Happy 75th Birthday, Tail o' the Pup

NOTE: For the most up-to-date research about Tail o' the Pup, check out this page on my new website Virtual Boulevard.

The Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand opened 75 years ago as of this month, and I wanted to try and compile a history of it. I'm going to try and let most of the sources speak for themselves, but interject when I think I can clear something up or fill in gaps.

Tail o' the Pup in 1979. Source.

1946: The Premiere

Tail o' the Pup opened on May 15, 1946 at 311 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles (the southwest corner of La Cienega and Beverly Place). The grand opening was in the style of a movie premiere, with floodlights and celebrity appearances.

Tail o' the Pup's name was a play on "Tail o' the Cock," the name of a fancier restaurant a few blocks south. Tail o' the Cock was part of La Cienega's Restaurant Row, and Tail o' the Pup was almost like an architectural punchline to the area.

"Hot dog stand premiered." Hollywood Citizen-News, May 16, 1946.

Keenan Wynn takes a bite from Mary Anderson's "Piggy Pup" while Jack "The Outlaw" Buetel waits to buy a "Cheesy Pup" at the Tail o' the Pup, which opened last night at 311 N. La Cienega Blvd. with searchlights, plush carpets and liveried doormen. The enterprise is run by two ex-GI's, Harry Engel and Ed Striker. The weenie emporium building is shaped like a big hot dog with roll and pickle in the middle.

"Milestones on the road to somewhere or other." Los Angeles Daily News, May 18, 1946.

A dream that had its origin in a foxhole came true for two ex-GIs, Harry Engel and Ed Striker. They had a Hollywood premiere, with arc lights, red plush carpet, liveried doorman, movie stars, autograph seekers—for their hot dog stand at Beverly and La Cienega. Shaped like a wiener on a bun, the place, which normally accommodates half a dozen persons at a time, standing, was surrounded by nearly 400 and the police had to be called to restore order. Their "twin super pup," incidentally, costs 35 cents.

"Hot-dog premiere." Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, June 2, 1946.

The film colony is getting back to normal. We received an invitation to attend the Hollywood premiere of the Tail of the Pup, world's most unusual hot dog stand. The invitation read: "There will be stars, red plush carpet, uniformed doorman, bright lights, photographers, and autograph hunters." 

What! No Lassie?

(The piece in the Avalanche-Journal was from a syndicated column. Engel and Striker didn't send out invitations as far as Lubbock.)

I know of four photographs of this grand opening. One is the close-up shot from the Hollywood Citizen-News above.

The next appeared in LIFE Magazine's June 10, 1946 issue as the header image for an article called "California Boom."

Source: LIFE, vol. 20 no. 23 (June 10, 1946). Retrieval link.

The third photograph eventually made it into the AP News photo archive. I don't know where it was originally published in 1946.

Source

The fourth photo is available on the current Tail o' the Pup website, but I can't find it anywhere else.

Source

As for Tail o' the Pup's founders, Harry Engel and Ed Striker: details are scarce about exactly what role each of them played in the restaurant's development and how long their business relationship lasted. In fact, I haven't been able to find any additional biographical information about Ed Striker at all.

I was able to find more details about Harry Engel. In 1946, he was working at the KVEN radio station in Ventura, which he would eventually manage. Engel would go on to found KUAM, the first commercial radio station in Guam, in 1954; this is perhaps what he is most remembered for today ("Shangri-La," TIME Magazine, February 1, 1954). It's still unclear how involved Engel was in the day-to-day operations of Tail o' the Pup during its first few years. For additional information about Harry Engel, the best source is undoubtedly Fred Nelson's research into the history of KUAM, some of which is available at theearlyyearsofkuam.blogspot.com.

The Hot Dog Goes Hollywood

Tail o' the Pup's glamorous grand opening appears to have been representative of a 1940s micro-trend: upscale hot dogs. The following two articles give a contemporary view of the situation.

"Hotdogs, Peanut Butter, Cheese Corn and Hollywood Nightmares." The Ottawa Journal, February 3, 1949.

The lowly hotdog has gone Hollywood. 

Hotdog stands, like supermarkets and mortuaries, have blossomed into supercolossal projects in the cinema city. 

Nobody hears of a wiener-and-bun, with mustard on the side. Here man bites dog that's guzzied up with everything from pineapple to peanut butter. 

Premiere, No Less

The ultimate in hotdogtoriums is the Hot Dog Show, nestled among swanky restaurants on La Cienega Blvd., or Restaurant Row. This place, the size of a large postage stamp, had a premiere decorated by six searchlights, a radio broadcast and movie stars in orchids and limousines. …

Recipes Secret

The manager of this glamorous establishment is Al Melchior, who used to be Ann Sothern's agent. He still is business manager for a pack of celebrities. Mr. Melchior says he loves to cook and spent years blending his hotdog sauces, recipes secret. 

