Named for a refinery, built on dunes beside the runway
El Segundo is Spanish for the second, and it is named after industrial equipment. Standard Oil bought the land in 1911 for its second California refinery and the name stuck to the town that grew around it. Incorporation came on 18 January 1917. During the Second World War the Douglas Aircraft plant here built SBD Dauntless dive bombers. From 2009 artists moved into the low industrial buildings of Smoky Hollow and the tech companies followed them, and the Los Angeles Times moved its headquarters into the city in 2018.
The shape of the place is set by what surrounds it. El Segundo holds 5.46 square miles of land at 115 feet, with Los Angeles International Airport directly north, Manhattan Beach south, the Pacific west and Aviation Boulevard east. Santa Monica Bay is at the end of the street grid. Sitting under an approach path is a permanent production condition rather than an occasional one, and it decides how sound is recorded outdoors and whether a drone flies at all.
That industrial stock is the reason to shoot here. Smoky Hollow gives roll up doors, sawtooth roofs and concrete that reads honest for apparel, artist and social content work, all within a mile of the beach. Aerospace, satellite and semiconductor employers sit inside the same grid, which is why so much of what we shoot in this city is corporate video and testimonial work with engineers rather than actors. The Old Town Music Hall, which programs silent films and Golden Age screenings, is the one period interior downtown.
Nine addresses the city publishes itself
The Recreation & Parks directory lists 26 city parks and facilities. Several are specific enough to scout from the listing.
Recreation Park at 401 Sheldon Street carries a ball field, basketball, tennis, pickleball, volleyball, horseshoes, shuffle board, a fire pit, a pool and a playground, with George Brett Field in its northeast corner and the softball field at Holly Avenue and Eucalyptus Drive. Campus El Segundo at 2201 E. Mariposa Avenue, on (310) 524-2700, holds soccer and athletic fields, is listed at a capacity of 100 or more and is available to rent. The El Segundo Teen Center & Skate Park at 405 Grand Avenue lists a skate park, basketball court and fitness centre, also rentable. The Urho Saari Swim Stadium, listed by the city under its own nickname, The Plunge, is at 219 W. Mariposa. The wider directory adds Acacia Park, Hilltop Park, Library Park on the 600 block of Main Street, Sycamore Park and the Aquatics Center at 2240 E. Grand Avenue.
Two privately operated venues sit on the city's tourism site. The Old Town Music Hall at 140 Richmond Street, on (310) 322-2592, has been an El Segundo landmark since the late 1960s and screens silent films accompanied by live musicians on a 1925 Wurlitzer organ. The Toyota Sports Performance Center is listed as the official training centre of the LA Kings, a 135,000 square foot facility owned by AEG and operated by American Skating Entertainment Centers, with three ice rinks, a restaurant, a pro shop and a fitness centre. Neither is a city booking, so both need a private location agreement.
El Segundo Beach on Vista Del Mar Street is listed by the city's tourism site, but the permitting authority for the sand is not published. It does not appear on FilmLA's list of beaches it assists with, and no county or state jurisdiction is confirmed. Establish who permits it before a beach day goes on a schedule.
Satellites, planes, semiconductors, energy and toys
The city's economic development site sums up the local output in one line: made in El Segundo covers satellites, planes, semi-conductors, energy and toys. It describes roots in refinery, aerospace and innovation that have grown into a technology base built on high-tech engineering, information technology, data systems and digital media.
The named companies with a presence here are Chevron, Boeing, NantWorks, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, TechStyle, The Aerospace Corporation, Kite/Gilead, DaVita, the Los Angeles Times, Raytheon, Teledyne Controls, Belkin, Aramark, CBRE, JLL, Nasdaq GlobeNewswire, Liquid Advertising, Wpromote, Radlink and South Bay Customs. Three professional sports organisations are on the same list: the LA Kings, the LA Sparks and the Los Angeles Chargers.
That last group matters more than its length suggests. Sports organisations commission across every category at once, from match-day live event coverage to sponsor deliverables to season-long social content. Agencies sit here too, in Liquid Advertising and Wpromote, which means some El Segundo work arrives as agency production rather than direct client work, with a different approval chain and a different set of deliverable specs.
LAX airspace, and the run down the 405
El Segundo sits immediately south of Los Angeles International Airport, which governs aerial work more than any city rule does. Commercial drone operation requires an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small unmanned aircraft rating under 14 CFR Part 107, and flight in controlled airspace requires authorisation, issued by the FAA through LAANC. Check the specific address against the airspace before an aerial is offered, because a block either way can change the answer.
From Westlake Village the run is roughly 40 miles, US-101 south to I-405 south, which is a derived approximation rather than a city-published distance. Traffic on that corridor, not mileage, sets the call time.
Different rules apply a short drive away. Santa Monica contracts its film permits out, Culver City is a FilmLA jurisdiction, and Long Beach runs its own special events bureau on a three business day clock. The Los Angeles County overview sets out which authority holds which city, and a commercial production that crosses two of them needs two applications, not one.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to film in El Segundo?
Yes, and it comes from an unusual desk: Business Services inside the Finance Department, through the city's Special Events and Film office. We file it. The insurance certificate goes in with the application here rather than after approval, and Parks facilities want roughly double the lead time of a street, so the location choice drives the calendar.
What are the best filming locations in El Segundo?
Smoky Hollow is the reason most crews come: low industrial buildings with roll-up doors, sawtooth roofs and honest concrete, a mile from the beach. Downtown along Main Street reads as a small town that happens to sit under an approach path. The Old Town Music Hall, which programs silent films and Golden Age screenings, is the one period interior. The city publishes nine addresses of its own.
Can you fly a drone in El Segundo?
Rarely, and not without clearance. The city sits directly under the LAX approach, so airspace is the governing constraint rather than a city form. In practice we build coverage from rooftops, the dune line and the beach instead, which usually gets what an aerial would have given on a shoot this size.
What kinds of businesses in El Segundo commission video?
Aerospace, satellite, semiconductor, energy and toy companies, plus the Los Angeles Times, which moved its headquarters here in 2018. That mix means most of what we shoot in this city is corporate video and testimonial work with engineers rather than actors, along with apparel and artist work in the Smoky Hollow buildings.
Can we schedule a shoot on El Segundo Beach?
Confirm the permitting authority first. The city's tourism site lists El Segundo Beach on Vista Del Mar Street, but the city does not publish who permits filming on the sand, and the beach is not on FilmLA's list of beaches it assists with.
How far is El Segundo from your Westlake Village base?
About fifty miles, and the run is the 405 rather than the 101, so it is traffic dependent in a way most of our coverage is not. We call early and travel against the peak. For a full production day we usually stage locally rather than commuting the crew twice.
Who commissions video work in El Segundo?
The city's economic development site names Chevron, Boeing, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, The Aerospace Corporation, Belkin and the Los Angeles Times among others, plus the agencies Liquid Advertising and Wpromote, and three sports organisations: the LA Kings, the LA Sparks and the Los Angeles Chargers.