(by
the L.A. Conservancy's Modern Committee)
There has been a tremendous resurgence of interest in the Modern era: buildings, furniture, decor, fashion and music. By recognizing this renewed interest, you can take advantage of your modern property in highly profitable ways. All types of Modern buildings are popular again: motels, hotels, restaurants, cocktail lounges, offices, retail stores, banks, supermarkets, bowling alleys, theaters and many others.
Usually built between 1940 and 1965, Modern buildings tend to have clean, simple lines, a minimum of applied decoration, lots of glass, a flat or angled roofline and use materials such as formica, aluminum, stainless steel, flagstone or terrazzo. Often, signage will be neon, metal or plastic, with unique typefaces.
Don't Renovate or Remodel: RESTORE!
There's more money to be made in restoring Modern buildings than in converting them to an inappropriate style. Customers want an authentic experience; reproductions are never a substitute for the original. It's often easier and less expensive to clean and restore original features than to cover-up, remove or demolish them.
Interiors, Exteriors & Landscaping
Original Modern interiors, furnishings, lighting, flooring, walls and surfaces are just as important as the exterior facade. Original landscaping also adds to your builiding's value. Updating a Modern building with a different style (Spanish, Art Deco, Colonial, Southwestern) typically ruins its appearance and destroys its character. Respect the original period or "retro" look of your Modern building... Your customers will.
The poodle skirt, rock and roll '50s of Elvis and TV's Happy Days" is passé. The cool, sleek, high-end sophistication of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack is what's hot. OUT: juke boxes, fake diners, glass blocks, chrome. IN: plate glass walls, terrazzo floors, Eames furniture, mood lighting.
It's not necessary to apply for historic designation for your property, but it can often help. There are several types of formal designation: local, state and federal. Benefits can include: Property tax reductions up to 50% (via the Mills Act,) and a Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit of 20%.
Historic Designation Can Increase Business
These modern buildings have been formally recognized for their historic significance. Historic designation has led to solid commercial success.
LAX THEME
BUILDING
Los Angeles, 1962
Pereira, Luckman, Beckett, Williams, architects.
Designated as Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Monument in 1994 (exterior
and lobby). Encounter restaurant remodeled by Disney Imagineering. A
popular and successful lunch dinner and cocktails destination. (Photo
from postcard)
WICH
STAND
Ladera Heights, 1958
Armet & Davis, architects
Coffee shop, drive-in, cocktail lounge. Closed in 1987, designated
California Point of Historic Interest same year. Adaptively reused in
1996 as Simply Wholesome Foods, combination health food restaurant and
store. (Photo by Jack Laxner)
CINERAMA DOME
Hollywood, 1963
Welton, Becket & Associates, architects
Being fully restored and incorporated into a new retail and theater
complex.
Bob's
Big Boy
Toluca Lake, 1949
Wayne McAllister, architect
Designated California State Point of Historic Interest in 1993. The
owner invested in restoration and heavily promoted the building's
historic status (bronze plaque, menu, advertising) and merchandised
(T-shirts, dolls, key chains, calendars, banks). Number one top revenue
producing Big Boy in the United States.
Mac Donald's
Downey, 1953
Stanley Meston, architect
America's oldest original golden-arched McDonald's. Determined eligible
for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Closed after
1994 earthquake. Restored in 1997. Reopened with museum and gift shop on
premises.
To learn more about taking advantage of your historic Modern property, please contact the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee at 213-623-CITY or online at www.modcom.org.
The text on this
page comes from materials
provided by the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee, written by Pete
Moruzzi
The link to Biff's/JJ's
at the top of this page is in no way related to the L.A. Conservancy or
the Modern Committee (MODCOM).