Starting in the 1930s, the windmill-topped Van de Kamp bakeries were a common and welcome sight for hungry Angelenos in search of delicious baked goods. (And let’s face it, who isn’t?) But I suspect this one at San Fernando Rd and Fletcher Dr. in Glendale was the very first one they built because that long, pale building behind it was the company’s headquarters (built in 1930.) So I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suppose that they would build their first windmill café next to their factory. This photo is dated 1936, proving traffic jams existed back then, too!

FMW said: “The Van de Kamps first started selling ‘Saratoga Chips’ (Potato Chips) from a tiny stand on 2nd & Spring with a Dutch ‘cleanliness’ Theme. They opened four more potato chip stores in 1915. They pivoted to bakeries in 1919 because WW1 made potatoes expensive and hard to get.”

Peter R. said: “This picture is looking South. North of this picture would be my junior high, Washington Irving, in 30 years. The Van De Kamps restaurant was still there when I walked to school back in the mid-60s. The smell of cinnamon rolls baking filled the air as I walked to school every morning.”

Paige G. said: “That building sat empty literally for decades. Area residents had started a movement, “No big box stores!” Apparently no one else considered it worth developing. I shook my head every time I drove by it.”

This is how that intersection looked in June 2024. If you peek through all those overhead wires, you can see the headquarters in the background. In the foreground that site is now El Pollo Loco, so it still sells foods but isn’t quite so eye-catching, is it?

And here are a couple of clearer view of the headquarters from May 2024 and June 2024 respectively. It was built to resemble a 16th Dutch farmhouse and is now part of a high school. It’s so nice to see a building of this vintage so well maintained.