The architectural firm was formed byLouis Armét andEldon Davis[1] in 1947.[2][3]Victor Newlove joined the practice in 1963 and became a partner in 1972, changing the firm's name to Armét Davis Newlove Architects.[4] According to the firm's website, it has designed over 4,000 buildings in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Indonesia.[4]
Some of the firm's design hallmarks included radically vaulted roofing, a room-length dining counter and an outsized comet-shapedsignage to beckon drivers from off the street.[5] Armét & Davis have been referred to as "theFrank Lloyd Wright of '50scoffee shops."[6] "According to critic Philip Langdon, Armét & Davis designs came to define 'coffee shop' for much of America."[7] TheirHoliday Bowl bowling alley served cultural, architectural, and recreational purposes for the Crenshaw district.[8] The firm is said to have "defined '50s Googie architecture."[8]
Pann's was designed byHelen Liu Fong, who joined the firm in 1951,[2][6][9]and included tropical landscaping.[7] She also designed theHoliday Bowl,Johnie's Coffee Shop, and the original Norms Restaurant.[2] On the 90th birthday of Eldon Davis, fans joined him for a meal at Norms and a tour of some of the buildings the firm designed.[5] The firm also designedSchwab's drugstore onSunset Boulevard.[10]
The firm also designed hotels, such as aSheraton in Canada, a Lutheran church,[13] animal shelter[14] and schools.[15][16][17]L&B Manufacturing inSanta Monica produced seating for many of the coffee shops that were designed by Armét & Davis.[18]
Prebles (later Sandi's Family Restaurant), Alhambra
Bob's Big Boy #23, Alhambra #34, Northridge, Bob's Big Boy #135 (Now Coco's), Mission Hills, #147 (now Coco's) Pasadena, #158, Glendale #181, Van Nuys (1980)
^ab"Well, that - and the look of the place. For Pann's is a classic example of '50s coffee shop architecture, a style called Googie, named after a Los Angeles restaurant."Shindler, Merrill (2009-06-02)."Pann's dishes up blue plate specials amid Googie decor". Daily Breeze (Los Angeles). Archived fromthe original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved2009-02-11.
^"Parochial school set for Malibu Area".Los Angeles Times. 1958-02-16. p. F13.
^"Restaurant design is not the chief concern of Armét & Davis... Armét & Davis has turned out 139 schools and churches, 80 commercial [buildings].""Socked by sockeye he turns to designing".Los Angeles Times. 1964-11-22.
