Flicker Room, Los Angeles Airport 1966

Flicker fusion frequency is the term for the number of frames per second required to reproduce motion in films – if the image falls below a certain frequency, it will result in a constant flickering on the screen. This happened in early films – one of the reasons people used to describe a cinema trip as ‘going to the flicks.’

The Flicker Room restaurant was in operation at Los Angeles Airport in the 1960s and was located in the Theme Building, the distinctive white concrete and steel building at the airport that resembles a flying saucer that has landed on its four legs. The sleek structure symbolized the jet age and was dedicated by President Lyndon B Johnson, in 1961. It remains an architectural wonder and there are plans to house a hotel there in the future.

There was hearty fare on offer for passengers – including the ‘world’s biggest hamburger’ which could feed four people for $4.50.

The restaurant was run by a company that originated in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1897, when two brothers formed the Van Noy Railroad News Company to sell newspapers and food items to rail passengers on the go. In 1916, when he was 16, Walt Disney was one its employees.

After various mergers and acquisitions, the company started to move away from railroads and opened its first catering service at San Francisco Airport in 1954. Today the company is called HMSHost and operates restaurants and cafes at airports around the world.

On the back of this menu someone had written Pan Am flight 814, arriving July 18 1966 at 8.40pm. 

Courtesy Private Collection.

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