6775 S Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90230, USA

Hughes Aircraft Company, Mock-Up Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Designs for Building 3 and associated Building 2 were developed by architect H.L. Gogerty even before the contract for the HK-1 Flying Boat was finalized. Construction of the building, to be used for production of models and component prototypes for the plane, began in the fall of 1942. The plant`s first administrative building stood on the site chosen for the Mock-up Building, necessitating that structure`s removal to a location east of Building 2, where it remained for several years. Building 3 was built completely of wood in compliance with the government contract stipulation that both the Flying Boat and any structures erected for its completion utilize non-essential materials. Building 3 was erected contemporaneously with Building 2, the Engineering Building, immediately to the north. The two buildings were designed as functional unit and were linked by a breezeway, allowing direct communication between the designers and engineers working in Building 2 and those giving form to their ideas in Building 3. Howard Hughes worked with his engineers for months in Building 3 designing the Flying Boat`s instrumentation and working out kinks in the hydraulic system. The prototype of the plane`s nose section was stored in the building`s upstairs loft for years after the project was completed. Early work in guided missiles at Hughes began in Building 15 and production of prototypes was transferred to Building 3 around 1950. The first model of the renowned Falcon air-to-air missile was produced there. Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing through the Vietnam War, this building was used by machinists, sheet metal fabricators and pattern makers working with the helicopter engineering department to produce prototypes. Testing of helicopter drive trains was conducted in the metal shed attached to the north side. Cannons, machine guns, and other armament were also manufactured here.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Processing & Electronics Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Construction of the original portion of Building 5, the first building of the Culver City complex, was begun in January and completed by the weekend of July 4th, 1941, when the Hughes Aircraft Company was transferred in its entirety from the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale and Union Air Terminal in Burbank to the new site. The move consolidated the heretofore fractured organization of the Aircraft Division of the Hughes Tool Company. At the time of the move, Building 5 was the only structure fully completed and it housed all of the company`s activities. Construction crews worked two to three eight-hour shifts per day to complete the building by the July 4th deadline imposed by Hughes. The marshy ground of the Ballona wetlands, aggravated by an extremely rainy winter, required driving 40 to 50 foot pilings to support the structure. The building represents the first use by architect H.L. Gogerty of long span arch framing for the plant`s industrial buildings - a method of construction revisited in the design of the Cargo Building (Buildings 15 and 16).

Hughes Aircraft Company, Assembly & Manufacturing Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Containing more than 400,000 square feet, Building 6 is the largest building within the Hughes complex. Located immediately south of Building 5, to which it is connected via a tunnel, Building 6 is a two story steel frame structure, essentially rectangular in plan, which as been expanded several times to achieve its present configuration.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Cafeteria Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

The most ambitious interpretation of the International style within the Hughes complex, Building 10 is an asymmetrically organized structure with a small, flat roofed second story which rises from the northwest corner of the single story volume and cantilevers over the north facade. The second floor housed the executive dining room and its attached kitchen and is accessed by an external glazed stairway. The stair rises from the northwest corner and is sheltered by a series of four stepped, overhanging flat roofs. The raised, angled main entrance is inset immediately east of the stairway in the north elevation. Its glazed double door is sheltered by a flat roofed canopy. The east elevation features a corresponding entrance, also with an angled approach and a flat canopy with pipe and trellis supports. Building 11 adjoins the cafeteria at the southeast corner. ... H.L. Gogerty was responsible for the design of the original cafeteria, as well as the 1950 remodeling which added 8700 sq ft - more than doubling the size of the existing building. A 72 x 100 ft dining room was added to the east end, and the north side of the building was extended 13 feet. Space added at the southwest corner housed storage and support facilities and the second level executive dining room was added at the northwest corner. Company folklore maintains that Howard Hughes kept a private office in the southwest corner of Building 10, from which he could reach the executive dining room on the upper level via a stairway from the main kitchen added during renovations in 1952. The upper level contained a dining room with a balcony, restroom, and a small kitchen. It was initially available only for special uses, such as conferences and luncheon meetings, and would certainly have been at Hughes` disposal. The balcony was enclosed in 1957, as was an outdoor patio dining area along the south side of the cafeteria for use as private dining/conference rooms.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Garage & Maintenance Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

One of the earliest structures of the Hughes complex, Building 11, is a single story, high bay structure, roughly rectangular in plan, with a very slightly pitched gabled roof. Of traditional wood frame construction and clad in smooth stucco, the utilitarian design lacks any decorative embellishment. ... Built between 1941 and 1943, Building 11 was designed by architect H.L. Gogerty and was one of the eight structures which formed the nucleus of the early plant. Originally known as Building L, or the Paint Shop, it also housed the Plating and Anodizing Department. The structure was first located at the west end of Building 5 and was moved to its present location behind the cafeteria in November 1949 prior to construction of the second addition to Building 5. The Donald R. Warren Company, a local engineering firm, drew the plans for the structure`s relocation. Following the move, Building 11 functioned as the plant garage and contained areas for vehicle repair and washing, a welding area and carpentry shop, and tool and parts storage. The Maintenance Department also occupied space in the building. Howard Hughes reportedly maintained a private apartment in the penthouse of Building 11. A rooftop walkway allowed the secretive millionaire to pass between the penthouse and the executive dining room of the adjoining cafeteria unseen by the rest of the plant.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Radar Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

With more than 200,000 sq ft, Building 12 is by far the largest building of the Hughes complex designed specifically for research and development. It provided a huge increase in office, laboratory, and experimental shop space upon its completion in April, 1951. The two story, steel frame structure is executed in utilitarian Modernist style; rectangular in plan, it has a flat roof and walls spanned by continuous bands of steel casement windows. It was the first building to employ the vertical corrugated steel siding and smooth boxed trim used on most later plant buildings. The structure rests on reinforced concrete foundations, with columns supported on steel pilings.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Hull Pattern Building, 6775 Centinela Ave Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Contiguous with the north side of Building 15 and nearly as long, this narrow, single story wood frame structure is the only element of the Building 14-15-16 complex which does not employ laminated wooden arches as its primary structural members. A post and beam structure 540 ft long by 50 wide, substantial 10 x 12 inch members carry bowstring trusses which support the vaulted roof and provide clear span work spaces below. At 42 ft in height, it is considerably lower than Building 15, and the roofline is broken at midpoint by a single flat-roofed bay. ... Constructed contemporaneously with the giant Cargo Building and Building 16, Building 14 was completed by August, 1943. Designed specifically to house the two enormous wood and plaster patterns used to form the Duramold hull of the Flying Boat, the building (variously designated Building D-1 or the Hull Patter Building) originally consisted of two independent, open sided structures - one for each pattern - separated by a single bay width at the center. The patterns were stored in the building for the duration of the project and are visible in early photographs.