Sadly, we have precious few Googie-inspired coffee shops left intact around Los Angeles these days, but fortunately we do have photos of many of them in their prime. The Penguin Coffee Shop opened at 1670 Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica in 1959, which is when this shot was taken. There’s something about that angular roof, the stonework on the pillars, and those beachball-shaped light fixtures that make me want to jump right into this image and order a burger with extra fries and a chocolate malted thick shake.
Chris C. says: “We thank Mel Weiss for buying the dental office and restoring it back to a coffee shop albeit rebranded with his signature franchise. Mel Weiss started the original Me’s Drive-In in San Francisco that George Lucas feature in American Graffiti. Mel’s son Chasen actually runs this business and walks to work from his apartment at 7th and Broadway. Thanks to the Weiss family.”
Fortunately, the Penguin is still standing. After years of being a dentist office(!), the Penguin was restored as a Mel’s Diner. I love how they kept the penguin on their sign as a nod to the restaurant’s history. This image is from February 2021.
I remember this one well, because it’s right by an I10 onramp/offramp, but because it was, it was a tricky intersection. I think I only went there once.
One melancholy note from this building’s past came back in the 1990s, when there were two fatal drive-by shootings of teenage boys on the sidewalk outside the Penguin within a matter of a week or two. I think of that every time I pass by this location. I’m happy, though, that it’s been returned to its intended purpose as a diner, and that it was allowed to stay standing during its years as a dentist’s office.
My stepdad was the architect for the Googie coffee shops, with the most iconic of all being the one next to the “Schwabadero” on Sunset. The swooping triangular shapes passed into LA lore and architectural history, but my memory is full of thrilling first cups of coffee with the adults when the first one opened…and later as an aging teen, going there with dates for apres movie treats.
Oh wow, Elizabeth, he was the Googie architect? He must have left behind some interesting papers. Also I hadn’t heard of “Schwabadero” before. Was that a commmonly used term, or was that your own invention?
I just was reminiscing about how begining with our arrival from Dallas TX. In June of 1960, my father a newly minted elec. eng. From Texas A and M whose college ring i still wear today, and my mother upon landing at the end of route 66 and staying our first nite in a motel on Santa Monica Blvd. ,We almost immediately began a Friday nite dinner at the Penguin tradition i can never forget. I’m 70 now but I remember getting the Roy Rodgers drinks in the lounge area and also how smokey it was from the cigarettes everyone smoked in those days. My father worked a Douglas Aircraft and we lived at 1301 Oak St apt. C which last I looked still exists. Our rent for a 2 bdr. Was $90 mo. I wonder if it’s been raised? We had an ocean view from our upstairs living rm window. By that i mean a tiny slice on a good day. That was the beatnik days and the phone was a party line. When I went back to those apts once years ago I remember my mother hanging laundry in the giant courtyard which had somehow shrunk like a dried apple to it’s actual size. We even had a one car garage with that apt. and dad worked about a mile down the street at Douglas. The Helms truck would come thru daily and the Sunday paper was .25 cents. We used to go to the S.M. pier on weekends where .25 cents would buy me a loaded .22 rifle(shorts) in the arcade. Can u imagine them giving a kid a loaded rifle today? Nuthin ever happened in those days. Wish we could go back in time sometimes.
Hi Richard. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your glorious memories with us!
I went to the penguin on many evenings as a young teen. I knew many of the waitresses. They felt sorry for me.Drank a lot of coffee. ten cents a cup.They used to be open all nite during the 1962-65 period. Santa monica freeway construction badly hurt many of the businesses around there. Two other restaurants opened up down the street around 1965 took a lot of business.