Armet Davis Newlove Architects, formerly Armét & Davis, is a Californian

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

firm known for working in the

Googie architecture Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, Jet aircraft, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was pop ...

style that marks many distinctive

coffee shops A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

and eateries in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. The firm designed Pann's, the first

Norms Restaurants Norms Restaurants (stylized as NORMS) is a chain of diner-style restaurants in Southern California. Founded in 1949 by used-car salesman Norm Roybark, some restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. the company operates 21 locations, ...

location, the

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

and many other iconic locations.

History

The architectural firm was formed by Louis Armét and

Eldon Davis Eldon Carlyle Davis (February 2, 1917 – April 22, 2011) was an American architect, considered largely responsible for the creation of Googie architecture, a form of modern architecture originating in Southern California. Googie architecture ...

in 1947. Victor Newlove joined the practice in 1963 and became a partner in 1972, changing the firm's name to Armét 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 is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. A signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980. Signs are any ...

to beckon drivers from off the street. Armét & Davis have been referred to as "the

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

of '50s

." "According to critic Philip Langdon, Armét & Davis designs came to define 'coffee shop' for much of America." Their ''Holiday Bowl'' 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 Liu Fong Helen Liu Fong (January 14, 1927April 17, 2005) was a Chinese-American architect and interior designer from Los Angeles, California. Fong was an important figure in the Googie architecture movement, designing futuristic buildings like Norms Rest ...

, who joined the firm in 1951, and included tropical landscaping. She also designed the ''Holiday Bowl'', Johnie's Coffee Shop, 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 Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

. Photographer

Jack Laxer Jack Laxer (1927–2018) was an American photographer best known for his work in stereoscopy. His photographs of California modern architecture have been published in magazines and books, displayed in museums, and included in educational progra ...

took

stereoscopic Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the depth perception, illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stere ...

photos of the firm's work, like the Holiday Bowl bowling alley on

Crenshaw Boulevard Crenshaw Boulevard is a north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California, that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a 23-mile (37.76 km) route in the west-central part of the city. The street extends between Wilshire Boulevar ...

(circa 1957) and Norms Restaurant on

Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...

, using a ''

Stereo Realist The Stereo Realist is a stereo camera that was manufactured by the David White Company from 1947 to 1971. It was the most popular 35 mm stereo camera ever manufactured ''Amazing 3-D'', pages 32 and 51. and started the era of popular stereo p ...

'' camera. Armét & Davis was one of his key clients. These slides were shown at

California Science Center The California Science Center (sometimes spelled California ScienCenter) is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, next to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California. B ...

IMAX theater IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

in November 2001, where the 3D-effect could be experienced by visitors using

polarized glasses Polarization (American and British English spelling differences, also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation ...

. The firm also designed hotels, such as a Sheraton in Canada, a Lutheran church, animal shelter and schools. L&B Manufacturing in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

produced seating for many of the coffee shops that were designed by Armét & Davis.

Buildings

* Kerry's Coffee shop (now a

Mel's Drive-In Mel's Drive-In is a term referring to two American restaurant chains, successors of a restaurant founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs in San Francisco, California. It is closely associated with the film ''American Graffiti''. Locations ...

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

(1947) * Romeo's Times Square / Johnie's Wilshire (1955) * Holly's / Hawthorne Grill (1956) * Falcon Coffee Shop,

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

(1956) *

Norms Restaurant Norms Restaurants (stylized as NORMS) is a chain of diner-style restaurants in Southern California. Founded in 1949 by used-car salesman Norm Roybark, some restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. the company operates 21 locations, ...

, West Hollywood (1957) * Ship's Restaurant, La Cienega & Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA (1950s) *

, Crenshaw Blvd & W 38th St, Los Angeles, CA (demolished 2007) (1958) * Pann's Restaurant (1958) *

Wich Stand Wich Stand was a '50s-style coffee shop restaurant and diner in Los Angeles, California, featuring a tilting blue roof and , designed by architect Eldon Davis. The Wich Stand had two locations in the Los Angeles area. One of the buildings sti ...

, Wilshire (1958) * Conrad's (originally Donly's, then Conrad's, now Astro Family Restaurant),

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

(1958) * Stanley Burke's (then Lamplighter, now

Corky's Corky's was a restaurant in Los Angeles, California's Sherman Oaks neighborhood. It was designed by Armet & Davis and built in 1958. It has a sweeping roofline characteristic of Googie architecture.Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

(1958) * The Steak House (restaurant & nightclub), 8622 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA (now a laundromat) (1959) * Penguin Coffee Shop (now Mel's Drive In), Santa Monica (1959) * Denny's, North Hollywood (1960) * Twain's Restaurant,

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

(1960) *

Hope International University Hope International University is a private Christian university in Fullerton, California. It enrolls around 1,140 students. While Hope is non-denominational, it has strong ties to the Restoration Movement and the Christian churches and churche ...

, Fullerton * Sam's Cafe, Glendale * Glen Capri Motel, Glendale * Biff's Coffee Shop, Oakland (1963) * 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) * St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Redondo Beach"New Redondo Beach Church is Opened," ''Los Angeles Times'' (September 7, 1958): F15.
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{YouTube, id=bxQY8b4FGBc, title="Victor Newlove on Googie Architecture"
Googie art website
Architecture firms based in California Restaurant design Googie architecture in California Companies based in Santa Monica, California Design companies established in 1947 1947 establishments in California Architects from Los Angeles