Los Angeles, you might have noticed, if you've stood on any street, happens to be a city of buildings.
Oh, we have our Griffith Park and our ocean and our hills, true true, but postcards typically depict our skyscrapers, our movie studios, the funky marquees and glittery restaurants that dot our structure-packed map.
It can be hard for a single building to build enthusiasm, in short.
But the little gem that sits at the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue, just north of Melrose Avenue, has long captured the notice of residents, passersby, location scouts, and Art Deco enthusiasts.
That notice is sure to grow, now that a drive-through Starbucks is headed its way, says Curbed LA.
The building's shape and compact character lend well to a drive-through, given that it was built as a Gilmore Gas Station back in 1935. But it has sat empty for several years, with a chainlink fence and the occasional "available for filming sign" its only accessories.
The Larchmont Buzz reports that a full-on restoration, courtesy of the Seattle-based coffee giant, is on the way for the quirky, postage stamp-sized station. ("Postage stamp-sized" in the poetic sense; it's actually around 800 square feet.)
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Have you passed this place? And wished the chainlink would come down? And it could again live on, if not as a gas station then as something else?
Stay tuned, coffee-craving travelers of Highland Avenue.
And if you want to see a replica Gilmore Gas Station, which summons a bit of the spirit of the building at that corner, head for the Original Farmers Market. There's a sweet retro simulation on the northside of the landmark
