It may be the end of an era in the area that came to define some of the architectural and culinary beauty of Los Angeles.
If all goes according to plan, the iconic sawtooth “Norms” coffee shop sign on La Cienega Boulevard — one of LA's few remaining examples of mid-century Googie coffee shop design — will be replaced by “Sticks.” Goodbye to the retro diner known as steak and eggs, hello to the new location of Raise Cane's chicken strips.
Some Common Areas around Southern California will still operate under the proposal. But the area of La Cienega is iconic. It was the subject of Ed Ruscha's famous painting, “Norm's, La Cienega, On Fire” and was given historic status because of its age that seems to be associated with post-war LA.
The restaurant group that owns Raising Cane's — the fast-food chicken chain — owns the property that houses the iconic Norms location and plans to convert the space to Raise Cane's in 2027, when Norms' lease for the space expires.
“Increasing Cane's plans to keep Norm's legacy alive and preserve – forever – the unique Googie-style building made famous by Armét & Davis when we begin development to restore the property and provide the desired chicken meal to the LA Community,” Raising Cane's said representatives in a statement sent by The Times.
The company shared renderings of the new space program with The Times. The main change is the change of the iconic sawtooth pennant neon sign to say “For Cane” instead of the Rules.
Norms has an existing lease at its La Cienega location through December 2026.
(Raising Cane)
Because the Norms site has been an LA landmark since 2015, Raising Cane's must present its plan to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. It is scheduled to present to the commission on December 5.
But some Angelenos balked at changing the restaurant — even if Raising Cane's doesn't disrupt the site's design.
“The idea of changing Norms from a sit-down, family-friendly, affordable restaurant to a place you can go for fried chicken is amazing to me,” said Kim Cooper, one of the two people behind Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles.
Cooper discovered the change while looking at the upcoming agenda of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. He realized that Raising Cane wanted to change the use of space.
“It is much more than a building. This is a place that was open 24 hours a day… Habits are part of people's lives and have been for 67 years, which in LA is basically a millennium,” Cooper said.
Cooper encouraged Angelenos to show up at a Cultural Heritage Commission hearing in December to voice their displeasure with Norms being a Raise Cane's.
Norms La Cienega was designed by Louis Armet and Eldon Davis in the popular California “Googie” style in 1957.
Ed Ruscha, “Norm's, La Cienega, on Fire,” 1964. Oil and pencil on canvas. From the artist's retrospective, “Ed Ruscha / Now Then,” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
The Googie style of restaurant is a mode of futuristic architecture that originated in Southern California and features sharp geometric shapes, sweeping curves and bright lights, sometimes neon. The style was often used in gas stations and coffee shops.
“The usual stuff is in the same place as the Manns Chinese Theater and the Panns and the Hollywood Sign. It's an iconic building in Los Angeles,” said Damian Sullivan, a television producer and “streetwise” architectural historian.
The original Laws was opened in Hollywood by an unknown former owner, Norm Roybark, in 1949, and the iconic La Cienega location first opened its doors in 1957. Roybark sold the company to CapitalSpring in 2015.
The chain currently has 24 locations in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange and is even opening a location in Las Vegas.
Norms did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source link
