Wich Stand was a '50s-style coffee shop restaurant and diner in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, 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 still exists at the intersection of

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, L ...

and Overhill Drive in

View Park-Windsor Hills A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

, an unincorporated affluent neighborhood of Los Angeles County near City of Inglewood that is encircled. It was known for its dart

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in D ...

. A food critic said its "plunging dart of a sign keeps it from spinning off into space," and it's a surviving preserved examples of

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

, according to ''The Los Angeles Times''. The other was located within City of Los Angeles proper at the Northwest corner of Figueroa Street and Florence Avenue (as listed on menu and matchbook cover), which preceded the one "on the hill."

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

lived in the area and wrote an unreleased song called "Wich Stand". The coffee shop also inspired another Beach Boys song, "Root Beer (Chug-a-Lug)", about "Cruisin' the A," which was driving the five miles between the A & W on Hawthorne Boulevard and the Wich Stand on Slauson.

Simply Wholesome

The Slauson Avenue location opened in 1957. It fell upon hard times in the early 1980s and was vandalized. The floors and ceilings were gutted after the diner closed in 1988. In 1989 it was declared a historic landmark by the Los Angeles County. In 1995 the building was completely refurbished and reopened as Simply Wholesome

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

restaurant and health food store.

References

External links

Photos and design of Wich Stand

The Wich Stand
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Simply Wholesome official site

Cruisin’ to the Wich Stand – The Origins of Googie Design
- ultraswank.net Defunct restaurants in Los Angeles Googie architecture in California Restaurants established in 1957

The Beach Boys

Simply Wholesome

See also

References

External links