Stars like Ginger Rogers, Van Johnson, Rosalind Russell, Marilyn Maxwell, and Mickey Rooney drop around, and the stand's parking lot usually is filled with limousines. 

Another hotdog stand is the Tail o' the Pup, perched near the swanky Tail o' the Cock restaurant. Its piece de resistance is the twin-super: two hotdogs bathed in mustard, relish, onion, cheese sauce, chopped nuts and wrapped in bacon (50 cents). This doggerie is built in the shape of a hotdog, and draws crowds of tourists who've heard things look like that out here.

"Well, Medium and RARE." Paul V. Coates, The Mirror, September 23, 1950.

The successful social climb of the frankfurter will never cease to amaze me. Not since Baron Leone has anything come up so fast.

It all started when F.D.R. served them on a bun, with a pickle in the middle, for the King and Queen of England. Hot dogs have been getting out of hand ever since. And this can be messy.

I dimly recall the days when a weenie was the working-man's appetizer.

It's Gone Elite

For a nickel, you were served a limp sausage on an unenthusiastic bun. And, you could wash away the aftertaste with a horrible dye of razzberry ice water for another two cents.

The hot dog has gone elite since then. Now, we erect stucco shrines to this peculiar conglomeration of minced meats.

It is a matter of public record that I barely winced when somebody opened a plush stand called Tail o' the Pup. "To each his own," I remember saying with a brave little shrug.

Then came the Hot Dog Show, an ornate palace on La Cienega Blvd. And still later, the Hot Dog Follies opened further up the street. Here, the frankfurter is produced with all the flourish of Flo Ziegfeld. …

A Second Pup?

Just a few months after Tail o' the Pup's grand opening, in July 1946, a permit was filed to build a hot dog stand at 1720 Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, Los Angeles. The business name on the permit was "Tail o' the Pup Co." and the signature might read "Harry Engel." Whoever filed the permit, their address looks to be 10805 ½ Lindbrook Drive. (Unfortunately, the original Tail o' the Pup building permits are not available online for comparison.)

Click for larger image. Source.

This is actually the most interesting thing that I learned about while doing this research. There wasn't always just one Tail o' the Pup — at some point, there were at least two, with this one in Venice having been built less than a year after what was presumably the original on La Cienega. This fact doesn't usually make it into overviews of Tail o' the Pup's history, although it is mentioned in one secondary source that I've found: this 2017 blog post by Chris Nichols.

The Tail o' the Pup in Venice was still around in 1950. It appeared in a list of local merchants in a newspaper advertisement (see below).

Source: Venice Evening Vanguard, May 24, 1950.

The Venice Pup would eventually be repainted and become a restaurant called Pinocchio's. Here are the only photos I've found of it:

Source. Date given as 1971. Note that Pinocchio's appears to be up for lease.

Source. Date given as 1972.

I have yet to find a definitive date for when Tail o' the Pup became Pinocchio's, or even a better lower bound than 1950, because all the archived building permits after the original one don't specify the name of the restaurant. However, because of the complete lack of information about this Venice Tail o' the Pup, I'm guessing it became Pinocchio's (or some unknown intermediate restaurant?) soon after 1950. I also haven't been able to find a photo of the Venice hot dog stand when it was still a Tail o' the Pup (and any such photo could easily be mislabeled as one of the La Cienega stand).

Pinocchio's became the Great Western Steak and Hoagie Company, a Philly cheesesteak stand, in 1973 (according to the Hoagie Company's Facebook page). That restaurant is still around today.

1949–1972: The Quiet Years

"Dining Around Town." Paul V. Coates, The Mirror, January 25, 1949.

This ridiculous business of frost in Southern California has got to stop. It is more serious than I realized. The chill has already damaged our citrus crop. Now it is cutting into our major industry—hot dog stands! Customers are staying away in droves from these sidewalk cafes.

The other morning I stopped by to discuss this with John Dally, who owns the Tail o' the Pup on La Cienega. I had only the best intentions, but Dally and I didn't hit it off too well.

Maybe it was the hour. I got there at 8:30 in the a.m. which is bad time for me to get anywhere. A small cup of coffee would have made me reasonably coherent. But Dally wasn't serving.

When I got there he was busily hosing down his brief lawn and I had to conduct an interview by following in his damp wake. It got my feet very wet and I am sensitive to wet feet at this unchic hour.

He Wasn't Talking

At any rate, our conversation got nowhere important. Dally's little spot is nationally famous for imaginative hot dogs. The Tail o' the Pup serves almost a dozen variations of the red hot. All at modest prices and with very fancy names.

As a starter, there is the Old Fashioned. This is a simple little dish of hot dog, smothered in relish, chopped onions and mustard. It costs 20 cents.

The ultimate in Tail o' the Pup dining is the Twin-Super, which is two dogs bathed in mustard, relish, onion, cheese sauce, chopped nuts and wrapped in a bacon strip. This elaborate delicacy is .50.

