The Mel’s Drive-In restaurant that opened a year ago at the true western ending of Route 66 earned a historic preservation award from the Santa Monica Conservancy.
The conservancy stated in a news release Sunday:
The 1959 Armet and Davis-designed Penguin Coffee Shop was restored to its original use by Mel’s Drive-In owner Steven Weiss, assisted by Googie architecture advisors Adriene Biondo and Chris Nichols. The distinctive sign was meticulously repurposed with the Mel’s logo, avoiding loss of the “meritorious” status which allowed it to stand despite its lack of conformance with current sign codes. The interior’s ambiance was re-established with period-specific furnishings and lighting. And the Mel’s team highlighted the Drive-In’s location at the end of Route 66.
The restaurant stands at Lincoln and Olympic boulevards. That’s the western end of Route 66 since the Mother Road was extended from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica in 1936.
Though Mel’s long has been associated with Los Angeles, it started in 1947 in San Francisco and was featured in the 1973 hit film, “American Graffiti.”
Though the Santa Monica Pier about a mile away has been perceived as the western end of Route 66, the highway never officially ended there.
But the Lincoln and Olympic terminus previously was so dull, travelers sought a more exciting and symbolic ending at the pier and the Pacific Ocean.
Since Mel’s Drive-In opened, the real western terminus got a lot more interesting in the last year or so.
(Hat tip to Santa Monica Lookout; image of the Mel’s Drive-In in Santa Monica, California, via Facebook)
Does it deserve the acolade, “historic”?