Tail o' the Pup facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tail O' the Pup |
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A busy day at the Tail O' the Pup in 2005
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Novelty architecture |
| Town or city | Los Angeles, California |
| Country | United States |
| Completed | 1946 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Milton J. Black |
Tail O’ the Pup was an iconic Los Angeles, California hot dog stand actually shaped like a hot dog. Built in 1946, the small, walk-up stand has been noted as a prime example of “mimetic”-type novelty architecture. It was one of the last surviving mid-20th century buildings that were built in the shapes of the products they sold.
History
Designed by architect Milton Black, the stand opened at La Cienega and Beverly boulevards in June 1946 to luminary-studded, searchlight-lit fanfare. Eddie Blake purchased the Pup in 1976 from its celebrity owners, the dance team of Veloz and Yolanda.
Despite its appearance in countless movies, television programs and commercials, the stand faced demolition in the mid-1980s, creating an outcry that resulted in the stand being moved a couple of blocks from its original location at 311 North La Cienega Boulevard to 329 North San Vicente Boulevard.
The hot dog stand has been closed since December 2005. The structure was moved into a Torrance warehouse after Regent Properties, a development company, purchased the Pup's site from landlord Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and announced plans to build 152 condominium and apartment units.
The City of Los Angeles in 2006 declared Tail O’ the Pup to be a cultural landmark.
Blake's grandson Jay Miller and his wife Nicole inherited the Pup in 2017. After a failed attempt to have it reopened in a partnership with Killer Shrimp, the structure was donated to the Valley Relics Museum.
The 1933 Group purchased the structure in 2018 with plans to restore the stand to its original appearance, find a new location, and reopen it.
