The big donuts of Southern California in the United States are frequently photographed examples of vernacular roadside architecture. They are landmark oversize donuts designed to attract the attention of potential customers on nearby roadways to associated shops. In their heyday, the giant donuts were "the doughnut was one of many signs in Los Angeles that bordered on pop art, celebrating the effusiveness of life in the years after World War II. To many Americans, Southern California acquired the image of an orange juice stand shaped like an orange, or a hot dog stand shaped like a hot dog."[1]
History edit
Randy's Donuts along the 405 freeway near LAX is the most famous of four surviving big donuts constructed by businessman Russell C. Wendell started the Big Donut chain in the 1940s.[2][3] There were ultimately 10 stores with 22-foot (6.7 m)-diameter giant donuts.[3][2] Wendell sold out in the 1970s.[3] One of the donuts has been converted into a bagel.[3] Mrs. Chapman's Angel Food Donuts was a chain of 20 stores that constructed slightly smaller big donuts to advertise their stores.[2][4]
The Donut Hole in La Puente, jokingly described as a "distant cousin" to the rooftop big donuts,[2] is a drive-thru bakery; the gimmick being that drivers enter and exit through the holes in a pair of giant donuts to order and pick up their food.[5] All of these shops and their associated giant donuts are considered representative of Southern California's mid-century "car-culture induced optimism and ambition, reflected in polychromatic, star-spangled coffee shops, gas stations, car washes, and other structures that once lured the gaze of passing motorists."[6]
Giant donuts and similar oversize object-shaped signs and buildings are generally now prohibited under contemporary municipal construction codes.[3]
List of Southern California big donuts edit
| Header text | Header text | Header text |
|---|---|---|
| Randy's Donuts | 805 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood[7] | Now a chain, only Inglewood has a giant donut; location predates the 405 freeway[2] |
| The Donut Hole | 15300 E. Amar Rd., La Puente [5] | |
| Dale's Donuts[7] | 15904 S. Atlantic Ave., Compton[1] | Atlantic & Alondra |
| Kindle's Donuts[2] | 10003 S. Normandie Ave., L.A.[7] | Wendell's first location; Century & Normandie[8] |
| Bellflower Bagel[7] | 17025 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower[7] | Wendell Big Donut location;[7] now a bagel[2] |
| Donut King II[7] | 15032 S. Western Ave., Gardena[7][9] | |
| Dunkin' Donuts | Long Beach, California | Originally an Angel Food Donuts, then the Daily Grind coffee shop for decades; convinced the company to save the old giant donut[4] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Einstein, David (1983-06-30). "3-D Signs Still Hanging On". The Los Angeles Times. p. 276. Retrieved 2024-01-20. & "Signs: Fading Relics of the Past (part 2 of 2)". The Los Angeles Times. 1983-06-30. p. 285. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Hole truth: Giant doughnuts still around". The Los Angeles Times. 2009-08-30. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ a b c d e "The Los Angeles Times 06 Feb 2022, page M49". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ a b Mai-Duc, Christine (2014-02-07). "Dunkin' Donuts hands fans of giant doughnut sign a sweet victory". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ a b "Sampling LA's offbeat eateries". The San Francisco Examiner. 1990-05-06. p. 184. Retrieved 2024-01-20. & "Checklist: L.A. Eateries". The San Francisco Examiner. 1990-05-06. p. 185. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ admin (2021-03-18). "Book Talk - Gas and Glamour: Roadside Architecture in Los Angeles - Calendar - AIA New York / Center for Architecture". Calendar - AIA New York | Center for Architecture. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cotner, David (2006-10-04). "The Giant Doughnuts of Los Angeles - LA Weekly". www.laweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Landmark Sign Is Threatened". The Los Angeles Times. 1990-01-11. p. 419. Retrieved 2024-01-20. & "DOUGHNUT: Famous Sign Threatened". The Los Angeles Times. 1990-01-11. p. 420. Retrieved 2024-01-20.