LAX Encounter Restaurant
Formerly the Theme Building
Los Angeles, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Do you remember the space age buildings of a few decades ago, back when
the space program captured the attention of millions and optimism was
at an all time high? Well, like everything else these days, times have
changed and most of the great buildings from the 50's and 60's have disappeared
off the roadside landscape.
The Theme Building was built in 1961 and designed by the well known firm Pereira and Luckman. This mid-century structure is an eye-catcher for those that arrive and depart the Los Angeles International Airport or LAX.
Looks like something from the Jetsons landed in the middle of Los Angeles International Airport. The LAX Encounter Restaurant occupied the flying-saucer-shaped center of the Theme Building, framed by enormous white arches. Quite a place to grab a meal before boarding something with a more conventional set of wings.
Completed in 1961, the building gave LAX a landmark fit for the Jet Age. Check out the sweeping arches and decorative concrete screen around the base. Even with ordinary traffic circling below, the place looks ready for flying cars.
Encounter opened in January 1997 with a space-age interior created with help from Walt Disney Imagineering. Futuristiccurves, colorful lighting, and airport views made dinner part of the attraction. Despite stories to the contrary, the dining room didn’t rotate. The planes outside supplied the movement.
UPDATE: The Encounter Restaurant portion of the building closed in December 2013 due to slowing business. 04-14
UPDATE: Encounter closed at the end of 2013, but the Theme Building survives. The Bob Hope USO moved into the ground floor in 2018 and continues serving military travelers and their families. The familiar saucer still marks the airport, though meals upstairs belong to its earlier days. 10-26
Imagine attending a conference at a space port. Something out of an old
Jetsons script? No. Still found in Anaheim, California is the Anaheim
Convention Center with it's space age look paying tribute to the Disneyland
Tomorrowland that once was. Nearby is the Westcoast Anaheim parking port looking like it's about to blast off.
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Looks like a visitor from another planet found a parking spot near Disneyland. The Anaheim Convention Center arena sports a broad, saucer-shaped roof that could pass for a Martian hat or something waiting to emerge from War of the Worlds. Fortunately, the crowds heading inside usually come for entertainment rather than an alien invasion.
Opened in July 1967, the arena gave Anaheim a sizable dose of space-age architecture. Check out the sweeping roof and enormous supports. The building makes quite an impression before anyone gets close enough to read the event signs.
The marquee outside also looks like some sort of space teleport. This
type of space age architecture is now becoming increasingly rare.
Anaheim Convention Center Marquee
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Doors and Jefferson Airplane performed during its opening festivities, putting some equally memorable sounds beneath that futuristic shell. Later, the arena hosted wrestling during the 1984 Olympics.
UPDATE: The arena remains in use as part of the expanded Anaheim Convention Center. Newer exhibition halls have changed the surrounding complex, but the original saucer still gives Katella Avenue a glimpse of the future as imagined in the 1960s. 10-26
Stovall's Inn
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
A swim at Stovall's Inn once came with scenery that looked ready for a moon landing. Check out the odd little spaceport beside the pool. Apparently, spending the day in Tomorrowland wasn’t enough when the motel could continue the trip after closing time.
Originally called the Inn of Tomorrow, this was part of Al Stovall’s collection of space-themed Anaheim hotels. Flying saucers, spacemen, and futuristic decorations helped turn an overnight stay into another attraction. Even transportation received the treatment, with a rocket-themed van picking up guests.
The pool area carried the idea particularly well, with a lunar-module-shaped pool and a “Moon Room” changing facility. Getting ready for a swim could look a little like preparing to leave the planet.
UPDATE: The property remains open as Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn. Remodeling has changed its space-age appearance, and the current hotel emphasizes updated rooms, pools, and gardens. The Inn of Tomorrow name belongs to its earlier days, when even a motel swim could come with a little moon scenery. 10-26
Parkside Inn (Gone)
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the boomerang-shaped entrance canopy at the Parkside Inn in Anaheim. The overhang gives arriving motorists something more interesting to pull beneath than an ordinary flat carport. A little space-age shelter while the luggage waits to be unloaded.
The pointed, sweeping shape fits the days when Southern California motels tried to catch attention with more than a vacancy sign. An unusual roof could help announce the office and give the place an identity of its own. This one looks like it might take off before the guests finish checking in.
It’s another reminder that Anaheim’s roadside scenery extended beyond the attractions inside Disneyland. Sometimes the motel entrance supplied a small attraction all by itself.
UPDATE: The Parkside went back to being the Eden Rock. This cool googie entrance was redone sometime prior to 2014 . 10-26
Westcoast Anaheim
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Pulling up to the Westcoast Anaheim came with a little futuristic scenery of its own. The sweeping carport shell gave the entrance a look that fit right into the space-age buildings once scattered around Disneyland. Quite a roof to park beneath, even if the vehicle below was an ordinary family sedan.
The canopy turned a practical drop-off area into something worth a second look. Check out the way the shell reaches over the driveway. Unloading suitcases probably felt slightly less routine beneath an entrance that looked ready for tomorrow.
Westcoast Anaheim
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The hotel has carried several names since opening as the Royal Inn of Anaheim in 1971. It later became the Inn at the Park, followed by Hilton, WestCoast, and Coast identities. Plenty of changes at the front desk over the years.
UPDATE: Following a major renovation, the property reopened as the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort in 2006 and remains in operation. The Westcoast name is gone, but the hotel continues welcoming visitors near the convention center and Disneyland. 10-26
