Harvey's Broiler Razed Illegally!!!!!!!!!!!!

usually when someone starts to talk about some property being an historical landmark there is a suspicious fire. I can think of several old buildings around here that burned soon after the Washington Township Historical society took an interest in it.

guess there was too much metal and cement to just burn it. dudes got some stones to demolish it on a sunday afternoon. guess the lawyers took the amount of possible fines and weighed it against the value of the property with a more profitible building on it.

 

Wow.....this is really disgusting. Enjoy the Taco Bell they put up in its place.

 

somebody should AT LEAST try to slavage that great sign. anyone have a semi truck with a flat bed????

 

those of you who are truly bummed and want to vent a little more frustration call (562)-776-6000 . this is the phone number of the land owners ,who by the way own 4 or 5 dealerships/properties on firestone blvd. they are from the middle east and might not of realised the historical significance of harveys broiler and that an elite group of classic car enthusiasts and historic preservationists gave a care about it. my wife & i both called them at seperate times and gave the idiots a piece of our minds!
all they said was no comment....no comment.

i too use to drive all the way out there from riverside in the mid 80's to see the cruise nights which were held on wednesday's. its where i first met rudy rodriguez & tom branch.

i'm glad that i watched a little tv tonight as every news channel is featuring this subject on thier broadcast. must be enough interest and enough complaints!

you guys that live near there ....drive your hot rods,customs & classics over there and "pay your respects" !

 

gouge out their eyeballs and skull fuck them.

 

Just last week they bulldozed the old A&W Drive Inn here in our town in north Louisiana. About 10 years ago they walled up the parking section under the roof, added about 6 roll up doors, and turned it into a car audio place. Now it's gone.

 

Preservationists Cry Foul Over Demolition Of 1950's Diner


POSTED: 8:48 am PST January 8, 2007

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DOWNEY, Calif. -- Someone's going to have some explaining to do following the partial demotion of what used to be a 1950s-era carhop diner.
It was unclear Monday morning who ordered the demolition of the landmark at 7447 Firestone Blvd.
Often used as a movie location, the diner began as Harvey's Broiler in 1958 and became Johnie's Broiler in 1966 after an ownership change.

​

A cruising destination for vintage car clubs in the 1950s and 60s, the site has served as a used car lot since 2001.
"To our knowledge there was no demolition permit pulled," Analisa Ridenour Hungerford, a member of Friends of Johnie's, a group of residents fighting for the preservation of the landmark, told the Press-Telegram. "It's virtually demolished."
Most of the inside of the restaurant has been gutted, with only the large Johnie's Broiler sign and the canopy remaining, she told the newspaper.
Demolition apparently began about 3 p.m. Sunday, with preservationists learning of the operation only around 5 p.m., Hungerford told the Press-Telegram.
She vowed to attend the Downey City Council meeting Tuesday to demand "justice."
"This is an example of true Googie architecture from 1958 and it's something that you can't replace," Adriene Biondo of the Los Angeles Conservancy said in a televised interview.
The owner of the restaurant declined to comment to a local television news reporter, and there was no immediate comment from police or Downey city officials.

Copyright 2007 by NBC4.tv. City News Service contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.​

 

It's funny that someone would suggest a cruise there. I ate there as a kid. My mom and dad used to go there on dates,so did my two older brothers. I lived just across Firestone Blvd. before moving to Yorba Linda. There was aguy named Jack,who used to have a cruise there every Wed. night. I never could understand how a place like Friscos could do so much business,and a place like Harveys/Johnnies,with real history,would be used for a car lot. I remember walking over there and watching movies being filmed there. It's a sad day for me. I know my parents would be pissed. I seem to remember seeing a poster,with Watsons cars parked there. Maybe someone can post it.

 

Phil,
Thanx 4 posting those pics, Thanx for the call we'll put something together, I'll be at the meeting tomorrow night!
Kevin

 

Sooner or later, everything will be gone...us included. Until then, I say rip that old shit down and build an Applebees, or Bennigans....."Hi, My name is Hatch and I'll be your SERVER tonite...our specials include Fuckinmashed potatoes...and crushed flat pancakes" And you guys driving those old rusty cars better watch out where ya park em, the bulldozer is still here...and I don't mean Rosie O'Donnell.

