Thursday, February 21, 2008

Orange County Hospital, UCI, Johnie's Broiler, etc.

I hear that UCI Medical Center plans to tear down the old Orange County Hospital building (1914), which now sits in the middle of their complex in Orange. Has anyone heard details or whether there's a preservation effort afoot?

I seldom write about non-O.C. news, but this particluar saga near and dear to my heart... Some time ago, the current owner of Johnie's Broiler (1958) in Downey bulldozed most of this googie landmark without pulling demolition permits, doing environmental abatement, or alerting anyone in any way. In addition to angering the whole city (and Johnie's fans everywhere), I'm sure he also bought himself a peck of legal trouble. Anyway, the next chapter in the Johnie's story is about to be written, and you can help strike a blow for Mid-Century preservation...
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Chris Nichols of the L.A. Conservancy's Modern Committee (MODCOM), writes: "MODCOM needs your help!... Bob’s Big Boy is very interested in restoring Johnie’s Broiler... It [would be] a FULL REBUILD per the original plans. WOW. This is not just a local issue, it’s a grand piece of California Car Culture that we all want back. We need YOU to show up 7pm, next Tues., Feb. 26th at Downey City Council. We need your in-person support, it’s VERY important that you come – TV News is coming - we're trying to pack the council chambers - welcome Bob’s - and impress on [the] owner... that there is total support for their effort to rebuild Johnie's. Big Boy banner, hats, pins---- [We] need to pull out all the stops in support. If you really can’t attend and still want to help, please send a letter of support to the City Council. PLEASE ATTEND AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR JOHNIE’S BROILER! This could make all the difference. THANK YOU. Fun times - Coffee after."
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The Heritage Coalition of Southern California will hold its next meeting on the evening of Feb. 28 at the Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles. Tours will begin at 5:30pm, and a dinner meeting and roundtable will begin at 7pm. The cost should be about $18. Although the event is in Los Angeles, this site -- which includes eight historic structures -- would likely be worthwhile for anyone with an interest in architectural history. For reservations or more information, call Helen Brown at (562) 921-4218.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wanna carpool?

Chris Jepsen said...

Addendum: The Heritage Square museum is open Friday, Saturday & Sunday to the general public from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM for regular tours.