Dally wouldn't give me any information on the sauces he blends. He had a strong suspicion that I might be a rival hot dog man looking for tips. 

So by 1949, Tail o' the Pup was being managed by a man identified by Paul V. Coates as John Dally. I say "identified by" because a 1949 building permit for an addition to Tail o' the Pup lists the restaurant's owner as "Roy G. Dally" (below). (Maybe the reason that Paul Coates and Dally didn't "hit it off" is because Coates got Dally's name wrong… or maybe John and Roy were related).

Source

The level of news coverage received by Tail o' the Pup entered a lull after the 1940s, at least when it comes to articles that have been preserved digitally. I've found very few accounts from the 1950s and 1960s.

At some point during this time period, probably the early 1970s, Veloz and Yolanda took over Tail o' the Pup. They were a ballroom-dancing duo famous during the 1930s and 1940s, even featured on the cover of LIFE Magazine (October 30, 1939).

"Lee Graham's Man About Town." Hollywood Studio Magazine, February 1972.

If you stop at the Tail o' the Pup on La Cienega and the woman who serves your hot dog looks familiar, she should.

A generation ago she was half of the world's most famous dance team, Veloz and Yolanda.

"On the Town by Charles McHarry." New York Daily News, January 10, 1973.

Jose Greco said at Inn of the Clock that his longtime friends, Veloz and Yolanda, the famous ballroom team, are now comfortably semiretired. They own a successful hot dog stand, Tail of the Pup, in Hollywood.

"Dorothy Manners' Hollywood." The Scranton Tribune, December 23, 1973.

Wonder how many of the Los Angeles locals know that the once famous dance team of Veloz and Yolanda, long the star attraction at top night clubs, own the hot dog stand, Tail of the Pup, at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Blvd. And what's more, Yolanda shows up now and then and does some serving herself.

Veloz and Yolanda's involvement with Tail o' the Pup was the hardest part of this blog post to verify from contemporary sources. These three syndicated gossip columns are the only mentions of it that I've found from before the 1980s, when their ownership was already being referred to in the past tense.

1972–1986: Enter Eddie Blake

Sometime in the early- to mid-1970s, a man named Eddie Blake took over Tail o' the Pup.

Now, depending on which article you read, you may find any one of several exact years given for this event. A 1982 article said that Blake purchased the stand "10 years ago" ("Tail o' Pup Vendor Recalls Pony Ride," Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1982), and this is the earliest source I can find that gives any kind of date. However, 1972 doesn't line up with the Veloz and Yolanda gossip clippings that stretch all the way to December 1973 (of course, those certainly might have not been accurate).

A 2005 article gave the date as 1978 ("New Digs for Tail o' the Pup?" Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2005). The first mention in print I've found of Eddie Blake owning Tail o' the Pup was, in fact, from 1978, leaving this year as an upper bound ("Hot Dog Stand Doesn't Relish Lawsuit," Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1978).

A 2016 article ("Hot dog! Tail O' the Pup is back," Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2016) gave a date of 1970 instead (which disagrees with the Veloz and Yolanda clippings completely).

This article from 2018 gives the date as 1976.

Los Angeles building permit records are, unfortunately, no help in this case. There's a gap in the records from 1949 to 1977, and even those 1977 records only identify the restaurant's owner as "Island Properties" (probably the owner of the land that Tail o' the Pup sat on).

"Cutting the Mustard as Historic Site." Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1980.

One of the more venerable pop art structures is the Tail o' the Pup, a hot dog stand at 311 N. La Cienega Blvd., shaped, naturally, as a huge hot dog in a roll coated with, of course, mustard.

In the 'Funk' Style 

In recognition of its contribution to the Los Angeles landscape, the stand has been recommended by the city's Cultural Heritage Board for historic-cultural status, The designation now goes to the City Council for action. 

The board cited the 20 x 20-foot stucco stand just north of Beverly Boulevard as "one of the last remaining examples (in Los Angeles) of programmatic architecture" and "a remarkable piece of pop architecture." The style also is known as "funk." 

Whatever it is called, the stand's survival as a living landmark appears to be based less on the huge stucco hot dog and roll sculpted on a chickenwire frame and more on the Hoffman NC7 (natural casing, 7-inch long), all beef boiled and imaginatively dressed hot dogs served alfresco. 

About 400 of the hot dogs, along with 200 hamburgers and indeterminate amounts of french fries, tuna salad, soda, orange drink, coffee and pickles, are served over the counter daily from 5:30 in the morning to midnight, to a faithful clientele.

"Aside from the architecture, this place is a part of the history of L.A. It is a people place, a fun place, and for that reason alone it should be saved," exclaims Bernard Zimmerman as he munches on a No. 5 (the baseball special: a hot dog coated with mustard, relish and onions for 90 cents). 

