Our Nod To Los Angeles' Modern Restaurants

According to author Chris Nichols, ‘googie’ design expert, architectural guru, and Associate Director at Los Angeles Magazine, Los Angeles is home for amazing modern restaurant design and architecture dating back to the mid 1950s and 60s when modern and post modern architecture swept the design world by storm. To date many of these restaurants still exist and flourish with the surge of economy in the last sixty years (not counting the recent devastation) and have only grown drastically in admiration and aesthetic quality. Modern restaurant design today though beautiful to the eye and swanky in feel, have all been influenced in some way, shape, or form by these designs that pioneered what we now know as cool, modern architecture and design. We hate to state the obvious, but design has come a LOOONGGG way since these buildings were the “it” buildings by architectural standards, but we have to admit that Los Angeles would not be the same without the authenticity and integrity of these restaurants. Its for that reason that L.A. natives, tourists, and designers just can’t resist giving them the ‘nod’ they deserve.

FRED 62 designed by fred sutherland and chef fred eric in 1997

CHIPS RESTAURANT designed by harry harrison in 1957

BONAVISTA LOUNGE designed in 1967 by john portman

ENCOUNTER RESTAURANT designed & built in 1961 by welton becket, luckman and pereira and paul williams architects

FORMER HOLIDAY BOWL COFFEE SHOP designed and built by armet and davis architects in 1957

MEL'S DRIVE IN by lane and schick architects, designed in 1962

STANDARD HOTEL'S '24/7 RESTAURANT' modernly designed by cloud beelman in 1955

NORMS RESTAURANT designed by eldon davis of armet, davis, and newlove architects

THE DONUT HOLE designed in 1968

THE WORLDS OLDEST MCDONALDS designed in 1953 by the famous stanley c. meston

list and images courtesy of dwell.com