Theme Building, Googie architectural structure at Los Angeles International Airport, United States
The Theme Building is an observation tower with curved arches at Los Angeles International Airport in California, United States. The construction reaches 41 meters (135 feet) in height and supports a disc-shaped platform between four slanted legs.
The Theme Building was built to mark the spot where Pereira & Luckman's 1959 airport plan had envisioned a huge glass dome hub, a plan later scaled down. Robert E. McKee General Contractor built it, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated it on June 25, 1961. The city designated it a historic-cultural monument, no. 570, in 1993.
The name comes from the early 1960s and was meant to make the space age visible to air travelers. The form with its floating platform expresses the belief in technical progress at that time.
Elevators lead from below to the observation level and offer a full view of runways. The entrance is centrally located between the terminals and accessible via walkways.
The crossed arches are an illusion: four steel-reinforced concrete legs rise about 15 feet, topped with hollow stucco-covered steel trusses. In 2010 a tuned mass damper was fitted inside to counter earthquake movement without altering the exterior. The building was dedicated on June 25, 1961, by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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