Iconic LA Diner Faces Demolition for Mixed-Use High-Rise
Plans submitted to replace Santa Monica's Mel's Drive-In with an eight-story apartment building.
An iconic Los Angeles restaurant, Mel's Drive-In in Santa Monica, is slated for potential demolition to make way for a new eight-story mixed-use development. The site's owners have submitted plans to replace the well-known diner with a building that would feature 138 apartments, 5,667 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and a semi-underground parking garage for 123 vehicles.
The proposed development includes 14 affordable housing units designated for low-income households. Renderings from Ottinger Architects depict a modern building with a rooftop deck and central courtyard. The site is located at 1670 Lincoln Boulevard, at the terminus of the historic Route 66.
The current structure, originally built in 1959 as the Penguin Coffee Shop, is an example of Googie architecture, a style popular in Southern California during the mid-20th century. Architects Armet and Davis, known for designing approximately 4,000 such buildings, created the original diner. The Penguin Coffee Shop operated as a 24-hour establishment until 1991, after which it was used as a dentist's office before being restored and reopened as Mel's Drive-In in 2018.
The Santa Monica Conservancy is actively working to preserve the historic building. The organization has submitted the property for consideration for historic status to the SM Landmarks Commission, with a hearing scheduled for December 14. "Many Googie-style coffee shops have been demolished and replaced by larger-scale commercial developments, making intact examples like the Penguin that remain even more significant," the conservancy stated on its website.
The proposed project is situated adjacent to a recently completed mixed-use building at 1650 Lincoln Boulevard, which contains 98 apartments and retail space.