Sunday, August 9, 2009

Randy's Donuts

Randy's drive-through donut shop is one of the most iconic examples of mid-century "programmatic" architecture, in which the shape of a building represents the product sold at the location. This style of roadside architecture was particularly popular in Los Angeles in the 1950s and was designed to be easily readable from the freeway.


Randy's was built in 1953 as part of the Big Donut Chain, a series of drive-through donut shops which included locations in Culver City, Van Nuys, and North Hollywood. The Randy's giant donut is 32.5 feet high (9.9 meters) and is made of a steel frame with a sprayed concrete exterior.


Randy's has featured in countless movies, television shows, video games, and music videos. It's a good place to stop for a treat if you are on your way to or from LAX as it is located in Inglewood 1 mile from the airport, is open 24 hours a day, and sells delicious donuts at cheap prices.


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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2009 at 12:30 PM

    Don't forget Long Beach. They had one there too. Near CSLB. Might still be there. I refer to this as roadside vernacular architecture.

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  2. SkillitAugust 13, 2009 at 5:17 PM

    hey, I recently moved to LA from the east coast and this was the first landmark I saw after getting out of the airport. I thought there'd be landmarks every block after that!
    Like the blog alot, keep it up!

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  3. VanessaNovember 22, 2009 at 2:44 PM

    Thanks for your comment Sean. I wish there were a landmark on every block. The hard thing about showing visitors around LA is that everything is so spread out ...

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