5 Retro Coffee Shops in Los Angeles
Ship’s Coffee Shop, 10705 Washington Blvd., Culver City
This restaurant was built in 1957 and is attributed to architect Martin Stern, Jr., who earned a reputation during the 1960s and 1970s for designing many of the early hotels and casinos in Las Vegas. This coffee shop may have been his warm-up before tackling the Vegas Strip. It is a terrific example of what has become known as “Googie” architecture. This term was coined as a tribute to the swooping form of the seminal Googie’s Coffee Shop designed by the incomparable John Lautner which was located at 8100 Sunset Blvd. Before you make a pilgrimage to the address, you should know that it has been demolished and is now the site of the Virgin Megastore. Today, the term “Googie” architecture is meant to accustom people to “expect strangeness.” This particular Ship’s coffee shop has stayed in the hands of the Shipman family for three generations. Several years ago, it was restored to its original 1957 condition. Two notable details are the jet age signage at the front of the restaurant and the individual toasters inside on each table, which was a Ship’s innovation.
Denny’s, 7373 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
Many of the original aspects of this coffee shop have undergone renovation since it was first built in 1963, but it does retain its boomerang roof and massive glass walls. It was designed by the firm of Armet & Davis, who were to coffee shops what Lennon and McCartney were to pop tunes. The original interior colors have been toned down. It is interesting to note that burnt oranges and hot yellows were first used because marketing research indicated that patrons did not like to linger in such color surroundings, and the awful hues ensured quick table turnover. Enough of the original skeleton of this restaurant still exists to illustrate the space age design that Armet & Davis utilized in all the Denny’s outlets located in California during the 1950s and 1960s.
Canter’s Fairfax Restaurant, Delicatessen and Bakery, 415 Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles
No homage to retro Los Angeles would be complete without a visit to Canter’s. It features crazy signage and original flagstone on the exterior, and sputnik light fixtures and mirrored dessert towers on the interior. Canter’s is one of the few places in Los Angeles where you can get a deli sandwich, a gooey dessert or a frosty malted in the wee after hours of the late night. It is located in the heart of the city’s Jewish district and there is an amazing mural on the south wall depicting highlights in local Jewish history since 1855.
Mar Vista Bowl and Makai Coffee Shop, 12125 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista
There was a time when coffee shops, bars and bowling alleys all met in harmonic convergence. This location is another example of the Armet & Davis design firm’s signature glass curtain wall. Like so much of Los Angeles’ past, a major part of the original structure has been remodeled. Gone are the tiki gods that once inhabited the coffee shop and bar. But do check out the weird combination of Aztec, Japanese and bowling design elements throughout.
Pann’s Coffee Shop, 6710 La Tijera Blvd. at the intersection of La Cienega and Centinela, Los Angeles
This is probably the best of the retro coffee shops still existing in Los Angeles. It sits conspicuously in the middle of a busy and confusing intersection of the city and is another Armet & Davis masterpiece. Jim Poulos, the second generation owner of Pann’s, realized what a gem he had and about a dozen years ago he undertook a loving restoration of the establishment and zapped it back to its original 1958 look and feel. He even duplicated mid-century style Southern California landscaping on the exterior of the restaurant. As part of his restoration celebration, he rolled back the menu prices to the 1958 amounts. He received a prestigous preservation award in grateful recognition from the community. Pann’s is now a cathedral to those who worship in the house of mid-century Google architecture and at the alter of the bottomless coffee cup.
