delayed major airports in the country, attributed to the usually favorable weather.
The situation has been pretty bad since 2015 due to runway construction/repair projects. I fly to NYC a lot for my consulting job and have experienced numerous lengthy delays due to the runway projects. Between LAX and EWR, it can be a tough trip.
https://www.nbaa.org/ops/airports/lax/
LAX, like PHX and few others, remain truly dreadful because each terminal is an island unto itself. If you must change airlines during a layover, it is necessary to leave the security zone, take a bus to another terminal, and then go through security again. For all the fees and taxes paid by LA , CA residents…and all the gate fees, you would think the airport would have been rebuilt to meet security needs in the post 9/11 world. LAX SUX.
Yeah, LAX is the model for an airport that would benefit hugely from a simple subway ring below the lower level and around the entire perimeter of the terminals on the post-security side of the gate which would make connections simple. The overall layout even lends itself to it.
” If you must change airlines during a layover, it is necessary to leave the security zone, take a bus to another terminal, and then go through security again.”
No longer true. Terminals B (most non North American carriers) 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are all connected behind security. Buses currently carry many connecting passengers between 1, 2, 3 and B. Connectors are planned or already under construction.
True, but unlike newer airports there are no moving sidewalks, so it can be a bit of a hike if you have to walk from say 4 all the way to 8. (IIRD the tunnels that connect 4, 5, and 6 date from when the terminals were originally built in the early 1960s and are too narrow for moving sidewalks).
The thing about LAX is that it wasn’t designed for connections, it was designed for the convenience of people beginning or ending their journey in Los Angeles. The collection of many relatively small terminals minimizes the walk from the curb to the gate, but it makes it absolutely horrible it you have a connecting flight in a different terminal. Of course that “curb to gate” part assumes you’re be arriving at the airport in a car — Los Angeles doesn’t do public transit.
Back in the 60s when I was in the service, I flew in and out of LAX a few times. Was always a pleasure back then. Now Laguardia in NY has to be right up(down?)there with any list of nightmare airports.
Rarest vehicle in the video has to be the Volkswagen pickup at 0:21
Thanks for posting that clip- brings back a few memories. No one noticed the ’64 Bonnie at the beginning of the clip?
That amazing spider like building in the background was showing its age with stress cracks in the concrete and other infirmities. It is being restored and will once again be a restaurant with great views.