- Joined
- Jun 9, 2020
- Messages
- 404
- Reaction score
- 1,655
Thank you. It sounds the building was demolished in 1984 after sitting vacant for awhile. I’m wondering about the time frame surrounding the actual closure. In addition to the person on Facebook claiming they closed in 1980, these were the first two things that came up for me after Googling “What year did Tiny Naylor’s close?”Wikipedia says they closed on March 11, 1984.
Dreyfuss, John (March 9, 1984). "Tiny Naylor's Drive-in—The Sun Sets at Sunset and La Brea". Los Angeles Times.Tiny Naylor's - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Images are copywritten, so I can't post, but only link
RN-148-24.tif | Historic Hollywood Photographs
1984 Demolition of Tiny Naylor's at Sunset Blvd. & La Brea Ave
1984 Vacant & abandoned Tiny Naylor's Drive In at Sunset Blvd. & La Brea Ave.![]()
RN-148-21.tif | Historic Hollywood Photographs
www.hollywoodphotographs.com
Taken on March 12, 1984
- Source: Flickr -Want A Good Time, Hockey Puck? by Terry Guy, on Flickr
Tiny Naylors on Sunset Blvd. (This blog also mentions 1984)
TIny Naylor's on Sunset at La Brea was an example of "Googie architecture". There was a bit of an uproar when it was demolished. In 1984, the Conservancy created a Fifties Task Force (now the Modern Committee) to fight the rapid destruction of important Modern architecture throughout L.A. County. The final straw was the loss of two beloved Googie coffee shops, Tiny Naylor’s at Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue (Douglas Honnold, 1949)https://www.laconservancy.org/sites/default/files/files/documents/Jul-Aug15.pdf
The La Times article referenced in Wikipedia, but not available was written by an architecture critic.
I think 1980 gets tossed around because people say "The 80's" then it gets changed to 1980. And TBH, most people don't remember the exact year a fast food place closed. They just remember that it closed around a certain time. Life goes on and many places have closed. Dates get blurred etc etc...
And

A Tasty Visit to L.A.’s Past at Tiny Naylor's
The original Hollywood diner Tiny Naylor's may no longer exist as a point on your map, but we have a special treat you can make to keep the dream alive.

Both also state that the original location closed in 1980. Maybe like you said, these sources are confused and just rounding the year off because I’m doubting it actually sat empty from 1980-1984, but who knows? I was only interested in the closure date to try to rule out Chouest’s statement about picking her up there but honestly even if the building was sitting there vacant, I guess he still could have picked her up from that location.