There's just something about buildings with giant donuts on them. This one, on Santa Fe in Long Beach, has a slightly smaller donut than The Big Donut Drive-in buildings. But that doesn't take anything away from its coolness. Many of the remaining donut shops also offer sandwiches and drinks, making them more desirable to the local consumer. The shop's full name is Mrs. Chapman's Angel Food Donuts, but I guess that is too long of a name to paint on the donut.
Another angle shows more detail of the building itself. It's very similar to the many other donut shops in the area built at the same time. This one was built in 1956.This Angel Food Donuts is located at 3657 Santa Fe ave, directly on the corner of Sante Fe Ave and Cameron St.
Tags: Googie Architecture Drive-Ins Big Donut Angel Food Donuts
7 comments:
There's a big donut near where I live on 7th and belflower. It was re-painted to look like it has gooey pink frosting dripping down. I thought is was a great re-use of the original plain industrial yellow we see on most "big ass donuts" (as Bernie Mac would say). If only there were some Rollin' Donuts left...
I know that one, I took some pictures of it in December during finals week, (I just graduated from csulb) I thought it was still a donut shop until i walked there and saw it was the daily grind espresso bar. I almost posted those pictures. I guess I will soon. Thanks for the comment.
I married into the Chapman family of Mrs. Chapman's Angle food donuts. Corrine Chapman and her husband were the first drive through donut store in California. They had 21 stores at the high point of the business in southern cal. I was surprised to see Randy’s Donuts touted, as the first of its kind. Is there any definitive history on these buildings?
I used to love to hear stories of those days. The couple was friends with Denny, Winchell, many other creative people with new ideas, and a few dollars to invest. They have some spectacular photos of southern cal in the 50s.
I worked in the giant donut on Western Ave. in Gardena - I was 15 and it was my first job. The owners were two ex-patriots from Vietnam. They were as nice as can be, and the donuts were great.
i used to own the shop on sante fe and the one in gardina. i sold it to the vietnamese folks. fred
Fred! This is Ree...remember me? Find me on FaceBook at Ree Judge.
larocca
I new a Steven Chapman in the 70's. He always said he was related to the family that owned the donut shop. Just wondered how he was doing? It was a rough time for many of us and he had his share back then. Thanks danny
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