The Restoration of the Historic Stanley Burke’s Restaurant and Sign

5043 Van Nuys Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

An excellent example of Googie Coffee Shop architecture designed by architects Armet & Davis, with interiors by Helen Liu Fong, Stanley Burke’s was built in 1958 and went through multiple owners and multiple names (Corky’s, Lamplighter) until it closed in 2019. It was officially designated in 2020 as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1215.

The property owner contracted with a new tenant, Chick-fil-A, which initiated a five-year project to restore the building to its original 1958 character after years of deferred maintenance and later additions. The team restored remaining historic fabric and replicated lost fabric from original plans and archival photos.

A primary hurdle was restoring the original interior, which had been entirely remodeled in 1981. As the restoration team removed added sheetrock on the walls, carpet and tile over the original terrazzo floors, and a dropped acoustic tile ceiling, the original authentic materials, design, and spaces were revealed.

Fong’s original concept of space, natural light, zig-zag banquette seating, furnishings, and light sconces were all restored or replicated. The original catenary curving ceiling and clerestory windows, still existing above the dropped acoustic tile ceiling, was revealed. The full-height glass curtain wall was also revealed and restored. The original freestanding neon sign, which had also been altered over the years, was restored to its original configuration and neon tubing. The restoration spotlights the role, talent, and national influence of Helen Liu Fong of Armet & Davis, an Asian-American woman in the architecture profession at a time when it was dominated by white men. Born in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and educated in planning at the University of California, Berkeley, Fong was responsible for the interior designs of most of the office’s key coffee shop designs, including the Norm’s, Denny’s, and Bob’s Big Boy chains nationally, and notable custom designs including Pann’s and Stanley Burke’s.

Through a six year process, Stanley Burke’s rehabilitation is a remarkable example of cooperation among all parties — the property owner, the tenant, the city, the neighborhood, and historic preservationists — to return this significant example of Modern architecture to the streets and public of Los Angeles.