Hawthorne Airport, California

This hemmed-in urban airport, just two miles east of LAX, continues to be an important center for aerospace research and production. Starting in 1940, it was the primary location for the Northrop Aircraft Corporation, and was the site of many aviation firsts, especially related to flying wing designs, as well as large cruise missiles, like the Snark. From WWII to 1960, much of Northrop’s facilities here were controlled by the military, and known as Air Force Plant 10, starting in 1948. The landing strip was conveyed to the city of Hawthorne in 1960, and Northrop’s facilities, with more than 40 buildings, were conveyed back to the company in 1964. The largest buildings, on the west end, are still used to make aircraft parts, by Triumph Aerostructures. The buildings on the east side are now the main production site for Space X, Elon Musk’s aerospace company.