LAX PYLONS

Bye, Bye LAX lighted pylons

Art,

 

The iconic ring of 15 pylons and the giant 32-foot-tall L-A-X letters that have marked and illuminated the entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in a wide variety of patterns and colors for the past 25 years are all coming down.

The pylons must go to make room for roadway improvements that are part of the airport’s Airfield and Terminal Modernization Program, which promise to ease traffic congestion and improve traffic flow into, out of and around the airport.

The ring of 15 pylons is part of a total of 26 illuminated pylons, ranging in height from 25 to 100 feet, that stretched along 1.5 miles of Century Boulevard.

Removal of the 15 ‘ring’ pylons started earlier this month, while others were removed earlier to make way for LAX’s forthcoming Automated People Mover train. 

“Since their installation in 2000, the iconic LAX pylons have stood as a vibrant symbol of LAX and Los Angeles, welcoming more than 1.2 billion visitors from around the world,” said Michael Christensen, Chief Airport Development Officer, Los Angeles World Airports, in a statement.

Removing the pylons gives the airport “a unique opportunity to reimagine their design during this exciting new chapter in LAX’s transformation,” he added.

 

Will the LAX pylons return?

 

Part of the appeal of the LAX pylons is that their colors could all be changed remotely and were often changed to mark holidays and create tributes.

During Earth Hour each year, the pylons glowed green for an hour, and then went dark for an hour.

Authorities for Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA), which operates LAX, say the original pylon artist, Paul Tzanetopoulos, is currently working with the project team on a new design and configuration of the pylons to be installed when the roadway improvments are done, sometime around 2030.

 

 

Images courtesty Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA)

Stuck at The Airport: Mars edition

Space, , , , ,

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is set to touch down on the Red Planet on Thursday, February 18th.

Earthlings are pretty darn excited.

At Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the famous LAX pylons are glowing red in anticipation of the landing.

Many other sites and landmarks around the world, including Cleveland’s historic Terminal Tower, are also glowing red in anticipation of the landing.

Krispy Kreme is celebrating the landing too with a special Mars doughnut. This chocolate cream-filled doughnut is dipped in caramel icing with a red planet swirl and sprinkled with chocolate cookie crumbs. The limited-edition doughnut is available in shops and online for one day only – Thursday, February 18.

And of course, you’ll want to tune in to watch NASA’s live coverage of the Perseverance Rover Landing, starting at 11:15 am PST and 2:15 EST.

LAX pylons showing colors of the pride rainbow flag

Events, ,

Get ready for a rainbow.

In honor of LGBTQ Heritage Month, and in celebration of this weekend’s 2018 Los Angeles Pride Parade, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is setting the lights on the iconic entrance pylons at LAX to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet – the colors of the pride rainbow flag.

They’ve also updated the icons on the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY) social media accounts to reflect support for Pride Month.

“At Los Angeles World Airports we are proud to join with Mayor Garcetti and the city family to celebrate LA Pride and promote the message that everyone is welcome in Los Angeles and to our airports,” said Trevor Daley, Deputy Executive Director for External Affairs, LAWA. “On behalf of the entire LAX family, we stand strong with the LGBTQ community locally and throughout the world.”

Very nice!

 

 

Airport amenity of the week: LAX pylons in rainbow colors

Art, ,

 

 

The iconic Gateway pylons at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have been lit to honor and celebrate all sorts of holidays, events and special memorial days and this past weekend the pylons have been lit up in rainbow colors in recognition of LGBTQ Heritage Month and LA Pride Week.

The pylons stretch out for 1.5 miles of the approach to LAX on Century Boulevard, grow in height from 25 to 60 feet and are most visible as a ring of 15 100-foot-tall columns at the entrance to the airport.

They were installed in 2000, received a major upgrade in 2006 when the original lamps were replaced with 2,000 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and can now display more than 16 million colors.

Here’s a video ‘drive-through’ of the Pylon project that contains video of an artist installation inside one of the pylons: