| Mid-Century Architecture |
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| CALIFORNIA: MISC. BUILDINGS (page 1) |
| Country Club Lanes Sacramento, CA |
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| The Country Club Lanes, and its Candlerock Lounge, opened around 1959. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. |
| Sacramento Zoo Sacramento, CA |
Hot Java Cafe Sacramento, CA |
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The Sacramento Zoo entrance features three parabolic roofed structures. For more, see this website.
The Hot Java Cafe occupies a former MacFarlane's Candies store which was built in the mid-1960s. Does anyone know of any other remaining Bay Area locations like this one? |
| former Fotomat Anaheim, CA |
Donut Wheel Livermore, CA |
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This former Fotomat kiosk is now home to Euclid Lock & Key. Fotomat was a drive-thru photo developing chain founded in San Diego, CA in the 1960s. Their kiosks were located in shopping center parking lots. By 1980, there were over 4,000 locations nationwide. The original buildings had gold roofs. With the invention of one-hour developing, Fotomat's one-day service became obsolete. They began selling off their kiosks in the mid-1980s. There are still many examples of adaptive reuse of these buildings across the country. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
The Donut Wheel occupies part of what was originally a Purity Store. This Purity location opened in 1941 and closed in 1959. The building was subdivided and the zigzag canopy added at that time. This property is for sale and the building may be demolished. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. |
| parking garage Fresno, CA |
Encounter Restaurant Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, CA |
Bloomingdale's Newport Beach, CA |
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This parking garage, aka the Spiral Garage, was built in 1969. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. Some other spiral parking structures include: St. Louis, MO, Rochester, NY, Chicago, IL, and Switzerland. These structures were undoubtedly inspired by New York City's Guggenheim Museum which was built in 1959.
The Encounter Restaurant was built in 1961 at a cost of over $2 million. It was originally known as the Theme Building. 135' tall parabolic arches surround an elevated circular structure. This structure, 70' above the ground, was used as a coffee shop. It was renovated in 1977 by Disney Imagineering and is now used as a bar and upscale restaurant with a 1960s theme. There was an outdoor Observation Deck but that closed after 9/11/01 out of security concerns. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This Bloomingdale's, originally a Broadway department store, was designed by Welton Becket in 1967. For more, see their website. [photo thanks Tyler Norman] |
| Holiday Bowl Coffee Shop Los Angeles, CA |
unidentified building Los Angeles, CA |
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The Holiday Bowl Coffee Shop opened in 1958 and closed in 2000. The building now houses a Starbucks. In 2003, the bowling alley itself was demolished for a mall. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
This unidentified building was built in 1930. The original occupant was possibly the Union Ice Company. In the late 1960s, the Morse Alarm Company purchased the building. I believe it was remodeled at that point. The building was vacant for a number of years. It housed Actua Systems when this photo was taken in 2008. The building was for sale in 2010. For more, see this website. |
| Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA |
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| The Anaheim Convention Center was built in 1967. There have been additions and remodeling however this building remains basically unchanged externally. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Penny Realty San Diego, CA |
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| The Penny Realty building appears to be mid-century. Does any know its history? |
| Lovell Beach House Newport Beach, CA |
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| Although built in 1926, I'll include the Lovell Beach House in this section anyway. The building's use of concrete as well as abstract and linear forms are surely appealing to lovers of mid-century architecture. This house was designed by Rudolf M. Schindler. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
|
CA Misc. (page 2) |
CA Misc. (page 3) |
CA Misc. (page 4) |
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