The crew carefully guides the space shuttle Endeavour into its new home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 14. Endeavour completed a 12-mile journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the science center where it will go on permanent public display.
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Move over, Oscars. Take a seat, Disney. And forget the televised car chase.
The space shuttle Endeavour is conquering a new frontier -- the entertainment capital of the world -- and it's getting royal parade treatment.
Like a king carried in a chariot, throngs of spectators packed the streets and lined rooftops Saturday as the Endeavour lumbered through Los Angeles on its way to retirement in a local museum.
Yet lumbering may be an overstatement. Organizers had expected the shuttle would saunter 12 miles over two days at 2 mph (most humans walk 3 mph), with several rests.
In fact, it's progressed slower than that. By 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET), the space shuttle was hours behind schedule. Organizers said they now expect it will be at its final destination between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday -- a far cry from the 10 p.m. Saturday end time that was originally planned.
This is despite advanced efforts to make room for the shuttle, which is 78 feet wide and 122 feet long. Officials had ordered 265 trees to be cut down, 67 traffic signals to be dismantled and 48 mast arms to be removed just to accommodate the shuttle.
But once they hit the road, they found more trees needed to pruning to protect Endeavour's exterior, hence the delay.
Shuttle Endeavour wheeled through L.A.
Shuttle Endeavour on parade
Endeavour rolls toward new home
Endeavour's road trip
That slow movement has allowed a festival of gawkers to line the streets and express awe as the hulking orbiter barely cleared utility poles and its five-story-high tail passed the corner glass suites of office buildings.
Endeavour's final journey, are you there?
The remaining trees and traffic poles -- as well as buildings -- are now the subject of dramatic video and photography as the shuttle's wings slowly pass within a mere inch of striking them.
"This once-in-a-lifetime event is a cause for celebration," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
Gwendolyn Crews, the owner and director of Juniorversity Preschool in Compton, bought an American flag to wave at the passing orbiter. She plans to take her entire preschool to see the Endeavour settle into the museum.
"I think this is a history-making moment here in Los Angeles, California, and I want to be able to share this with my kids, my grandkids, my great-grandkids of this great event -- and the children of our school," Crews said.
Latasha Covington and her children, 9-year-old Skilyn and 4-year-old Amarie, brought a chair to stand on to get a view over the crowds.
"I've been here 32 years in L.A. and I've never seen anything like this, so it's part of history. I wanted them to see that," Covington said.
Richard Plump of Plump Engineering Inc. was accompanying the shuttle to make sure the pressure from the transporter doesn't stress the underground water and sewer systems.
To relieve such pressure, crews laid 2,700 steel plates on parts of Endeavour's route.
"I'm part of the convoy, so I am ahead. As the transporter is coming along, I'm there as another set of eyes to make sure that the transporter's wheels are on the steel plates at the right location," Plump said.
"I think it's breathtaking," he said.
Road crews erected orange signs whimsically drawn with a shuttle silhouette and the cautionary advisory "SHUTTLE XING."
Along the route, jazz musicians played out of a garage as the shuttle continued its snail's pace.
The transport is the largest object ever moved through the streets of Los Angeles.
The 12-mile slow trek started early Friday from Los Angeles International Airport.
More than 15,000 spectators attended a celebration outside the Forum arena in Inglewood where the spacecraft and its road crews enjoyed one respite Saturday morning, said police Lt. James Madia.
An afternoon stop in south Los Angeles will feature a performance produced by actor-choreographer Debbie Allen.
And it wouldn't be Los Angeles without a little product placement: A Toyota Tundra half-ton pickup truck pulled the shuttle Friday night over a bridge above Interstate 405. The shuttle and its transporter platform together weigh 170,000 pounds, or more than 80 tons.
In that feat, the highway to Los Angeles International Airport was shut down, preventing any motorists from possibly causing hazards by slowing down to photograph the spectacle, illuminated with stadium-strength spotlights.
Utility workers observed the procession while perched high in cherry pickers. Some power lines had to be temporarily disconnected, and crews were waiting to reconnect the overhead lines once the Endeavour passed through.
Turning corners was mesmerizing, especially in neighborhoods of single family houses.
In an Inglewood neighborhood at Crenshaw Drive and 84th Place, the shuttle faced one of its most challenging sections -- a residential street designed more for four wheels than two wings -- and was on a course to strike a tree.
But transportation crews maneuvered the vehicle, with little wiggle room, to spare the tree from a chainsaw. The shuttle cleared the 20-foot tree by a couple of inches.
The cutting down of trees has been controversial in some areas, but officials say they will plant two new trees for every felled one.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive late Saturday at the California Science Center, where it will be put on permanent display.
Officials planned the logistics of the move for months.
Endeavour, along with Discovery, Enterprise and Atlantis, became a museum piece after NASA ended its 30-year shuttle program in July 2011. All four shuttles have been permanently retired from service.
Named for the first ship commanded by British explorer James Cook, Endeavour rolled out of an assembly plant in Palmdale, California, in 1991 at a cost of $1.7 billion. It was the baby of the shuttle fleet, built as a replacement for Challenger, which exploded shortly after its 10th launch.
Over the next 20 years, Endeavour flew some of the highest-profile shuttle missions, covering nearly 123 million miles in 25 flights. It flew a Spacelab mission and numerous International Space Station assembly missions and rendezvoused with Russia's Mir Space Station.
The science museum has been trumpeting the arrival of the shuttle, saying on its website that it is building a new addition to its facility and plans to begin displaying Endeavour on October 30.
