Armet & Davis
Encyclopedia
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm known for working in the Googie architecture
Googie architecture
Googie architecture is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture and the Space and Atomic Ages....
style that marks many distinctive coffee shops
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
and eateries in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The firm designed Pann's
Pann's
Pann's is a coffee shop restaurant considered an institution in Los Angeles, California, for its history, role in movies, and distinctive architecture. The restaurant was opened by husband and wife George and Rena Poulos in 1958 and is still operated by the Poulos family as of 2011. It is also...
, the first Norms Restaurant, the Holiday Bowl
Holiday Bowl (building)
The Holiday Bowl was a bowling alley on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1958 by five Japanese-Americans and was a significant part of the rebuilding process of the Nikkei community after internment during World War II...
and many other iconic locations. It was formed by Louis Armet
Louis Armet
Louis Armet was an American architect and strong proponent of Googie architecture during the mid-20th century. Armet and fellow architect, Eldon Davis, co-founded the Armet & Davis architectural firm in 1947, which became known for its distinctive Googie architecture style in Southern...
and Eldon Davis
Eldon Davis
Eldon Carlyle Davis was an American architect, considered largely responsible for the creation of Googie architecture, a form of modern architecture originating in Southern California. Googie architecture is largely influenced by Southern California's car culture and the Space Age of the mid-20th...
in 1947. Victor Newlove joined the firm in 1963 and became a partner in 1972, changing the firm's name to Armet Davis Newlove Architects. According to the firm's website, it has designed over 4,000 buildings in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Indonesia.
Some of the firm's design hallmarks included radically vaulted roofing, a room-length dining counter and an outsized comet-shaped signage
Signage
Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
to beckon drivers from off the street. Armet & Davis have been referred to as "the Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
of '50s coffee shop
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s." "According to critic Philip Langdon, Armet & Davis designs came to define 'coffee shop' for much of America." Their Holiday Bowl (building)
Holiday Bowl (building)
The Holiday Bowl was a bowling alley on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1958 by five Japanese-Americans and was a significant part of the rebuilding process of the Nikkei community after internment during World War II...
bowling alley served cultural, architectural, and recreational purposes for the Crenshaw district. The firm is said to have "defined '50s Googie architecture."
Pann's was designed by Helen Fong, who joined the firm in 1951, and included tropical landscaping. She also designed the Holiday Bowl (building)
Holiday Bowl (building)
The Holiday Bowl was a bowling alley on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1958 by five Japanese-Americans and was a significant part of the rebuilding process of the Nikkei community after internment during World War II...
, Johnie's coffee shop
Johnie's coffee shop
Johnie's Coffee Shop is a former coffee shop and well known example of Googie architecture located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, California...
, and the original Norms Restaurant, On the 90th birthday of Eldon Davis, fans joined him for a meal at Norms and a tour of some of the buildings the firm designed. The firm also designed Schwab's Drugstore on Sunset Boulevard.
Photographer Jack Laxer who did stereo pictures (3-D when polarized glasses are worn) took photos of the firm's work. He took photos with stereographic film of the Holiday Bowl bowling alley on Crenshaw Boulevard (circa 1957) and Norms Restaurant on Slauson Avenue. Armet & Davis was one of his key clients.
The firm also designed hotels, such as a Sheraton
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
in Canada, a Lutheran church, animal shelter and schools. L&B Manufacturing in Santa Monica produced seating for many of the coffee shops that were designed by Armet & Davis
Buildings
- Kerry's Coffee shop (now a Mel's Drive-InMel's Drive-InMel's Drive-In is an American restaurant chain founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs in San Francisco, California....
), Sherman OaksSherman Oaks, Los Angeles, CaliforniaSherman Oaks is an affluent district in the San Fernando Valley area of the city of Los Angeles, California. In contrast to much of the Valley, the area is relatively urbanized, with commercial skyscrapers along Ventura Boulevard as well as scattered throughout...
(1947) - Romeo's Times Square / Johnie's WilshireJohnie's coffee shopJohnie's Coffee Shop is a former coffee shop and well known example of Googie architecture located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, California...
(1955) - Holly's / Hawthorne Grill (1956)
- Falcon Coffee Shop, HawthorneHawthorne, CaliforniaHawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The city at the 2010 census had a population of 84,293, up from 84,112 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
(1956) - Pann'sPann'sPann's is a coffee shop restaurant considered an institution in Los Angeles, California, for its history, role in movies, and distinctive architecture. The restaurant was opened by husband and wife George and Rena Poulos in 1958 and is still operated by the Poulos family as of 2011. It is also...
Restaurant (1956) - Norms Restaurant (the first one), West Hollywood (1957)
- Holiday Bowl building, Crenshaw Blvd & W 38th St, Los Angeles, CA (demolished 2007) (1958)
- Ship's Restaurant, La Cienega & Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA (1950's)
- The Steak House (restaurant & nightclub), 8622 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA (now a laundromat) (1959)
- Wich StandWich StandWich Stand was a 1950s style coffee shop with a tilting blue roof and a 35-foot spire. It housed a cocktail lounge and featured carhop service. It was declared a landmark by Los Angeles County in 1989....
, WilshireWilshire, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWilshire is an area in Los Angeles, California, north of I-10, east of Beverly Hills and the Westside, west of Downtown LA and south of Hollywood, and contains, or abuts the districts of Mid-City West and Mid-Wilshire....
(1958) - Conrad's (originally Donly's, then Conrad's, now Astro Family Restaurant), Silver LakeSilver Lake, Los Angeles, CaliforniaSilver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
(1958) - Stanley Burke's (then Corky's, now Lamplighter), Sherman Oaks (1958)
- Denny'sDenny'sDenny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
, Van NuysVan Nuys, Los Angeles, CaliforniaVan Nuys is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.-History:Look at the two photos of Van Nuys' first year—and then listen to what the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 23, 1911, the day after the Van Nuys town lot auction--"Between dawn and dusk, in the...
(1958) - Penguin Coffee Shop (now Dr. Beauchamp's), Santa Monica (1959)
- Denny's, North Hollywood (1960)
- Twain's Restaurant, Studio CityStudio City, Los Angeles, CaliforniaStudio City is an affluent residential neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley. Studio City expands over four ZIP code areas: 91604 and sections of 91602, 91607 and 90210....
(1960) - Sam's Cafe, Glendale
- Glen Capri Motel, Glendale
- Prebles (later Sandi's Family Restaurant), Alhambra
- Bob's Big Boy #23, Alhambra #34, Northridge, Bob's Big Boy #135 (Now Coco's), Mission Hills, #147 (now Coco's) Pasadena, #158, Glendale #181, Van Nuys (1980)
- Lulu's Restaurant, Van Nuys
- Norms #6, Hawthorne Boulevard; Norms #8, Slauson Ave., Huntington Park; Norms Restaurant, Long Beach
- Ron-dee Coffee Shop, San Fernando (demolished 2004)