Proud Bird Restaurant and Aviation History Exhibits

Established in 1967 by former pilot David Tallichet (1922–2007), this Los Angeles restaurant features numerous outdoor displays of vintage aircraft along with memorials to aviation pioneers and war heroes. Some of the aircraft on display outside of the restaurant include a British Spitfire, a French Spad 15, a P-51 Mustang, an A-4 Skyhawk, a DC-3, an X-1, and a Vought F4U Corsair. Exhibits center on pioneering aviators such as Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. In addition to photos and uniforms, there are also a variety of artifacts, including wood that was used to manufacture the Sprice Goose, the largest aircraft ever constructed made entirely of wood. The restaurant is located next to LAX and continues to offer views of aircraft taking off and landing. The name of the restaurant is a reference to Continental, a former airline that merged with United. In the 1960s, Continental Airlines painted the tail fins of their DC-10 aircraft yellow and used the tagline “The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail.”

The front of the restaurant includes a handful of static aircraft displays, while the rear of the restaurant includes many more, along with a view of two parallel runways. The Air Park includes memorials to a handful of aviators, including Captain Lou Lenart, a Jewish World War II fighter pilot. Lenart was born in 1921 in a small town in Hungary. Lenart's family immigrated to America to escape anti-Semitism when Lou was ten years old. They settled in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, a small mining town, where Lou was the target of anti-Jewish taunts. At the age of seventeen, Lou Lenart joined the US Marines. He fought in WWII and volunteered to defend the newly created country of Israel in 1948.

Lou Lenart spent eighteen months in infantry training before talking his way into flight school. He was thought dead after a collision while in a training flight. Lenart saw action in the Battle for Okinawa and other battles in the Pacific and achieved the rank of Captain when he left the service at the end of World War 2. It wasn't until this time that he learned that fourteen relatives in Hungary were killed in Auschwitz. After hearing this, Lenart quickly joined the effort to smuggle war planes into the State of Israel in early 1948. When Israel declared Independence on May 14, 1948, The Israeli Air Force consisted of just four Czech versions of German Messerschmitt. On May 29, a large Egyptian force moved within sixteen miles of Tel-Aviv, Israel. The Israelis sent all of their aircraft to intercept the force, with Lenart leading the squadron. Ezer Weizman, later president of Israel, was his wingman. The Egyptians were surprised to see Israeli aircraft because they were told they had none. The Egyptians quickly retreated,and Lenart was said to be the "The Man who saved Tel-Aviv." Lou Lenart said it was the most important event of his life. 

Dolsten, Josefin and JTA. "Lou Lenart, US pilot ‘who saved Tel Aviv,’ dies at 94." The Times of Israel. July 21, 2015. http://www.timesofisrael.com/lou-lenart-pilot-who-saved-tel-aviv-dies-at-94

Miller, Richard and Pfingsten, Bill (editor) "Capt. Lou Lenart, USMC (Ret.): FG-1D Corsair." The Historical Marker Database. September 9, 2013. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=68546

Exhibits, Proud Bird Restaurant. Accessed April 11th, 2025. https://www.theproudbird.com/exhibits.