An architect and planner with an office a few blocks away at 8322 Beverly Blvd., Zimmerman and an associate, Phillip Hawkins, helped draft and submit the application on behalf of the stand to the cultural heritage board. "We enthusiastically received it," says Ileana Welch, coordinator for the board. 

The application was prompted by rumors that the stand might be swallowed up for a hotel and parking garage complex proposed for the northwest corner of La Cienega and Beverly boulevards. The rumors were partially true, but thanks to Zimmerman and the site's understanding owners and developers, the tentative plans for the complex now save the stand. 

"This place can't go. I signed a petition to save it. I love it," says Beth Kudlicki while eating a No. 8 (the red eye: a hot dog with mustard, relish, onions and tomato for $1.05) and sharing a cup of chili with Don Umemoto, a friend. The two estimate they are there at least three times a week for lunch, eating at one of eight tables at the side and rear of the stand. … 

The customer of longest standing is claimed by Betty Tracy, who lives two blocks away and has been coming to the stand since it opened in 1946. "It really is pretty much the same as then," she says. "The people are friendly. There's lots of talk and the hot dogs, I love them." 
"Most of my customers are regulars," says Eddie Blake, the stand's owner, as he takes orders over a counter cut into the stucco hot dog and roll, He writes the orders down in shorthand on a paper plate ("to eat here") or on a brown paper bag ("to go") and hands them to his son, Dennis, who works the grill. …

Unfortunately, some of the events predicted in this article would not come to pass. Tail o' the Pup would not be granted historic-cultural status by the city council, although the attempt seems to have generated enough publicity that several articles since then have incorrectly described the stand as having been declared a landmark. Tail o' the Pup would also indeed be displaced by the hotel built at La Cienega and Beverly.

Also in 1981, Tail o' the Pup was captured by noted roadside photographer John Margolies.

Source

"Tail o' Pup Vendor Recalls Pony Ride." Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1982.

In the lengthening shadow of the Beverly Center shopping mall, Eddie Blake sells hot dogs, schmoozes with passersby … and waits. His Tail o' the Pup hot dog counter—a West Los Angeles landmark since 1946—may soon give way to a 10-story hotel, and Blake has no idea where or when he will move the frankfurter-shape stand. "Who knows with these big-time developers?" he said, pouring coffee for an early morning customer. "It could be next year. I don't know … I have no control over these things." 

When Blake does move, it will be the end of an era. His takeout counter is the last reminder of a colorful intersection at Beverly and La Cienega boulevards that once entertained families with an amusement park and pony ride. 

Parks and Ponies Long Gone 

The park and ponies vanished years ago, casualties of the new, $100-million shopping center, which has begun to inflate land values—and rents—on nearby streets. 

The Pup, as it is called, has flourished in the same location for 36 years under a variety of owners. Designed by architect Milton Black, the food stand opened with Klieg lights and a celebrity bash in June, 1946. It has gained international recognition as an example of "funk" architecture. 

Blake bought the properly 10 years ago from dance celebrities Yolanda and Veloz, and has been selling hot dogs ever since. When plans for the hotel were announced, the developers promised him time to find a new location. 

Another place just might not be the same, Blake said ruefully. For years customers have identified the Pup with the La Cienega location, and Blake is not optimistic that he could afford another spot on the boulevard. "Look at the size of that thing," he said, gesturing toward the Beverly Center. "Do you think these little stores up and down the street are going to last long with land values shooting up? People like me, we might not have a chance." 

Blake, a wiry, combative fellow, said he asked developer Sheldon Gordon for permission last year to move into the posh Beverly Center, claiming that his business is a landmark which should be preserved. 

Gordon said he considered the idea—and a similar proposal to install the old pony ride in the center—but "logistical and economic problems" killed both plans, "I recognize the historic importance of the Tail o' the Pup," Gordon said. "We made an effort, but I think the owner knows that he'll have to move. And we'll cooperate with him, too." 

Pup Compared to Brown Derby

Friends of the distinctive food stand asked the city to declare it a cultural landmark last year so the structure would not be destroyed. Ileana Welch, director of the Cultural Affairs Board, said the stand "is of genuine landmark quality. … It's a classic example of the programmatic architecture in postwar Los Angeles, along with the Brown Derby and others." 

The City Council, which gives final approval to landmark buildings, decided last year to postpone a decision until Blake's hot dog stand is relocated. 

If Blake is sentimental about the past, he seems determined not to show it. The Beverly Center is "a good thing for the neighborhood," he insisted. 

"If you're going to upgrade this area, hell, you can't have pony rides and hot dog stands. You gotta be realistic." 

A Reverie of Places and Times 

Then a crony who stopped by for a cup of coffee recalled that he used to bring his children to the pony ride on Sundays, and suddenly Blake, too, recalled the past: "I wish that pony ride, that park were still here, you bet I do. And I remember this street when it really was Restaurant Row, with places you'd be proud to go to." 

