The architectural firm was formed by
Louis Armét and
Eldon 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-shaped
signage to beckon drivers from off the street.[5] Armét & Davis have been referred to as "the
Frank Lloyd Wright of '50s
coffee shops."[6] "According to critic Philip Langdon, Armét & Davis designs came to define 'coffee shop' for much of America."[7] Their Holiday 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 by
Helen Liu Fong, who joined the firm in 1951,[2][6][9]
and included tropical landscaping.[7] She also designed the Holiday 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 designed
Schwab's drugstore on
Sunset Boulevard.
[10]
The firm also designed hotels, such as a
Sheraton in Canada, a Lutheran church,[13] animal shelter[14] and schools.[15][16][17]
L&B Manufacturing in
Santa 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 from
the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
^
"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.