 

Like I said before, "new residents of L.A. have no history here so they don't don't give a shit" To them this is the land of opportunity ($$$$$$$$) so all the old ugly buildings are just sitting there not making any money. If anyone remembers Tiny Naylors at Sunset and LaBrea in Hollywood you know what I mean. It was torn down years ago to make way for a "new modern" shopping center (minimall) Now the blight of Hollywood full of empty stores and nail parlors. If someone with vision held on to it they'd be a billionaire right now! When the developer wanted to tear down the Cinerama Dome it was saved by people who cared and now its the best movie theater complex in the U.S.. They are raking in cash! The developer had to be educated to the unseen value of these places. And the people who live in the areas where they are as well.
People will always go to the fake Happy Days, Nifty Fifties dumps over the real thing anyday. They feel safer. When in truth they're just being led to the slaughter. Sorry for the soapbox. -stick

 

American architecture is a BIG passion of mine, 20's thru the 60's. Since living here in Ventura since late 97. I've seen two great building gone under the demolition dozer. An Art Deco movie theater buy the Ventura city Post Office and the Ban Darr, a cool 50's honky tonk bar. Just this weekend I cruised up to Ojai and saw two abandoned buildings, a gas station and an old burger joint with a cool Hot Rod mural. Some save that sign at least!

Ken

 

the fact that immigrants baught the place says it all, more than likely they came here with the clothes on their back and nothing else... why didnt a local step up to the plate and buy the historic site when it went up for sale in the first place?

i see where you are coming from, although it is customary that a person figures out the customs and traditions of the country he or she is living in... ya, that culture can include greasy spoons and tacky roadside attractions.

 

i'm not old enough for when it was harvey's but cruised there when it was jonnie's. my grandma, mom and g/f lived in downey and i was there the last week (and the last cruise night). i know they could have made bank by redoing the place and adding car hops on weekends.

 

What a WASTE!!! That place must have been awesome.I hate when some "enterpriser" tears down a piece of history in the name of "progress"

 

i just came from Harveys right now. i stopped by after work and snapped some pics, a few cars showed up besides mine. its a sad day, many locals bummed with candels and all. i'll post them right now...

 

Devil's advocate here for a moment...I have lived in LA for about 20 years so I suppose I'm a new guy. I'm also a landlord and own commercial property and apartments in LA, that's what I do for a living. I bought them for one reason and that is to make money for my company. You can decide if I'm evil for wanting a return on my investment but that's not the point. Many of the older commercial buildings in LA are falling apart and/or are functionally obsolete...and by old I mean built in the 40's. The capital required to keep most properties in LA in top condition has not been spent over the years so they are simply falling apart and "need" to be demolished...sad but true fact.

Now, as a landlord...would you want to tear down your underperforming building and build something that would appeal to the masses...say an ugly strip mall that will bring in additional income for you and your family...if you answer no, you are not being honest in my opinion.

Back to Harvey's...what the owner did was clearly illegal and wrong, hopefully he will get a nice fine and some jail time for being a moron. There is a right way and a wrong way to do business...I'm sorry that many of you have lost a piece of your past by it's demolition, but at least you have the memories and a forum in which to vent in the HAMB.

 

sorry to show you guys but here they are...with more to come...

 

Wouldnt that be theft? Just because you like something doesnt mean you have the right to it. The owner still OWNES IT.

Ya its real sad to see a landmark be torn down but if people cared they should have brought it. PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

How would you feel if you had all this money tied up in a place and some busy bodies where telling YOU what to do with it?

Sorry...I get a little touchy when others try to tell people what they can and cant do with THIER OWN PROPERTY

 

I'd sell it to someone who wants it,make a profit & buy something else

 

point of the matter is, the place was and IS a historical monument. it's been in the works to make it official for years. tho owner OBVIOUSLY knew how significant the property was prior to him buying it. and he's wanted to level the place since his ownership. he has tried to sell it with a ridiculous asking price in the past. kind of like the neat parts you see on ebay with a Buy It Now price of only $10 grand, when the value is more like say a $100 bucks. anyways here's a few more with more to come...

 

here's the cars. the '57 rectractable top was neat, the owner said he used to organize the cruise at johnies broiler in the 80's and used to dj their also, a real cool guy with a nice set of wheels... and the 2 other cars are from the Cavaliers of Long Beach, they showed up as i was leaving and were just as devistated as everybody else....everyone their was talking about showing up to the city hall meeting tomorrow in their cars and making their prescense known....

