The Historic Preservation Commission of West Hollywood, California, this week recommended designating the Formosa Cafe as a cultural resource.
The recommendation will go to the city council for final passage. The historic business, owned by the 1933 Group, is renovating it and hopes to reopen it later this year.
WeHoville.com reported:
The Formosa was eligible for designation as a cultural resource because it is identified with persons or events significant in local, state or national history, one of the criteria for such a designation. Another criterion the Formosa Café meets is that it has “distinguishing characteristics of an architectural or historical type or specimen.” That distinction is based on the Formosa’s repurposed Pacific Electric Red Car, a trolley built between 1901 and 1906 that is now home to the Formosa’s bar. The 1933 Group has been restoring that classic car using money it received from the Los Angeles Conservancy, which promoted the Formosa in a national contest for grants from Partners in Preservation.
The 1933 Group also is putting old black and white photographs back on the walls of the café and restoring the seating there and in the bar. An old bar from a location in Chinatown is being added as part of a bar in the back. […]
If a building is designated as a cultural resources, there are restrictions imposed on the changes its owner can make. An owner wanting to remodel such a building must get the city’s approval and all changes must meet standards and design guidelines based on the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. A building designated as a historic or cultural resource by the state may qualify for a tax exemption under the Mills Act will actively participating in the restoration and maintenance of their historic properties.
The restaurant dates to 1925 at 7156 Santa Monica Blvd. (aka Route 66). The Formosa became a hangout for actors because it sat near several movie-studio lots. Among the stars reportedly seen there included John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Orson Welles, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Ava Gardner.
The restaurant also was used in a scene in “L.A. Confidential” and, more recently, “La La Land,” both which were Oscar-winning movies.
(Image of the Formosa Cafe in 2012 by Don Barrett via Flickr)