Books have been written about the Hughes Aircraft Company and the technical wonders developed there. See books by Pat Hyland, Ken Richardson and Scott Walker. During the golden age of the aerospace industry in Southern California from 1953 to 2000, many technological marvels were developed. Throughout that era, the Los Angeles basin was a fertile incubator of scientific breakthroughs, constantly advancing the art of defense technology. Hughes Aircraft Company grew from a minor-league airplane builder at the beck and call of legendary aviator/film maker/industrialist Howard Hughes to become the world's leader in the world of defense electronics, missiles and radar. How did this happen?
After Mr. Hughes' departure from active management at the insistence of the Air Force, he set up the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as owner shielding it from public ownership and scrutiny, which allowed a talented group of scientists and engineers to control the company and run with it. The goad of competition was key, be it internal to the company ("You think that invention is cool, just get a load of this!"), external with other aerospace firms ("Whatever your missile can do, ours does faster and farther."), and international against the cold warriors of the USSR (simple but reliable Russian technology versus superior but temperamental American gear). Richardson and his crew pushed back the frontiers of technology rapidly, in competition with all these players. This era started ending when Hughes died in 1974 without a validated will, and company was eventually sold off to GM in 1985, then dismembered among Raytheon, Boeing, and NewsCorp.
Today, the national aerospace industry is dominated by mega-companies whose expertise seems to lie in lobbying politicians instead of actually delivering hardware on-time and on-budget. In comparison, how did the Hughes Aircraft function and why was it so successful? Hughes at its best developed a unique way to manage and lead talented people. There are anecdotes aplenty of the technologists that made Hughes Aircraft tick and why they did what they did. We seemed to have such fun doing it.We were dedicated to our national defense as well as to the disciplines of science and engineering.
When companies like Hughes, AT&T (and Apple, for that matter) are at their strongest, it’s easy for community boards and locals to be swept up in the optimism of a brand-new, high-profile corporate campus. But things change. Management priorities and Technology evolve. Even the Navy, when costs and threats change (and BRAC intervenes) will abandon whole complexes such as those in the San Francisco, CA and Vallejo, CA. And decades later, buildings are shuttered. Then communities must adapt.
Hughes Fullerton GSG
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| Bldg 600-604 campus, 607 under construction |
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| Bldg 675 |
Hughes Aircraft Corporate HQ built and sold off to LMU
built at the Hughes peak, then sold off to LMUHughes Moving to New Headquarters : Recessed Design Preserves Views of Westchester Neighbors - Los Angeles Times
LMU to Take Over Hughes Headquarters - Los Angeles Times
ATT Bell Labs Holmdel
-sold to Lucent then sold to Alcatel -then Abandoned
The Birthplace of the Cellphone Is Being Turned Into a Mall
The consolidation, self off, and abandonment was felt keenly in San Diego. I left Parker Hannifin on Jamboree in 1986 to join General Dynamics Convair Division in San Diego. As GD stock priced dropped in the late 80s, the Crown family and other brought in William Anders to fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteHis hire initiated the beginning of a massive self off. Data Systems Division sold to CSC. Electronics division to Thompson CSF I think ... Space to Lockheed Martin ... Convair was split and sold in pieces to Hughes and McDonald Douglas.
San Diego aerospace was decimated. Today the campus that used to run adjacent to the airport is gone. Those who used to work there are moved on, but the loss of 15000 jobs was never recouped. The sell off made a small group of directors and above very rich. The toll on the average worker though can't be measured.
Wow, I worked at both of these places: Bell Labs Holmdel (1980) and Hughes Aircraft GSG (1983). Wow, both of them became a shopping mall! I was at Panasonic in Kadoma from 1989 so maybe it's next? Across the street from my present location Apple's new "spaceship" campus is under construction, maybe a future shopping mall again? Thank you for showing the photos! This shot of Bell in Holmdel just made me cry: https://is.gd/um0wiq
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