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Los Angeles International Airport began in 1928, when the city leased 640 acres of wheat, barley and lima bean fields in Westchester known as Mines Field. Dirt strips opened that October, Hangar No. 1 went up in 1929 and still stands on the National Register of Historic Places, and the field was dedicated as Los Angeles Municipal Airport in 1930. The airlines stayed at Burbank and Grand Central in Glendale until World War II, when the military took over the field in 1942 and aircraft factories ringed it. A $12.5 million bond passed in 1943, and in 1946 American, TWA and United moved in. The X in LAX means nothing: when airport codes went from two letters to three in 1947, LA simply got an X. The 1958 plan arranged terminals in a U-shape, and the Googie-style Theme Building, dedicated in 1961 with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson present, replaced a planned glass dome.

Since 1972 LAX has managed noise with a preferential runway policy. From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, departures use the inboard runways near the terminals and arrivals use the outboard runways; from midnight to 6:30 a.m., arrivals and departures both run over the ocean, unless Santa Ana winds force easterly operations over Inglewood and South LA. In 2019, 88 percent of passengers started or ended their trips in Los Angeles, which jams the terminal horseshoe. A $30 billion modernization adds the SkyLink people mover, scheduled for 2026, a Metro transit center, a consolidated rental car facility, and an increase from 146 to 182 gates. Facility fees near $50 per departing passenger led Allegiant to announce it would close its LAX crew base.

• The Theme Building’s interior was redone by Walt Disney Imagineering in 1997.
• The 1984 Olympics brought the upper-level roadway and the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
• In 1986 Aeroméxico Flight 498 collided with a private Piper over Cerritos, killing all 67 people aboard both planes and 15 on the ground, and leading the FAA to require TCAS collision avoidance.
• In 1999 Ahmed Ressam was caught at the Canadian border with explosives meant for an LAX passenger area on New Year’s Eve.
• In 2013 two employees removed dry ice from a cargo hold to protect a dog, sealed it in plastic bottles, and set off two blasts that shut terminals.