It is worth investigating the possibilities of saving Johnie's Broiler. Other owners and cities have seen the value of historical structures, have received monies to renovate them, and have turned them into something quite spectacular. The cities and owners now reap the benefits of the prestige of having that piece of history, and making money from it. For example, The Toluca Lake Bob's Big Boy advertises its historic status and merchandises key chains, T-shirts, dolls, etc. as our historic McDonald's does. That Bob's Big Boy is the number one top revenue producing Big Boy in the United States. Downey citizens should be inspired by this and think of the possibilities.
One roadblock is that Downey does not have any kind of local historic ordinance which could preserve special structures until it has been determined that they are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as occurred with our oldest, original, golden-arched McDonald's. Perhaps our city planners haven't realized that Downey has historic buildings and homes, from the 40s to the 60s, which fit the time period of examples of Modern Properties, as designated by the Los Angeles Conservancy. They think that current residents aren't as enthusiastic about preserving Downey as the residents of the 40s, 50s, and 60s were at building Downey. I hope that they are wrong.
-Irene Lonergan,
Downey