Thursday, September 07, 2006

Donut King II

15032 South Western Avenue, gardena Ca 90249

Hot, fresh, and made daily. Donut king II, (and its previous incarnations in this building) has had a long tradition of serving up doughnuts and coffee to hungry southlanders. Located on the North-East corner of the Western and Marine avenue intersection, this wonderfully Googie structure has not shared the success and popularity of her more famous cousin, Randy's Donuts. Actually, Big doughnuts have been a common theme among California's roadside vernacular architecture. Built as part of the Big Donut Drive in chain, Donut King has had at least five other sister locations during its lifetime. There was a time when I was a kid that my dad visited this place so much that they had his usual order ready for him when they saw his car drive up the street. (This photo has been altered to remove the power lines that criss cross in front of the building, probably one reason why movies and commercials film at Randys instead)

The remaining former Big Donut Drive in locations are:

Randy's donuts; 805 W. Manchester Blvd, Inglewood, CA

Kindles Donuts; 10003 S. Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

Dales Donuts; 15904 S Atlantic Ave, Compton, CA

Bellflower Bagels; 17025 Bellflower Blvd, Bellflower, CA (Slightly different Architecture)

View information about Big Donuts here.

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1 comment:

So Cal Peeper said...

my first job was at the donut shop on Western (although I hate that they painted it yellow). I was 16. At that time it was owned by two Vietnamese ex-patriots, who were chinese bankers who had to leave Vietnam in a big hurry.

I loved the job, and those two guys were really nice.