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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

From Hughes to Hercules: The LA Conservancy Tours the Transformation of the Old Hughes Aircraft Company

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Four years ago, the LA Conservancy toured the then-empty campus of the old Hughes Aircraft Company in Playa Vista. Now, this Saturday, they're back to take a look at the extensive transformation into the Hercules Campus, home to companies such as YouTube (above).

Named after the Hercules plane (a.k.a. the Spruce Goose, which was built there in the 1940s), the campus includes several old industrial buildings left over from that era.

This Saturday's "From Hughes to Hercules" tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and is $25 for members, $35 for non-members, $15 for students and $10 for children 12 and under. Details:

The Conservancy held a tour of this historic campus in 2011, when new owners The Ratkovich Company had just begun a preservation project to adapt the buildings to new uses. The property stood fading and mostly empty for years prior to its purchase. Now that it’s been beautifully renovated, we’re invited back for the big “reveal”!

This year's 90-minute tour will highlight the historic aspects of the campus as well as the innovative adaptive reuse of the buildings and the landscaping. The tour will include access to several interiors, including the Cargo Building (the enormous wooden structure built to house construction of the H-4 Hercules heavy transport craft, more commonly known as the "Spruce Goose").

More details here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was on that 2011 tour. Fascinating! Completely worth it, despite the horizontal rain we had that day!