Attempts to annex the unincorporated Del Aire area, located roughly between the cities of Hawthorne and El Segundo, began soon after houses started going up in the region in the late 1930s.
First, some geography. The Del Aire area as currently constituted consists of two roughly rectangular segments whose combined area totals just over one square mile. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 10,338 residents living there; as of July 1, 2025, that number was 9,958.
The top segment adjoins the eastern edge of Los Angeles International Airport and straddles the 405 Freeway. It stretches from 116th St. to El Segundo Blvd. on the north and south and Aviation Blvd. and Felton Ave. on the west and east. Los Angeles County opened the satellite Airport Courthouse in this section in December 1999.
The bottom segment, sometimes referred to as Liberty Acres, lies just east of the 405 between El Segundo Blvd. and Rosecrans Ave. on the north and south and Inglewood Ave. on the east.
Hawthorne took the first stab at grabbing the area in 1944, when the Hawthorne City Council called for a Sept. 26 election calling for its annexation. That measure didn’t come to pass, though the city did annex a relatively small 31-acre tract in July 1946 on which 217 homes were built.
Thus would begin a decades-long history of moves by Hawthorne to annex the area. Supporters announced the next serious attempt to give Hawthorne control of all of Del Aire in November 1947. At that time, the land in question contained approximately 1,400 houses and was half the total area of Hawthorne itself.
The movement called the northern section of Del Aire the Haynes Annexation, and the southern portion the Johnson Annexation, and the city set the election concerning the move for May 1, 1948. On that date, residents soundly rejected the measure with 632 voting against and 248 voting for it.
After that defeat, the annexation attempts slowed down during the 1950s. In the meantime, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn set about making civic improvements in the area.
These included the announcement of a branch of the Los Angeles County Library in October 1955 in Del Aire. The Wiseburn branch, established a year later at 11936 Aviation Blvd. originally was a rented storefront. The county replaced it with the free-standing Wiseburn Branch Library building that opened at 5335 135th St. in 1966.
In November 1956, Hahn began acquiring land for a seven-acre county regional park at 126th St. and Isis Ave., that eventually would include a community building and gymnasium in addition to recreational facilities.
The resulting Del Aire Park has become an important community resource serving a variety of users since opening in 1958. The park benefitted from a major upgrade in 2012, with revamped play areas, basketball courts, and a new community center and gym.
In 1960, residents of Del Aire started a movement to incorporate as their own independent city, to be given the name Juan De Anza after the 18th century Spanish pioneer who directed expeditions in California and what would become New Mexico. Aimed at warding off outside annexation, the attempt at self-incorporation ultimately failed.
After that effort fell through, Hawthorne tried again to annex Del Aire, slating an Aug. 15, 1961 election on the measure. The final vote total was 150 for, to 140 against.
Success at last? Not so much. Opponents immediately took the matter to court, claiming in their legal action that Hawthorne used inaccurate property valuations in its incorporation filings and asking that the subsequent election be invalidated. The judge agreed, and as a result, the annexation failed to go through.
Hawthorne kept at it with new attempts in 1969, 1972 and 1983, but each time, Del Aire residents refused to go along with annexation to the city. As of this writing, Del Aire remains unincorporated.
School-age children in Del Aire attend schools in the Wiseburn Unified School District, a small but highly respected district originally founded in 1896. In addition to the Wiseburn area itself, the district also includes the Del Aire and Holly Glen areas.
As with other such unincorporated areas, mailing addresses can be fluid, and confounding. The U.S. Postal Service does not always make its zip code areas contiguous with city boundaries. Residents wishing to change that have to present a compelling case to the USPS in order to change their zip code.
The USPS generally considers Del Aire part of its Hawthorne service area, but the northernmost chunk of Del Aire between 116th and 120th streets has been assigned a Lennox zip code and an Inglewood mailing address even though it’s not physically connected to either community.
Over the years, some Del Aire residents have pushed for it to become part of El Segundo, but that city has expressed little interest in the idea. On the other hand, Hawthorne has pursued the annexation of Del Aire on at least five separate occasions, but its resilient residents have actively resisted that move for decades.
Note: Thanks to reader Tyson Lee for the story suggestion.
Sources:
Daily Breeze archives.
“Del Aire, California Profile: Facts and Data,” HomeTown Locator website, 2025.
Los Angeles Times archives.
Winning Wiseburn: How a Small California School District Beat the Odds, by Jean Merl, 2024.
