A celebration of Googie architecture; farewell to a former A&W | Rolando's Roadside Roundup
Plus, a once-ritzy Miami Beach hotel will be imploded; a Budweiser sign soars again; a bakery shop with cute collectibles that has me wanting to visit Japan; and more headlines from the road.
I had been hoping to be in Southern California this month, but life intervened, and sadly so, because I will be missing the Googie World Expo. The event happens over two days, Sunday, Nov. 13 and again Sunday, Nov. 20, and the program sounds amazing.
Here are details:
The Googie World Expo is a two-day celebration of exuberant and futuristic mid-century modern architecture and design.
The first event, on Sunday November 13 will include speakers, vendors, book signings, and an exhibition of 3-D photography exploring the many facets of modern architecture and design. The expo will be held at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys with proceeds benefiting the museum. Eventbrite lists the event as sold out, but here is the link just in case.
If you do go, let me know and please send along some highlights.
Below is a list of some of my favorite Googie buildings and signs in Southern California. And here are some good primers on identifying Googie.
1.) Pann’s, Los Angeles
This is usually the first place I stop after arriving at LAX! (That is, if I don’t find myself at the nearest In-N-Out first.) [History][Map]
2.) Chip’s restaurant, Hawthorne, California
One of those Googie beauties that takes your breath away! [History][Map]
3.) Driftwood Dairy, El Monte, California
This is not just one of the coolest Googie complexes around, it’s in the running for cutest sign! How adorable is Drifty? [History][Map]
4.) Dinah’s Family Restaurant, Los Angeles
I recently wrote a piece on Dinah’s — and the development happening around it — in an earlier newsletter. [History][Map]
5.) Bob’s Big Boy, Burbank, California
This structure from 1949 draws on Streamline Moderne as much as it taps the the bubbling design currents that would ripple through the 1950s landscape and beyond. It’s a gem, and I visit whenever I’m in Southern California. [History][Map]
6.) Covina Bowl, West Covina, California
In a remarkable win, significant portions of the shuttered Covina Bowl were saved and integrated into a new residential development, which is also called Covina Bowl. [History][Map]
7.) McDonald’s, Downey, California
This is the oldest operating McDonald’s, from 1953, and one of my truly happy places! [History] [Map]
8.) Lakeside Car Wash, Burbank, California
This car wash may soon be bulldozed for a housing development, but the sign would be preserved. [History][Map]
9.) Johnie’s Coffee Shop, Los Angeles
Though closed since 2000, this Googie beauty continues to be rented out for film shoots. [Details] [Map]
10.) Bob’s Big Boy Broiler, Downey, California
You’d never know this beauty is a phoenix that rose from the ashes of partial demolition in 2007, but it is. Thank the good people of Downey for that happy ending! [Details] [Map]
A former A&W in Vermont — and a community staple for over 60 years — is closing next month
In my last newsletter, I shared a photo of the Tastee-Freez in Bennington, Vermont, pointing out that the original owner wanted to open an A&W, but Chuck Jensen beat him to the punch. (Post below)
That original A&W, now called Jensen’s, survives down the street, complete with its pilgrim hat, I pointed out. I just learned today, alas, that Jensen’s is closing on Dec. 12, a victim of the pandemic-related issues that have done in so many other restaurants.
The owner, Amy Jensen, announced the news on Facebook, paying tribute to her dad, Chuck, who died in 2011, not long after Amy stepped in to help him run the place.
She kept it going, in his honor, for another decade.
She wrote:
“I have accomplished what I set out to do and hopefully will leave fond memories behind to many,” Jensen said. “Owning a business is always an adventure with many hurdles to overcome. While it has been challenging, we have been fortunate in meeting so many great people. The love and support from our customers over these many years is appreciated.”
This particular building — often described as the “pagoda design” — opened in September 1972, when this A&W franchise moved from its original spot, which closed because of the construction of Route 7. The sunroom came along around 1986, as one would expect!
In 1972, the new building, originally orange, was hailed as the first in New England of what became a ubiquitous design. There were 2,300 A&Ws at the time. That number is down to over 900 today.
Read more about the closure in the Bennington Banner. [Map]
Note From the Road
Miami Beach’s iconic Deauville Beach Resort, closed since a fire in 2017, will be imploded Sunday morning. What a beauty and what a fine example of MiMo — Miami Modern — it once was. RIP. [Local 10]
The White Horse, an iconic dive bar in Denver, is on the market for $1.5 million, and reluctantly so. At those prices, it’s not preservationists who are likely looking to buy, alas. This article has beautiful photos of the inside, which is impossible to shoot now as the dive is closed. [Denverite][Map]
Named after the plantation in “Gone with the Wind,” Atlanta’s Tara Cinema has closed after 54 years. I’d suggest visiting soon if you’d like to take a picture, as owner Regal Cinema cited a “real estate optimization strategy” — gulp — as the cause. [AJC][Map]
The Nukumuku Breadstore in Japan and its impossible collection of McDonald’s memorabilia and other “kawaii” — super cute, adorable things without a hint of menace — has me wanting to visit NOW. [Nukumuku on Instagram]
THIS SIGN’S FOR YOU! The iconic Budweiser “Flying Eagle” billboard in St. Louis has been restored, with LED swapped out for the original neon. [STL Today]
Bite into these nostalgic commercials for Whataburger. [Beaumont Enterprise]
The Crest Kitchenette Motel and the Blue Marlin Lodge in Virginia Beach listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register. [Pilot Online]
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