The historic Santa Monica Diner, Mel’s Drive-In, faces the risk of demolition in favor of a new high-rise apartment complex. The diner’s property owner plans to sell the property for an eight-story apartment building with 138 units.
The drive-in is located between Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards, and is a standout against Lincoln’s 1600’s continuous stretch of high-rise developments. The only buildings breaking the pattern are Mel’s, Lincoln’s Car Wash 7 Detail, and a vacant commercial space at 1600.
Local preservationists plan to defend Mel’s through historic designation. The process helps preserve buildings that are proven to have value in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture.
“When you preserve buildings, what you’re doing is you are creating a visual archive of places that tell stories,” said Nina Fresco, Vice President of the Santa Monica Conservancy. “Having these cultural resources can be used to understand what’s happening now. If they look at this architecture that was responding to automobiles and car culture, then you look at what they’re building now, you start to understand things about yourself and today.”
The building was originally built in 1959 and was known as the Penguin Coffee Shop. The diner faced closure in 1991, and the space would be used as a dentist office until Mel’s Drive-In signed a long-term lease for the property in 2016. Even with the property going through multiple changes throughout the years, there is still a penguin above the Mel’s signage.
The former Penguin Coffee Shop is one of the last remaining examples of Santa Monica’s ‘googie’ architecture, during the 1950s and 1960s when Santa Monica’s buildings had architecture similar to the vibes of The Jetsons.
The architectural aesthetic of the diner features a sharp-angled roof, glass walls, and an illuminated interior, which became the go-to design for diners and restaurants in the 1950s and 1960s in Southern California.
Even if landmark designation goes through, it wouldn’t stop further development happening on the site, but it would protect the structural elements of the buildings since it would force any new developers to build around what gives the landmark its historic nature.
The Santa Monica Landmarks Commission will hold a public hearing for Mel’s landmark application on Dec. 14 of this year. The lease for the drive-in ends in 2029.
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