LAX color tunnels

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Not to be confused with Airport Tunnel (Los Angeles).
Tunnel under LAX Terminal 6

LAX color tunnels is a term used to describe decorative mosaic decor installed in several tunnels built in 1961 at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).[1] Seven tunnels were created, three remain open to the public.

Designed in the 1950s, the tunnels were envisioned by the architecture firm Pereira & Luckman, to minimize the experienced distance of the 300–500-foot (91–152 m) tunnels.[2][3] The work was overseen by Charles D. Kratka,[2][4] the firm's head of interior design and they were designed by Janet Bennett, then a young artist on his team.[5][6][7][8][9] The tiles were produced by Alfonso Pardinas of Byzantine Mosaics in San Francisco.[9]

Tunnels

Main article: Terminals of Los Angeles International Airport

Seven color tunnels were created for LAX, as of 2023, three remain open to the public:[10][11]

  • Tunnel connecting Terminal 4 rotunda with Baggage Claim – equipped with moving walkway (nicknamed "Astrowalk")
  • Tunnel connecting Terminal 5 rotunda with Baggage Claim
  • Tunnel connecting Terminal 6 rotunda with Baggage Claim[11]

The tunnel connecting Terminal 3 rotunda with Baggage Claim has been closed since 2020 as part of a terminal reconstruction project. LAX managers say the tunnel and its mosaic will be preserved as part of the project.[12]

The color tunnel connecting Terminal 2 and its baggage claim area was demolished to construct the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility to process arriving international passengers.

Despite CBP installation, Terminal 7's mosaic tunnel was retained. However, it is only used for international passengers arriving in that terminal, along with those of Terminal 6 (both terminals are connected by a tunnel, used exclusively by arriving international passengers of the latter).

In addition to the color tunnels, Terminals 4, 5, 6, and 7 were connected by smaller tunnels between the rotundas. The tunnels between Terminals 4, 5, and 6 are currently open to passengers connecting between terminals. The tunnel between Terminals 6 and 7 is now a "sterile corridor" connecting international passengers arriving at Terminal 6 to the Customs and Border Protection facility under Terminal 7.[11][13]

Legacy

Main article: Los Angeles International Airport in popular culture

The hallways with their extensive tile-mosaic walls have appeared in a number of films and television programs,[9] sometimes as symbolic funnels or liminal spaces. The tunnels appeared in Jackie Brown,[14] Airplane!, and Mad Men,[15] among many others.[2] In 2013, a Portland, Oregon company called The Athletic produced color-blocked tile-mosaic mural LAX Airport Socks.[16]

References

  1. ^ *"Special: LAX in the 1960s – Part 1". A Visual History of the World's Great Airports. airporthistory.org. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c * Martino, Alison (May 8, 2020). "Charles Kratka's Mosaic tiles at LAX airport". martino's time machine.
  3. ^ Martino, Alison. "Vintage L.A: Flight of Fancy". Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via AlisonMartino.com.
  4. ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (November 25, 2007). "Charles D. Kratka, 85; designer, artist created mosaic tunnel walls at LAX". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Sandhaus, Louise (January 26, 2017). "Who designed the murals for the Los Angeles International Airport?". LSD News & Views.
  6. ^ Bennett, Janet. "My Midcentury Airport". Scribd. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Bennett, Janet. "LAX Los Angeles International Airport Mosiacs To Solomons v2". Scribd. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Sandhaus, Louise (March 23, 2017). "Her Story Meets His Story: Janet Bennett, Charles Kratka, and the LAX Murals". Design Observer. Observer Omnimedia LLC. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Gnerre, Sam. "Wall mosaics in LAX passageways lead travelers home". South Bay History – The Daily Breeze. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  10. LAist. July 5, 2016. Archived from the original
    on July 8, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Kuan, Albert (December 19, 2017). "LAX's Long-Standing History with Inter-Terminal Underground Tunnels". Airline Geeks. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Terminals 2 and 3 Modernization Project Notice of Preparation and Initial Study" (PDF). Los Angeles World Airports. August 2016. p. 34. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  13. ^ "How To Get Between Terminals At LAX". One Mile at a Time. May 14, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Cowan, Jared (December 21, 2017). "How Quentin Tarantino and 'Jackie Brown' Made the South Bay a Star". L.A. TACO. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Baskas, Harriet (September 30, 2016). "History of the airport moving walkway". Stuck at the Airport. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Walker, Alissa (November 2, 2013). "Dress To Match LAX's Colourful Tunnels With These Brilliant Socks". Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved November 29, 2022.


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