Lost in a reverie of places and times not so long ago, Blake watched the traffic roar by and laughed. "There's certain things you can't improve," he said, staring patiently at the traffic … and waiting.

Note that this article mentions in passing that Tail o' the Pup was "designed by architect Milton Black." I'll have more to say about that in a postscript (spoiler alert: it's an example of a mistake that's persisted for the last forty years). Also, for more information about the "amusement park and pony ride" that the Beverly Center shopping mall replaced, I recommend the YouTube video "Defunctland: The History of Beverly Park Kiddieland" as well as the book Beverly Park: LA's Kiddieland, 1943–74 by Jay Jennings.

"Eating Away at Oddball Architecture." Los Angeles Times, July 20, 1985.

One 17-foot-long hot dog—to go. 

That was the disturbing order that Eddie Blake received the other day at his Tail o' the Pup, the 39-year-old stand shaped like a king-size hot dog (with mustard). 

Blake, who leases the location on La Cienega Boulevard, was told he must move his cement bun by Sept. 1 so the site can become part of a development consisting of an 11-story hotel and a second Ma Maison restaurant, which will be shaped like an expensive French restaurant. 

Stationed inside his steel reinforced frankfurter the other day, Blake admitted this is the biggest crisis ever faced by the Pup—bigger even than the time a woman walked head-first into the protruding dog and sued (she won an undisclosed sum). 

'Save the Hot Dog' 

"People tell me, 'Let’s save the landmark. Let's save the hot dog,'" said Blake. "I hope I can—if not here, then I hope I can move it somewhere else." 

If the Pup is unable to find a home, Southern California will have lost one of the last survivors of an era when merchants tried to catch the eye of motorists with buildings shaped like doughnuts, frogs (Toed Inn), igloos, farm animals (the Pig Cafe offered service through its snout), shoes, coffee cups, jails, pumpkins, dogs, cameras and zeppelins. … 

City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes the Pup, said rising property values on the Westside contributed to the stand's problems. 

"Investor confidence in West Los Angeles is both a blessing and a curse," he noted, "A curse in the sense that we sometimes see old neighborhood businesses disappear." … 

A few years ago, it appeared that the Pup might also relocate to the nearby Beverly Center, then under construction. However, Blake and Beverly Center developer Sheldon Gordon were unable to reach an agreement. 

If Blake is uprooted, he points out that it wouldn't be difficult to deliver his big frankfurter somewhere else. "The dog's not in concrete," he said. "I got a hook on top. All I'd have to do is bring in a crane and haul it away." …

1986–2005: From La Cienega to San Vicente

"Tail o' the Pup's Future Is On a Roll." Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1986.

Hot dogs and historic preservation are being served up again with mustard and relish at the Tail o' the Pup. 

The enticing fast-food stand in the shape of a giant hot dog coated with mustard in a fluffy bun is steaming at a new location, on the west side of N. San Vicente Boulevard just above Beverly Boulevard. 

An architectural and gourmand landmark, the 17-foot-long stucco hot dog and roll sculpted on a chicken-wire frame survived as an outgoing order from its previous site a few blocks away on La Cienega Boulevard. 

The stand almost was gobbled up there in a real estate transaction—ironically, to make way for a rich architectural souffle consisting of a new Ma Maison restaurant crowned by a multi-storied luxury hotel. … 

The Tail o' the Pup has been one of the more venerable [programmatic food stands], pampered for nearly two decades by operator Eddie Blake with the help of his son, Dennis, and championed as a landmark by preservationists and customers. Its economics also have been aided by its status as a setting for TV commercials. When the stand was first threatened with extinction six years ago, local architect/activist Bernard Zimmerman led an effort to get the city's Cultural Heritage Board to designate it a historic-cultural monument. But because the stand was then existing on a month-to-month lease, the petition was turned down. 

The repainted and patched-up stand is now anchored to its new site by a five-year lease, along with steel reinforcing bars and the continuing love and affection of customers and preservationists. 

And though the kitschy stand still does not qualify for consideration by the city as an official monument, it is nonetheless a local architectural and social landmark to be cherished, preferably while consuming a hot dog.

Tail o' the Pup's new address would be 329 North San Vicente Boulevard, West Hollywood. It would remain at this location for 19 more years. 

2005: The Closure

"Tail O' The Pup CLOSING in 30 days." Posting by "westside chub" on chowhound.com, November 5, 2005.

Stopped by the Tail this afternoon & I over heard Dennis Blake, the owner with his father, Eddie Blake telling a diner that he is being forced to close in 30 days. Another institution being destroyed by a developer. Evidently, the hospital( Sinai ) sold the property to Regent Development Co. who will re=do the whole corner. What next, the Apple Pan, Pink's? 55 years of serving dogs and then adios.Maybe they can find another location to move the Pup just as they did the last time. Does anybody have an idea or location for these guys? Let's save the Pup.

"New Digs for Tail o' the Pup? Internet gossip may complicate a possible relocation of the popular fast-food stand after it is forced from its spot in West Hollywood." Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2005.

