LOS ANGELES — It was an air show to end all air shows, a spectacle that saw California crane its collective neck to the sky in wonderment.

The space shuttle Endeavour, perched atop a modified 747, captivated millions on a pre-retirement tour of the Golden State on Friday, bringing an end to NASA’s space shuttle program in dramatic style.

Endeavour flew as low as 1,500 feet past photo-op perfect California landmarks and cheering crowds. While many were glued to their televisions, thousands of others grabbed smartphones and cameras and experienced the flyover in person from atop Los Angeles skyscrapers, on hillsides and in backyards.

The 105 Freeway near Los Angeles International Airport was shut down as motorists simply stopped their cars, got out and took snapshots.

After taking off from Edwards Air Force Base on Friday morning, Endeavour headed north, buzzing the state Capitol in Sacramento, circling the Bay Area and soaring over a Golden Gate Bridge packed with onlookers.

As the sound of the plane’s engines drowned out the traffic on the bridge and tourists ran to get the best vantage point, screams of “Whooo!” could be heard as the shuttle flew over the bridge.

“It was unbelievable. Did you hear all the clapping? I can’t even believe we’re here!” said Polly Lestikow, of Centennial, Colo., who just happened to be bicycling across the bridge Friday morning, unaware of NASA’s planned show.

Then it turned south, crossing the Monterey Peninsula on its journey to Los Angeles, where Endeavour took one last lap around Southern California, the cradle of the nation’s 40-year shuttle program.

“This gives you goose bumps, man,” said Terry Hughes, 72, a retired Boeing engineer who spent his career working on wind tunnel tests for the shuttle. “The same goose bumps I had when I saw it land for the first time.”

For an hour Friday, Endeavour was seemingly everywhere at once: flying by the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign, the Getty Center, the Queen Mary and Disneyland. Parading down the coast from Santa Barbara to Huntington Beach. Cruising past NASA facilities and factories where it was designed, built and assembled.

“Amazing, amazing, amazing,” said Derek Johns, 41, as he snapped photos of the shuttle as it passed the Santa Monica Pier.

A school playground at the California Science Center exploded in screams as Endeavour came into view. Hundreds of children ran, pointing and squealing, trying to chase the shuttle as it flew by.

“That was awesome,” said fifth-grader Yaslynn Thomas, who stared into the sky long after it was gone. “I never thought a space shuttle would ever come to a school. I always thought it would go to a special space landing place.”

Her school is located on the campus of the museum, which will be shuttle’s permanent home.

For some, though, Endeavour’s arrival in Los Angeles was a bittersweet moment, a final salute to a shuttle program they believe ended prematurely.

At the Proud Bird restaurant at LAX, Ron Wade had driven some 1,400 miles from Wichita, Kan., to witness the homecoming. He’d worked on the shuttle as a high school senior, part of a vocational training program at Rockwell International.

“It’s a sad homecoming,” said Wade, who traveled to Florida for Endeavour’s final launch into space in 2011. “She should be in space. She was built for 100 (missions). She was retired way too soon. All of the shuttles, I feel like they are my children.”