Helicopters swirled in the air. Hundreds of police were on the streets. Thousands of people gathered to get a glimpse and held up their cameras. Firetrucks and ambulances waited to assist any emergencies. It wasn't the president visiting, but space shuttle Endeavour making its way down Crenshaw Boulevard to the California Science Center Saturday morning.

The space shuttle moved at about 2 miles per hour and had to stop numerous times, with workers standing by to cut down trees that were in its way. People cheered and screamed as it passed. Children sit on adults’ shoulders, some adults stood on rooftops. All they wanted to do was capture this moment in their photographs.

Saturday was the final trek of Endeavour before it will be put on display in the museum. Endeavour's 12-mile journey started early Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. 

Though the space shuttle was well protected and public access was difficult in some places, enormous amounts of people came to witness the historic moment.

Ninety-year-old Emile Adams Jr. waited in the sun for two hours, just to capture a five-minute glimpse of Endeavour when it passed by. He said the first thing that went through his mind when he first saw the space shuttle was how something could be that large.

Beside Adams was 9-year-old Briana who stepped over the barricade line a couple times, trying to film the shuttle. She said she wanted to make a video of it and show it to her kids when she gets older.

Kevin Meredith brought his 10-month-old son who he held up when the shuttle passed by. Meredith said when his son sees the pictures later in life, he will remember all this. He also said that as an engineer, he has been interested in space shuttles and science his whole life, and appreciates this opportunity.

Cassandra Casas said she had followed the space shuttle throughout its entire journey from LAX. She said she wanted to get close to be something that’s going down to history.

“I wish I could touch it,” Casas said. “Imagine, it’s been up in the orbit and now it comes to my neighborhood and is in front of me.”

 

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the Endeavour here.

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Shako Liu here. Follow her on Twitter here.