 

R.I.P. Fat Boy

 

Those who said the owner researched the amount of the fine before illegally starting to demolish hit it on the head. This guy will have a smart lawyer get him a slap on the wrist, and in the end, the city of Downey will be praising this guy for helping to reclaim a blighted, under utilized piece of property that no one wanted. After all thanks to our government and their "eminent domain" laws, this probably was in the buildings near future anyway. The city of Downey was saved being labeled a "badguy" by his actions.
It is a sad day, but unfortunately, this same thing happens to historic buildings accross the country everyday, and we are rarely able to save them. This is why I try to at least get a photo of these kinds of places before they are gone. The next generation will be mourning the distruction of McDonalds, Taco Bells etc.
Progress is a viscious cycle!

 

If enough supporters & their cars show up maybe it'll be on the news.It would be great to see some REAL rods & customs instead of some "American Hot Rod".This could also be a good way to let some people see that there are such things as tradition, history,respect & sentiment for the towns in which we live.It IS sad when a community has to take a loss for "progress" Am I talking too much?

 

If it was such a monument then why did it close down? Oh let me guess... It didnt make any money? Did people expect someone to buy it and just pay for it because people liked the way it looks? If no one ate there then no one really cared.

The same people who are all fired up about the place being torn down I bet are the same people who drove by it when it was open on their way to TGI fridays or the Outback steak house.

I wish all the old diners around here would stop closing down but the sad reality is that they arnt making money like the Benigains, outbacks, Applebie's ect... Those places are poping up all over.

People dont want bring their family and kids to some old run down place. They dont want to sit next to hookers,truckers, drunks and lowlifes like myself.

They want new, clean, and the warm fuzzy feelings that only big corporate place can give them. They want to wait in line forever holding a little beeper that will tell them there is a table ready for them.

 

I believe that the basic point of this thread: IS THAT PEOPLE DO GIVE FLYING FUCK, AND THAT THE COMMUNITY WAS TRYING TO DO GOD DAMN THING ABOUT IT!!

if the owner had all the proper permits to do what was done, and those individuals seeking to preserve the location failed to complete thier task in time, though shit.

but the owner turned out to be a piece of shit, who broke the law. People like this need to be made an example of.

Yes he owns the property, yes he has the right to do what ever he wants with it. But like everyone else, he has to follow protocol, procedures, and the law to get things done.

This person has destroyed a piece of American Cultural Heritage. He was not protecting an investement. He was raping the past of this country. A GOD DAMN REVISIONIST FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!!

I am not saying that every burger joint and whore house between here and BFE needs to be saved. Nor should be. But there are a few exceptions, and this may have been a true icon that represented an era, a monument to a time and place, Southern California!

This isn't like saving that place where the other Kennedy brother was shot. or trying to convert Old Town back to casa w/ sheep running around. Or bringing back the Brown Derby. This was a feasible notion.

Sorry.

 

Trust me, I've been on the wrong end of Building and Safety before. This guys in big trouble.

The best thing that everybody can do is call los angeles Building and Safety and complain. Just say you live in the neighborhood and that your a member of the neighborhood council and that your outraged.

Here is the number: (888) LA4-BUILD

Call now!!!!

 

the owner owns the Harveys broiler property (its quite large) and a used car lot across the street, and the one next to that and the one next to that and the one next to that. i understand it's his property but how many used car lots on a single street in 1 block do you need??? especially when your only competition is yourself?? whats really making people mad is its an old building, asbestos and who knows what else may have been in the building and the Water Lines, Power Lines, and GAS Lines were still in use and not shut off when the owner who rented a Bulldozer, decided to level the place himself. their is an apartment complex right behind the property and a MAIN street right infront and basically 10ft away from the curb and this dummy decided to practice his driving skills as pedestrians were walking right past the building itself and driving by. unsafe for the neighbors and the whole community. i understand it's his property to do as he pleases but take the correct steps to do it.

 

I emailed all of the Downey CA city council yesterday, and I got this reply:

Jay,

I am very upset also. The rule of law was broken today and public debate was
circumvented. The public was also endangered and our City suffered. But this
will not go un-punished and an investigation has started. We are very upset and
please know that you are not alone. Thank you for writing and stay tuned....

Dn. Mario A. Guerra
Councilman
City of Downey
11111 Brookshire Ave.
Downey, Ca. 90241
562-904-7274
[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Sweet [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 7:05 AM
To: Rick Trejo; David Gafin; Kirk Cartozian; Anne Bayer; Mario A. Guerra
Subject: Harvey's Broiler!!!!

I recently read about the damage to the former Harvey's Broiler site. I am
dissapointed beyond belief that such a rich piece of cultural heritage could
not be protected.

How could this happen?

I weep for the future of this country, that my children will not know and experience and see another part of America.

Jay Sweet
Abilene, Kansas