Growing up in Los Angeles meant there was lots of whimsical architecture throughout the city. Buildings like Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Egyptian Theatre, both on Hollywood Boulevard were everyday sights. These two incredible buildings are still around only blocks away from each other. The Egyptian opened in 1922 followed by the Chinese in 1927, although the Chinese overshadowed its earlier sibling due to the hand and foot prints embedded in concrete in front of the doors. Both have been restored and are still used as movie theatres. The world’s first movie premiere was shown at the Egyptian Theatre. It is now owned by Netflix.
California had the largest collection of whimsical architectural buildings in the country. Many of them were built in the 1920s and 1930s. There were ice cream shops shaped like ice cream cones, coffee shops shaped like cups and saucers, gas stations shaped like castles, and motels shaped like teepees. One of my favorites was a restaurant called The Fish Shanty. The entrance to the restaurant was via a giant blue whale’s mouth. The Fish Shanty opened in 1950, closed in 1988, suffered fire damage in 1989 and was eventually torn down.
The Brown Derby was another restaurant that was almost more famous for its clientele than for its giant round facade. The original Brown Derby opened in 1926, ten years later, due to the poor acoustic issues of a small round building and new construction of a large hotel wanting to expand, the original building was torn down. A new building was built not far away which was larger and better constructed. That building lasted until September of 1980 when it abruptly closed down.
Tail o’the Pup, which originally opened in 1946, is a hot dog stand that is shaped well, like a hot dog on a bun! It stood in Hollywood for years. The tiny building was an icon of the crazy architecture found around town. By the 1980s, the building was scheduled for demolition. Instead it was moved to a new location. It was closed in 2005, but the City of Los Angeles deemed it a cultural landmark in 2006. By then it had been moved to a warehouse. Eventually it was purchased by the Valley Relic Museum and finally sold to a group of entrepreneurs who have been restoring distinctive vintage restaurants, bars, and hospitality establishments throughout Los Angeles for decades. In 2022, The Tail o’the Pup was reopened in a new location.
Randy’s Donuts is an L.A. landmark that has stood in the same location since 1951. The building itself is not what makes it a landmark. It’s the giant donut on top of the building that gave it its designation as a programmatic architectural building. The building has been featured in film, TV, and videos including Iron Man 2, where Tony Stark sits inside the giant donut eating donuts.
The Crossroads of the World is sometimes referred to as America’s first outdoor shopping mall. Built in 1936, its impetus was the shooting death of politician Charles H. Crawford on the site it was eventually built. Charles’ wife Ella had it designed and built as a memorial to her late husband. The architect, Robert V. Derrah, was finishing up the nearby Coca-Cola Building, which is a Streamline Moderne Art Deco building.
The complex included a centerpiece building designed to look like an ocean liner with surrounding buildings created to mimic the style of various countries around the world. The buildings came to house offices rather than retail shops. In 2019, the L.A. City Council and the L.A. Conservancy came to an agreement to retain the original structures and rehabilitate them while building a large new construction project surrounding the property.
Not all of these wacky buildings were commercial though. There is a group of small homes originally built between 1946 and 1951 known as the Dwarf Houses. They sit nearby what is now Warner Brothers Studio and Disney Studio. There were originally 12 of these tiny homes. There are currently 8 left. Each one is different and built in the style of a fairy tale cottage. They average around 800 to 900 sq ft. The land was originally part of Columbia Studios Ranch. The original purpose for building the homes isn’t clear although the Burbank Historical Society states they were built as homes and not as part of the studio lot.
California may be the epicenter of whimsical architecture, but, that’s not to say there aren’t loads more all across the country. If you’re interested in unusual architecture here are a few sites to check out.
The Library of Congress historic sites
Book: California Crazy and Beyond
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