Location: The site occupies the majority of a one square mile section near the easternmost portion of the Los Angeles International Airport in the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. It is bordered by Imperial Boulevard to the south, Sepulveda Boulevard to the west, Century Boulevard to the north and Aviation Boulevard (formerly Redondo Boulevard) to the east, and it occupies the majority of Section 6, Township 3 South, Range 14 West.
Site History: In 1940 and 1941, the U.S. Army obtained two leases from the City of Los Angeles for a total of approximately 570 acres of land at the Los Angeles Municipal Airport (Mines Field) site. The "basic" lease (War Department Lease No. W-04-193-ENG-2021; City Lease No. 1097, subsequently referred to as Lease No. 1117) was dated December 1941, and was for approximately 570 acres. (The boundaries of certain portions of the leased area were approximated by site features, and thus the acreage of the leased area was an approximation) . The majority of the 570-acre site (456 acres, including "all runways, taxiways, and all landing field facilities") was leased as joint use; the remaining 114 acres were acquired for exclusive use of the Government for "barracks, training school, tactical positions, and the like."
An earlier lease (War Department Lease No. W-59-QM-722; City Lease No. 1047) was obtained in September 1940. This lease was for 10.74 acres, which were within the boundaries of the abovementioned 570 acres. Although under a separate lease, this 10.74-acre parcel was included within the estimated total leased area of 570 acres. (Lease maps indicate that the southeastern portion of the Los Angeles Municipal Airport site, including the areas of Hangars 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, was not included in the government lease; this area is shown as being under lease by North American Aviation, Inc.)
This 570-acre site, which was originally known as Mines Field, was established as a municipal airport in 1928. During World War II, it was used by the U.S. Army Air Force for military flights. In 1943, the City reportedly turned the operation of the airport over to the federal government for the "duration." During that period, existing hangars, offices, and other facilities were taken over by the Army and Navy air transport. Available historical maps and references (e.g., a 1944-era map of Mines Field "Location of Government Buildings") document that many improvements were constructed by the Government. These improvements include buildings, ammo dumps, gun placements, etc. A reference on a 1948 permit for a 16,000 gallon UST for Douglas Aircraft, Inc. states that "this installation was put in by the Government during the war without permit."
From 1943 through approximately 1948, the 570-acre site was released back to the City of Los Angeles through four supplemental agreements to the basic lease, through expiration of the basic lease, and also through surrender of the property associated with Lease No. W-59-QM-722. Supplemental Agreement 1, dated January 1943, relinquished a total of 8.136 acres of Government exclusive lease area as follows: 1.664 acres released to the City for exclusive use by Interstate Aircraft & Engineering Corporation; 4.917 acres released to the City for exclusive use by Douglas Aircraft Co. and/or Defense Plant Corporation; and 1.555 acres released to the City for exclusive use by the City. Supplemental Agreement 2, dated March 1944, relinquished 1.187 acres of Government exclusive use area to the City for exclusive use by California Flyers, Inc. Supplemental Agreements 3 and 4, presumably dated in late 1945 and early 1946, respectively, relinquished an additional 72 acres of Government exclusive use area to the City.
The remaining acreage was covered under the basic lease which expired on 09/30/45, and under Lease No. W-59-QM-722, which was evidently surrendered in 1948. (The Airport Commission denied a request by the War Department for extension of the basic lease to 11/30/45, and also denied a request for a 90-day extension beyond 11/30/45 "for removal of improvements on Airport.") The terms of the basic lease state that "should any such improvements [or] construction work subsequently interfere with the construction of improvements on said Airport by the Lessor or by any of its Lessees, such construction work or improvements so placed thereon by the Government shall be removed or relocated by the Government at its sole cost and expense."
Currently this site is owned by the City of Los Angeles and is entirely within the boundaries of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) .
| 1 June 1943 Army Station List |
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| 7 April 1945 Army Station List |
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| 7 May 1946 Army Station List |
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