Bob’s Big Boy

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors’ decision to approve the nomination of the Bob’s restaurant in Burbank as a state point of historical interest is a substantial, precedent-setting victory about which all of us should be proud (July 29).

The owner’s statement that “anything that anyone has good memories of is now eligible to become a designated landmark” is nonsense. Built in 1949 by respected L.A. architect Wayne McAllister, this building is an important transitional design of late ‘40s Moderne and a magnificent example of the emerging California “coffee shop modern” style set to explode in Los Angeles in the 1950s. It was nominated because it represents one of the best examples of the style existing in Southern California.

To be eligible, the L.A. County Landmarks Commission requires extensive, well-documented evidence that a site is worthy of recognition.

In Bob’s case we presented books and articles specifically highlighting the site and brought forward acknowledged architectural historians renowned as experts in the style. Our volunteer effort of hundreds of hours represented an attempt at officially recognizing a vanishing, futuristic architectural style born in L.A. for a new, post-war, car-loving generation.

PETE MORUZZI, Chairman, Modern and Post-WWII Committee, Los Angeles Conservancy