Talk about the tale wagging the pup.

Quite frankly, the owner of the landmark Tail o' the Pup hadn't expected the story of the upcoming closure of his West Hollywood hot dog stand to be bandied about so soon. And with the word out, he certainly wasn't viewing his next meeting with his landlord with much relish.

That's because Dennis Blake is still negotiating with the owners of the San Vicente Boulevard site on which his distinctive, hot dog-shaped eatery sits to move it to a permanent location.

"We haven't told anybody. We haven't told anybody," Blake said, saying it twice Wednesday for emphasis. "We don't want to burn any bridges at this point. Landlords can be nasty if they want to be. But they have some other property they want us to move to."

Blake fielded a steady stream of inquiries from news outlets after an Internet message board operated by food lovers reported that the stand was "being destroyed by a developer." The thought of the loss of another Los Angeles fast-food icon was hard to digest.

It turns out that a hot dog-munching customer heard a snippet of conversation and raced to his keyboard to write:

"Stopped by the Tail this afternoon & I overheard Dennis Blake, the owner with his father, Eddie Blake, telling a diner that he is being forced to close in 30 days," wrote the anonymous "Westside Chub" on the Chowhound message board.

"Maybe they can find another location to move the Pup just as they did the last time. Does anybody have an idea or location for these guys? Let's save the Pup."

Actually, Regent Properties Inc. had already found a spot for the Pup in Westwood Village—unless someone rocks the boat before the deal goes through, said Blake, 53, of Westchester. "It's at a Broxton Avenue parking lot, near Weyburn Avenue. It could really work out well. There are a lot of things to work out though."

Blake and his 81-year-old father, who retired from the stand in July, acquired the 59-year-old stand in 1978. They oversaw its relocation in 1986 after it was moved from its original site at nearby La Cienega Boulevard and Beverly Place to make way for a luxury hotel. The pair stored the 17-foot-wide hot dog facade, constructed from stucco-covered chicken wire, at an Alhambra wrecking yard for about a year before renting space on land owned by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Beverly Hills-based Regent Properties bought the site about two years ago, Blake said. It plans to develop condominiums and a retirement community for gays and lesbians, he said.

Executives at Regent did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday about their hot dog relocation plans. But customers said they would follow the Pup wherever it goes. "I've been coming here maybe 25 years, and I'll keep coming," said David Arnold, a Redondo Beach police officer who lives in Santa Monica.

Fine-art photographer Jesse Diamond, son of singer Neil Diamond and a 30-year Pup patron, said the proposed move was fine with him: He lives in Westwood. "This place won't permanently disappear. There will be a new location for it," Diamond said confidently.

Blake hopes so. But he said he wished the Internet gossiper had talked to him first.

Eavesdropping over a hot dog doesn't cut the mustard.

By mid-December 2005, Tail o' the Pup was gone. Sadly, none of the aforementioned plans to quickly relocate the stand panned out. And nothing was ever actually built on the land that Tail o' the Pup was removed from. A 2010 article ("L.A. area has lots of unfulfilled potential," Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2010) explained that the initial Regent Properties project had stalled. As of 2021, the spot remains empty.

2005–2021: Resurrection?

The Tail o' the Pup facade sat in a warehouse in Torrance until 2014, when it was put on a truck headed for Las Vegas. It was to be restored there for an episode of the History Channel's American Restoration, but this plan fell through en route when "producers called to say the show was canceled".

Plans also swirled around for Eddie Blake's grandson Jay Miller and his wife Nicole to partner with Killer Shrimp restaurant owners Kevin Michaels and Brett Doherty, reopen Tail o' the Pup on La Cienega, and add a second location at The Bloc indoor mall. Usage of the original facade fell through when it wasn't able to pass health inspection, and the only thing that ended up materializing was a Tail o' the Pup food truck.

Source

That truck opened in September 2016 in the parking lot of the Opening Ceremony clothing store at 451 North La Cienega (just a few blocks away from Tail o' the Pup's original location). I'm not sure for how long the truck operated, but by 2018 it was apparently gone and being described as "short-lived".

By 2017 the facade was in a Lake Elsinore storage yard (perhaps dropped off there instead of Las Vegas), and Michaels and Doherty were no longer involved. Nicole and Jay Miller donated the facade to the Valley Relics Museum. See this video for a look at the facade in transit to the museum.

The original Tail o' the Pup facade in storage at the Valley Relics Museum. Source.

In 2018, the Blake family sold the rights to Tail o' the Pup to the 1933 Group, which acquired the facade from the Valley Relics Museum and began working to restore it. As of now, the plan is for the group to reinstate Tail o' the Pup somewhere near its original location (hopefully with the original facade involved somehow). News about this has been slow since 2018, but I remain optimistic.

Postscript: The Milton J. Black Misconception

While researching Tail o' the Pup, I kept coming across statements that it was "built in 1938," "designed by architect Milton J. Black," or both.

