Owner Fails to Dissuade Panel on Big Boy Preservation : Burbank: A county commission again sides with those who regard the building as an ‘early coffee shop design’ worthy of historic landmark status.

The owner of a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in Burbank had a bad taste in his mouth on Tuesday after failing to convince a Los Angeles County commission that the eatery is unworthy of state historic landmark status.

Peter MacDonald, who wants to tear the restaurant down and replace it with a three-story office building, was unable to persuade the county Historical Landmarks and Records Commission to overturn an earlier decision to recommend the building for historical status.

MacDonald called the 43-year-old restaurant an “eyesore,” adding that to save the building would be to preserve “a cultural fad, not a meaningful piece of cultural history.” He also said the restaurant, which used to be a drive-in complete with car hops, is unpopular, deteriorating and did not fit with the surrounding office and film studios.

But the commission sided for the second time with preservationists who regard the restaurant as a prime example of an “early coffee shop design” style that originated in Los Angeles.

Peter Moruzzi of the Los Angeles Conservancy 50s Task Force called the restaurant an important building depicting the emerging car culture of Los Angeles. Alan Hess, an architectural historian and author of a book on ‘50s coffee shops, said the building was an “excellent urban object” and was aesthetically pleasing.

The commission voted last month to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the restaurant be designated a state historical landmark. But commissioners decided to reconsider their action after MacDonald complained that he was not notified of that hearing. A notice informing him of the hearing was sent to an old address.

Disputing MacDonald’s claims, Commissioner E. Michael Diaz said the architectural style of the restaurant did have historical significance. “Twenty years from now, we may be crying, ‘Why didn’t we save that type of building?’ ” he said.

Diaz said he had also visited the restaurant on the previous evening, and found it to be very crowded and in good shape. “If it’s restored and brought up to snuff, you’ve got a magnificent building there,” he told MacDonald.

MacDonald, however, said he would repeat his protests when the Board of Supervisors considers the recommendation in two to three weeks. “I will vigorously oppose this,” he said after the hearing. “I think the commissioners were sincere in their feelings, but they made an error in judgment.”

If the supervisors agree with the recommendation, the nomination will be forwarded to the state Office of Historic Preservation, which would make the final decision. Such a designation would make the restaurant only one of 53 official points of interest in the county.

Although MacDonald owns the building and the land, the restaurant is operated by Marriott, which owns the Bob’s Big Boy chain. Marriott is leasing the site under a long-term agreement that will not expire until 2016. MacDonald said he was been in negotiations with Marriott executives about buying out the lease.

“The landlord would love us to move,” Marriott spokesman Richard Sneed said. “But we have no intention to close that restaurant any time soon. We will be operating it for the foreseeable future.”

The struggle is similar to protests initiated by Studio City homeowners who unsuccessfully fought to prevent a developer from tearing down a carwash they wanted to have designated a cultural monument.