Wikipedia says they closed on
March 11, 1984.
en.wikipedia.org
Dreyfuss, John (
March 9, 1984). "Tiny Naylor's Drive-in—The Sun Sets at Sunset and La Brea".
Los Angeles Times.
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
www.hollywoodphotographs.com
1984 Vacant & abandoned Tiny Naylor's Drive In at Sunset Blvd. & La Brea Ave.
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...