LA Burger: City considers landmarking 1960s hamburger stand in Mid-City

Los Angeles City Council member Paul Koretz wants to landmark a groovy little hamburger stand in Los Angeles’s Mid-City neighborhood. At his request, the City Council on Friday voted to ask the city’s historic resources department to nominate the building for the designation, because Koretz says, LA Burger is an “excellent example of a 1960s walk-up food stand.”

Built in 1963, the burger shack at 6001 West Pico Boulevard, measures just 281 square feet. It’s painted turquoise and features a folded plate roof and a neon sign. It might not be known for standout food, but Koretz told Curbed LA it’s a type of architecture that is “fast disappearing in LA.”

The councilmember says he wants to use the landmarking process to try to save the restaurant from demolition.

In September, the city planning department approved plans to demolish the restaurant and erect a 6-story, 48-unit residential building on the 5,003-square-foot site.

The developer, identified as Matt Nelson of Carthay Pacific, LLC in city documents, won approval to build more densely than what zoning codes allow in exchange for earmarking five of those units for tenants with low-incomes.

The city’s Cultural Heritage Commission is tentatively set to vote on the nomination on June 1, says principal city planner Ken Bernstein.

city planning department

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the City Council voted to landmark the building. It has only voted to consider it for landmark status.