Journal of the LA Institute of Contemporary Art, 1983.

"1938: Tail of the Pup opens on La Cienega Boulevard." [part of a timeline]

The Well-Built Elephant, J. J. C. Andrews, 1984.

The Tail o' the Pup, a hot dog stand, has stood on Los Angeles's La Cienega Boulevard since 1938. It was designed by architect Milton J. Black as the quintessence of Southern California pop architecture.

"Hot Dog Stand Withstands Blitz of Commercialism—With Relish." Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1992.

Tail o' the Pup was designed in 1938 by Milton J. Black, who was a master of Streamlined Moderne. He designed a number of zippy apartment buildings and factories all around the Westside. No doubt Tail o' the Pup was one of his smaller commissions, though it has garnered more fame than the rest of his work put together.

Roadside Giants, Brian and Sarah Butko, 2005.

A couple guys had been planning for [a roadside stand] back in 1938, even having an architect design the structure, but before their dream could be realized, they headed off to war. When they got back, they finally built it: a hot-dog-shaped stand with a serving window that opened into an awning or folded into the structure at night.

Tail o' the Pup opened in 1945 or 1946 (no one seems sure) at 311 North LaCienega, in Los Angeles's Westside neighborhood near North Hollywood.

Roadside Giants makes the best effort to connect the other sources' information about Milton J. Black and 1938 with the actual evidence of Tail o' the Pup's opening in 1946. However, I think the actual explanation is simpler: the entire idea that Tail o' the Pup was designed in 1938 by Milton J. Black is based on someone, at some point, confusing a building permit for 311 North La Cienega Boulevard with 311 South La Cienega Boulevard.

311 North La Cienega Boulevard was, of course, the address where Tail o' the Pup's most famous location opened in 1946.

Here's a 1938 building permit I found by searching for 311 South La Cienega Boulevard:

Source

301–311 South La Cienega Boulevard was a commercial building constructed in 1938 whose architect was Milton J. Black. Below is the only photo I've found of it:

Source: Detail from image on page 9 of Beverly Park: LA's Kiddieland, 1943–74 by Jay Jennings. Original image credited to Marc Wanamaker.

But this building doesn't have anything to do with Tail o' the Pup beyond a similar address. At some point, probably in the early 1980s judging by the sources I've found, someone was given a misfiled permit when researching Tail o' the Pup. This may have even happened a couple of times if the permit stayed in the wrong file.

The "1938" error faded away over the years as it was easy to disprove just by looking at news coverage from 1946. However, there was no one competing with Milton J. Black to be the real Tail o' the Pup architect, so that misconception persists to this day.

Tail o' the Pup wasn't the kind of building that would need an architect. It was just a fiberglass hot dog attached to a tiny kitchen and was probably designed completely by Harry Engel, Ed Striker, and their contractors. Their ability to come up with an image that's still iconic 75 years later without the help of a professional architect is something that should be recognized.

Thank you for reading and feel free to comment with any questions!

The Pup, the Bulldog, and the Maddox Family

NOTE: For the most up-to-date research about the Pup Cafe, check out this page on my new website Virtual Boulevard.

I intended for this to be a pretty simple post reviewing the history of Culver City's "Pup Cafe," a dog-shaped building that used to exist in the Los Angeles area and is sometimes confused with the Bulldog Inn on Valley Boulevard. However, I ended up learning some surprising facts that reshaped my understanding of the Pup, its history, and its relationship to the Bulldog.

It turned out that the Pup was not originally located in Culver City, but was in fact moved there from the West Adams district of Los Angeles in 1933 or 1934. Some of the better-known photographs of the Pup are actually from this earlier location.

I also confirmed the identity of the Pup's creator: Joseph Andrew Maddox. And to my great surprise, Joseph Maddox's son Everett Floyd Maddox was the creator of the Bulldog. These two dog-shaped restaurants in Los Angeles didn't just happen to look similar — they were built by two members of the same family!

As a result, this post will not only present information about the Pup Cafe, but will also attempt to provide a unified timeline of the Pup's history, the Bulldog's history, and the movement of both buildings through the Los Angeles area.

The Pup (left) and the Bulldog (right).

Beginnings

I first learned about the Pup Cafe while researching the Bulldog Inn. The Pup's location didn't seem anywhere near as mysterious as the Bulldog's, for several reasons. For one thing, it existed up until between 1969 and 1971, meaning that plenty of people still alive today remember it from their childhoods and have described its location in detail online. The Bulldog, probably destroyed sometime around 1948 or 1949, was gone too soon. Additionally, the Pup is clearly visible in high-quality aerial photos of Culver City from 1934; no photos of similar quality exist for any of the Bulldog's locations.

