The Grand Central Air Terminal was designed by Henry L. Gogerty. Gogerty was a prolific architect who was active until he died in 1990 at the age of 96. Born January 24, 1894, in Zearing, Iowa, he earned his bachelor's degree in architecture and engineering from the University of Illinois and a special certificate of architecture from the University of Southern California (USC). He served in the Army field artillery in World War I.

Arriving in southern California in 1923, Gogerty established his first architectural office in Long Beach, a community approximately 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Practicing under the name H.L. Gogerty Associates his designs included schools, shopping centers, jails, aircraft hangars and terminals, military installations, and commercial office buildings. By 1925, Gogerty had begun an association with architect Carl Jules Weyl. Two of their first joint projects were the Highland Park Professional Building (1925) and a residence at 902 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills (1925). During the late 1920s Gogerty and Weyl specialized in the Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco styles.

Not long after Gogerty and Weyl parted ways in 1928, Gogerty was at work on one of the highlights of his career, the Grand Central Air Terminal. The Air Terminal was featured in Architect and Engineer in November 1930 and Architectural Forum in December 1930.

Late in 1933, Gogerty moved his office to the City of Compton. His work during the late 1930s and early 1940s included schools in Los Angeles (Dorsey High School, 1938), Visalia (1939-40), and Trona (1940), as well as participation in a team of architects appointed to design a new administration building for the Los Angeles International Airport in 1941. The design plans for the airport, however, never materialized due to World War II. One of the largest industrial projects he designed was the massive cargo plane assembly buildings for Hughs Aircraft where Howard Hughes's famous "Spruce Goose" was constructed (1941-1952). Gogerty also designed and developed the gliding acoustical wall, which provided flexible interior classroom construction and re-configuration. The design helped him win a national achievement award in the science of construction from the American Institute of Architects. In later years, he designed and operated the Desert Air Hotel and Palm Desert Airpark in Rancho Mirage until 1968. Gogerty's work is mentioned in several architectural survey books including Gebhard and Winter's Architecture in Los Angeles: A Complete Guide; Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide; and A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California. He is also examined in the book The Architecture of Los Angeles by Paul Gleye.