Johnie's Broiler is Cooked

Another landmark falls victim to bulldozers. But this time, it was completely illegal.

Modern architecture preservationists were alerted late Sunday that someone had hired a team to tear down Johnie's Broiler -- one of the last examples of Googie mid-century coffee shop architecture in the region. The Downey-based restaurant -- which shut down at the end of 2001 -- was already half-destroyed when preservationists rushed to the scene and managed to stop the madness.

The pics above are from Lotta Living.com, which has more details of the destruction here.

A commenter (and L.A. Conservancy Modern Committee member) there notes that the demolition was performed without any permits, and was likely maliciously done by the site's current owner:

We rushed to the scene as soon as we heard. About 1/4 of the building is still intact, the big sign is still up and the very front right corner. The neon could still be saved and this part of the building probably could be stabilized and then intergraded into any new structure built onto the site.

Preservation aside, Hell... you can't even build a storage shed larger than 8'X8' square, or tear one down in LA without pulling a permit! What gives them the right to tear down a state nominated landmark, that they don't even own, without a permit?!

The demolition was carried out by the current TENANTS of the place, a used car dealership. They just took it upon themselves to do this. The property owner declines to comment but also claims to not have had any prior knowledge of it, we are very suspicious of him, though.

Other issues are at stake, public safety and health code violations. We noticed a strong pungent musty smell emanating from the rubble as well as dust clouds or plumes of smoke. Most old buildings, especially Mid-Century structures, must go through an asbestos abatement search and permitting process before demolition.

The sign could have fallen onto Firestone blvd during demolition and debris was found on the sidewalks as well as in the far right lane of Firestone, causing the police to shut down the lane! There was a question as to if the gas lines were properly disconnected and if power and water were cut!

The demolition people put up only a strip of CAUTION TAPE as a boundary for passers by. No protective fencing was used and any child or vagrant could have been playing or wandering around it, during and after the demolition!

This crew was decisively unprofessional; perhaps the perpetrators just rented the bulldozer themselves and went to Home Depot to get an illegal driver for it?! They did the demo, surreptitiously on a Sunday evening, starting at 3:00 p.m., using a back hoe and bulldozer to simply tear at the building. The steel skeleton of the building is partly intact as they must have found that they couldn't simply push it down. Usually building inspectors must review a pending demolition before it occurs to see the safest way to proceeded without causing a hazardous collapse.

The police noted that when they drove up to the site, the crew just fled the scene, abandoning their equipment. According to repots, one straggler was accosted and said to an officer, "The Conservancy lost its right to the ownership and preservation of the building!" So it appears to have been done with spiteful intent directed at US! The LA Modernism Preservation Community!

More info and pictures can be found at Roadside Peek. Commenters at Lotta Living suggest that anyone outraged by the destruction attend tomorrow night's Downey City Council meeting: 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Avenue, Downey, CA 90241