Read more space and science news on CNN's Light Years blog
CNN's Kimberly Segal, Sara Weisfeldt, Casey Wian and Joe Sterling contributed to this report
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Federico Gonzales is among the many spectators as Endeavour inches down Martin Luther King Boulevard in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Doreen Andreotti photographs the space shuttle Sunday as it nears the end of its journey.
The sun rises as the space shuttle Endeavour slowly moves along Martin Luther King Boulevard to the California Science Center on Sunday.
The space shuttle Endeavour makes its way down a city street under heavy escort on Saturday, October 13.
A man takes a picture from a rooftop as Endeavour makes its way toward the California Science Center on Saturday.
People take photos from cherry pickers Saturday as the shuttle moves along Crenshaw Drive in Inglewood, California.
A 4-year-old named Levi watches Endeavour make its way down a city street on Saturday.
People watch the shuttle creep along the street on Saturday from their apartment balcony and roof.
Inglewood High School cheerleaders perform near the shuttle on Saturday.
A crowd gathers to take pictures of Endeavour passing through Inglewood on Saturday.
The space shuttle Endeavour passes a "Shuttle crossing" sign on its way to the California Science Center on Saturday in Inglewood, California.
People watch Endeavour pass residential buildings on Crenshaw Drive. Over two days, the 170,000-pound shuttle will travel at no more than 2 mph along a 12-mile route from Los Angeles International Airport to its final home.
Kevin Alcaraz, 8, waves a flag from the crowd gathered along the shuttle's route.
Endeavour creeps down Crenshaw Drive.
Endeavour passes a downed road sign.
People watch as the shuttle makes its way up a narrow street.
A boy holds a model of Endeavour as the real thing rolls past.
A worker accompanies the space shuttle Endeavour along Manchester Boulevard.
Endeavour is on its last mission: a 12-mile creep through city streets, past an eclectic mix of strip malls, mom-and-pop shops, tidy lawns and faded apartment buildings.
Mikael Ector, 2, tries to get some rest as his dad, Michael Ector, checks out Endeavour as it arrives at the Forum on Saturday.
Amir Morris, 3, wears an astronaut costume while holding an American flag as the space shuttle crawls past.
Endeavour makes a turn at an intersection.
Endeavour squeezes through a neighborhood lined with apartment buildings on the narrowest part of its journey on Saturday.
Endeavour passes between traffic lights with just a few inches to spare.
Road blocks preceed Endeavour on its journey to the California Science Center.
A detail of the tiles on the underside of Endeavour as it arrives at the Forum.
A plane flies over the space shuttle Endeavour as it is moved to the California Science Center on Saturday.
Work crews set up a "Shuttle Xing" sign on Saturday.
People watch as the craft arrives at The Forum on its way to the California Science Center on Saturday.
Amir Morris, 3, holds an American flag as the shuttle passes by in Inglewood on Saturday.
The space shuttle Endeavour is transported to The Forum arena for a stopover and celebration on Saturday.
People watch as the space shuttle slowly moves along Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood on Saturday.
Crowds look on as Endeavour is transported to The Forum arena before sunrise on Saturday.
Workers talk as the shuttle moves along Manchester Boulevard on Saturday.
Endeavour is expected to arrive late Saturday at the California Science Center, where it will be put on permanent display.
The space shuttle Endeavour is transported to the California Science Center in Exposition Park from Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, October 12, in Los Angeles.
Endeavour moves down a main road lined with onlookers. Endeavour was flown cross-country atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to LAX on September 21.
Workers escort Endeavour on its journey.
Completed in 1991, Endeavour was built to replace the space shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated 73 seconds after take-off in 1986. This fifth and final space shuttle orbiter circled the Earth 4,671 times and traveled nearly 123 million miles during its 25 missions from 1992 to 2011.
Endeavour passes businesses and crowds on its way to permanent display at the California Science Center.
Endeavour makes its way past restaurants and shopping centers in Los Angeles.
Spectators come to watch the space shuttle Endeavour as it rests at Westchester Square during its final ground journey in Los Angeles on Friday.
A dog joins the crowd turned out to see Endeavour on Friday.
The space shuttle Endeavour is parked in a mall parking lot on its way to the California Science Center.
Spectators take pictures of Endeavour during its journey through Los Angeles.
People pose with a street sign that was removed to make way for the space shuttle Endeavour during its transport from LAX to the California Science Center.
Workers check the space shuttle Endeavour as it rests at Westchester Square on Friday.
People get a close view of the space shuttle Endeavour in a misty rain during a break in its journey on Friday.
Tree trimmers cut large branches of a tree that was protruding toward the street in a last-minute effort to clear hurdles along the space shuttle Endeavour's route on Friday.
Spectators crowd for a view of Endeavour as it passes through Los Angeles on Friday.
CNN iReporter Wes Smith and other space enthusiasts got a close-up view of the space shuttle Endeavour early Friday as it makes its final journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the 
Computer-controlled transporters help move Endeavour across Los Angeles International Airport early Friday.
Spectators take pictures of the shuttle Friday at the Los Angeles airport. Once it reaches the science museum, the shuttle will be on display for posterity. It had its first launch in 1992.
Bystanders watch as Endeavour moves out of the Los Angeles airport and onto a public street.
Members of the crowd reach over a fence for a glimpse of the shuttle. Endeavour, along with Discovery, Enterprise and Atlantis, became a museum piece after NASA ended its 30-year shuttle program last year. All four shuttles have been permanently retired from service.
Firefighters and other spectators document the move early Friday.
Fan Vivian Robinson rides her bicycle covered in shuttle memorabilia, American flags and an alien doll outside the Los Angeles airport as she waits to see Endeavour.
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