Photos of Surfridge, the ghost suburb by LAX

The website LAUNFD posts a gallery of images showing the old neighborhood of homes that was cleared out, starting in the mid-1960s, between LAX and Vista Del Mar, the street in Playa del Rey that runs above Dockweiler Beach. As LAX grew into a major airport, living in the original Palisades del Rey development became untenable. The homeowners in Surfridge agreed to be bought out; the 800 or so homes in the tract were demolished or moved, leaving empty streets and abandoned fire hydrants and streetlamps. The entire neighborhood is fenced off and posted no trespassing. Sandpiper Street used to be open for people to park and gawk at the departing jets, and it was always shocking to me how many people did. But Sandpiper too was fenced off sometime after 9/11. Now the area is habitat for the El Segundo Blue Butterfly.