Completion Date:     6/14/2016

Square Footage:      6253

Building Use:           Full Service Restaurant

Location:                 34091 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629

Project Description:

This building was constructed in 1925 as a service station/café. It was the first commercial building in Dana Point, built to take advantage of the newly opened Coast Highway.

The building is a two story, poured in place concrete shell, designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style. It served a variety of purposes, modified greatly over the years.

The owner wanted to upgrade the building for a restaurant, but was faced with limitations of parking and non-accessible interiors. By designating the building as a historical resource, parking needs could be reduced, with the requirement that the building be restored to preserve its historically significance. There were also considerations for accessibility.

The Architect worked with the Owner, Historical Consultant, Historical Society, and City Planning Department to evaluate and determine significant building characteristics to preserve and restore, while allowing a space that was functional and attractive to a restaurant. Drawings were submitted for consideration, and the building was designated as a City Historical Resource in 2012.

A restaurant was selected to appreciate the historically significance and accommodate into their design concept. The Architect worked with this restaurant to develop a functional layout and creative design.

Original photographs show the front open, under a tile canopy. This was altered with a parapet and awnings. The canopy was supported by concrete piers with decorative capitals, accented with custom light fixtures. Between the piers was a concrete island that originally contained gas pumps accessed from an unpaved driveway. The gas pumps were removed, but the island remained. The driveway was paved, and the area below the canopy enclosed with a glass storefront. The parapet and awnings concealed the decorative column capitals leaving the service bays undetectable. The corner café entry was covered, and the building squared off. The red tile floor and wood beamed ceiling of the cafe were maintained throughout. Building expansions attached to the back of the building occurred without architectural significance.

The shell restoration maintains the original roof overhang, while eliminating the sign parapet and awnings to expose the column capitals. Accent light fixtures were added back. The roofing was replaced with tile, selected to provide consistency with the original, and the eave line was reinforced with decorative rafters and gutter with curving downspouts. The storefront was replaced with folding doors allowing fully open bays to reinforce the original open bays.

The interior was developed using the building expansions as kitchen areas. The original dining room was transformed into a bar. The room was opened up to allow the bar to expand into the original service bays. Sloping floor conditions provided a challenge that was remedied by using three ramps and four stairs, located in strategic places.

Concurrently, the City of Dana Point was undergoing transformation. PCH, originally a one-way Northbound thoroughfare, was being modified to a two-way downtown urban street while Del Prado, originally a Southbound thoroughfare was being modified to a local two-way street. This transformation closed off the entrance to the parking from PCH requiring parking to be accessed from the alley. The reconfiguration of PCH resulted in additional space in front of the building, utilized as exterior patio dining and landscape buffer.

C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment

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