The glory days of fast food architecture may be gone forever

2023-02-21T19:10:00-05:00

Goodbye bright colors and unusual shapes. Today, the design is minimal and sleek. Most fast-food restaurants are built to maximize efficiency, not catch motorists’ attention. One critic has called this trend “faux five-star restaurants” intended to make customers forget they are eating greasy fries and burgers. The chains now sport nearly identical looks. Call it the gentrification of fast-food design.

The psychologically manipulative color schemes may remain, but fast food’s once-iconic Googie and mid-century modern designs are quickly being swapped out for more monolith structures. Changes caused by the pandemic and technology are the largest factors, along with the rise in popularity of drive-thru-only chains.

If it goes on unabated, the America your children grow up in could become one vast dystopic warren of bland 5-over-1s, converted strip malls, Amazon fulfillment centers, these unhealthy slat facade Wendy’s stores, and the occasional mass timber luxury tower attainable exclusively to the very rich and well-connected.

L.A. City Council Officially Votes Norms Restaurant as "Historic and Cultural Landmark"

2015-05-21T13:43:00-04:00

The effort to save Norms comes at a time when historic preservationists say postwar buildings — especially on a smaller scale — face an increased threat from development pressure.

Anyone who has ever grabbed a post-Largo meal or 2 a.m. existential coffee at Los Angeles restaurant Norms will be delighted to hear that The Los Angeles City Council has deemed the Googie-style building a cultural and historic landmark. Although this demarcation doesn't guarantee that it will never be knocked down, the move does require the Council to review proposed demolition to the site.

As the Times notes, "Googie is an exuberant, postwar Southern California style of sharp angles and sweeping curves meant to grab the attention of passing drivers." Located on a vibrant stretch of La Cienega Boulevard that is home to the benign monolith of the Beverly Center, the recently revamped Largo at the Coronet, and a handful of Vegan restaurants, antiques dealers and vintage dive bars, Norms architecture is arguably reflective of a wilder time in Los Angeles's urban development. Demarcating the building tangibly preserves elements of an era that will likely become only rarer as Los Angeles...

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The glory days of fast food architecture may be gone forever

L.A. City Council Officially Votes Norms Restaurant as "Historic and Cultural Landmark"