Tag Archives: Mimetic Architecture
Umbrella Super Service gas station selling Violet Ray gasoline, 830 S. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1930
Yesterday, I featured a photo of a gas station selling a brand of purple-colored gasoline I’d never heard of: Violet Ray. And what was the first photo I randomly came across this morning? A photo of the aptly-named Umbrella Super … Continue reading
Iceberg gas station somewhere in Los Angeles, California (undated)
Continuing the theme from yesterday’s post of the Igloo ice cream store, today we have a gas station fashioned to resemble an iceberg. I get the igloo-iceberg-ice cream connection, but why you would build a gas station to look like … Continue reading
Igloo ice cream store, 4302 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, circa late 1920s
You’ve got to love the idea of a Los Angeles ice cream store fashioned to look like an iceberg. It’s a gimmick, sure, but it’s a gimmick that was obviously working because the Igloo Ice Cream store had plenty of … Continue reading
A driver enters a donut-shaped coffee-and-donut shop called The Donut Hole, 15300 Amar Road, La Puente, California, 1970
If there’s one thing this world needs it’s more donut-shaped coffee-and-donut shops with creative names like The Donut Hole. Pictured here in 1970, this one was at 15300 Amar Road in La Puente, around 20 miles east of downtown Los … Continue reading
Sphinx Realty office, 537 N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, circa mid-1920s
I willingly admit to being a fan of mimetic architecture, which is a term used to describe a building constructed in an unusual shape as a novelty, often reflecting the business it houses. Over the years, Los Angeles has had … Continue reading
Airplane Café, Ventura Blvd, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, 1927
I guess if you stuck a pair of (too short) wings on either side and a propeller at the front, you get to call your joint the Airplane Café. Apparently this place was somewhere on Ventura Blvd, which is the … Continue reading
Mother Goose Pantry restaurant, 1959 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, California, circa late 1920s
Most examples of mimetic architecture are just big examples of what they sell: a lemonade stand in the shape of a lemon, a florist in the form of a flowerpot. But the Mother Goose Pantry, which stood at 1959 E. … Continue reading
Bulldog Café, 1153 West Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, opened 1928
I’m a fan of mimetic architecture – buildings intentionally made to look like something, often in the shape of what it sells, like an ice cream store in the shame of a waffle cone. Yes, they’re kitsch, and but they’re … Continue reading
Shutter Shark photo processing store
I’ve always got my eye open for L.A.’s mimetic architecture (i.e. novelty or eccentric architecture) but it’s been a while since I found a new one . . . until now! This place was called the Shutter Shark, and offered … Continue reading
Freezer ice cream store, Pico Blvd, Los Angeles
If you’re a fan of this photo album, you’ll know my fondness for L.A.’s mimetic architecture (i.e. novelty or eccentric architecture) so this picture won’t surprise you. The Freezer was a mini chain of ice cream outlets, and each store … Continue reading
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Tagged Mimetic Architecture, Restaurants, Stores and Shopping
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