Wait–strike that!–Theme Building reopens

It figures that an architectural icon like the 1961 Encounter restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport would get stuck with a lame name like the Theme Building.

What doesn’t figure, as the Los Angeles Times reports, is that the restaurant would actually reopen–after closing in March, when a 1,000-pound piece of stucco fell off one of the legs.

You can ask now, “How could it not reopen?” but just look around you.

All across the Southland (as I use a vintage word to refer to Southern California), classic old buildings fall every year to hungry bulldozers (Johnie’s Broiler in Downey) or redevelopment (the K-FOX building on Anaheim Street in Long Beach).

Very seldom does a landmark rebound from a catastrophic failure like this–even if it’s officially designated a landmark.

Encounter isn’t finished; they’re still working on the frame–but the fact that you can once again order a big spinach salad there speaks well of its ongoing restoration. (It also says that you need more protein in your diet.)

Oh, and in other fix-it news, the Press-Telegram website gets a new look, sometime very late tonight. This is just the story about the new look; you have to wait to see it. Don’t you know how to wait?

Tags: California, Encounter restaurant, Johnie's Broiler, K-FOX Building, lax, Long Beach, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles Times, press telegram, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theme Building, Theo Douglas