All this is to say that I thought the Pup's history was pretty straightforward. One thing that did nag at me was that a few photos of the Pup showed a "5406" address over its door, when its address in Culver City was known to be on the 12700 block of West Washington Boulevard. I chalked this up to a renumbering of West Washington Boulevard in Culver City at some point, and moved on.

Below are the two pictures I know of where the "5406" is visible. 

Photo 1

Source. Photograph dated February 5, 1930.

Photo 1 has appeared in print as far back as 1933, in Los Angeles by Morrow Mayo. In 2018 it was reproduced in slightly greater detail for California Crazy: American Pop Architecture by Jim Heimann. In addition to making the "5406" more visible, this version cropped out less of the house on the right. The power and telephone lines were edited out, however.

Photo 1, version 2

Source

Photo 2

Source. If you look closely, you can see a "For Sale" sign to the left of the restaurant.

This picture also gives us a good look at "Ben's Garage."

5406 West Adams Boulevard

One day, I came across the following classified ad from 1933 in Newspapers.com's archives.

Source: Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, April 20, 1933.

The name "Bull Dog Cafe" almost led me to think that the advertisement referred to the pipe-smoking bulldog from Valley Boulevard, but then I remembered the "5406" from the Pup photos. After checking old city directories to confirm that the "5406 West Adams St." of 1933 was the same geographical location as the 5406 West Adams Boulevard of today, I began investigating the address more closely. Luckily, the path forward ended up being very simple.

If Photo 1 were indeed taken at 5406 West Adams Boulevard, then the street running through the background would be South Burnside Avenue. The house in the right-hand background of Photo 1 would then have been on South Burnside, just south of its intersection with an alley behind West Adams.

Here's 2614-2616 South Burnside Avenue, the house at that location today, together with the house from Photo 1.

2614-2616 South Burnside Avenue, Google Street View, 2019.

Photo 1 (detail)

Some changes have been made to the house, but the roofline and shingled overhang are unmistakably similar. According to Los Angeles building records, this house was built in 1924, early enough to have appeared in the photo.

I moved on to the house visible in the background of Photo 2. This house is also visible in another photo of the Pup:

Photo 3

Source: California Crazy & Beyond, Jim Heimann, 2001. Credited to The 

Williams Partnership. The house in question is behind the Pup, to the right.

Here's the house from those photos side-by-side with 2618-2620 South Burnside Avenue, the house at that location today (one door down from 2614-2616).

2618-2620 South Burnside Avenue, Google Street View, 2019.

Photo 2 (detail)

Photo 3 (detail)

The house was an obvious match, and city records showed that it was built in 1923. The combination of the classified ad and matching houses led me to the conclusion that the Pup Cafe was located at 5406 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles until at least 1933. Since the earliest aerial photo showing it in Culver City was from 1934, this fit with the established timeline.

The classified ad also established that the Pup Cafe was known as the "Bull Dog Cafe" at one point. However, to avoid confusion with the Bulldog Inn, I'll continue to call it the Pup Cafe in most cases.

Here's what 5406 West Adams Boulevard looks like today. It's the red building near the center. I tried to capture this image from a similar angle to Photo 1.

Source: Google Street View, February 2020.

The First Movement

I looked up the address "5406 West Adams Boulevard" in the Los Angeles building permit archive and found the following document, issued July 16, 1929.

Source

It's a permit to move a building from some unspecified location in Los Angeles County (presumably not within LA city limits) to 5406 West Adams Boulevard. Another section specifies that the building will be moved "by Ridgeley Dr." The permit states that the building is already being used as a restaurant and will continue to be used for that purpose after the move. It also mentions that the lot at 5406 West Adams will be shared with a garage (presumably "Ben's Garage"). The building owner is given as J. A. Maddox of 5354 Westhaven St.

I'll have more to say about J.A. Maddox shortly, but I want to focus on the fact that this permit seems to document when the Pup first came to 5406 West Adams. It apparently started out in some other location that wasn't even within the city limits, and for at least part of its journey traveled along Ridgeley Drive. Ridgeley Drive intersects with West Adams Boulevard right near the 5406 address, so this makes sense.

However, the permit doesn't mention exactly where the Pup might have existed before being moved, and there's very little information to go on. J.A. Maddox may have even purchased a nondescript food stand, which he modified into the shape of a dog after moving it. In that case, there wouldn't even be any photographs of the Pup at a previous location.

Joseph A. Maddox

Searching old city directories for "5406 West Adams Boulevard" quickly turned up the name "Joseph A. Maddox." Here's his listing from the 1931 Los Angeles city directory (the ditto marks mean "Maddox"):

Source

Joseph Maddox died in 1949 at the age of 84, still living at 5354 Westhaven Street.

Source: Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1949.

But there was something more interesting about the obituary: it said that Joseph Maddox had a son named Everett Maddox. I recognized that name immediately as the man associated with the Bulldog Inn's address in the 1931 Rosemead city directory. Could it just be a coincidence?

At this point, my access to Ancestry.com through the Los Angeles Public Library came in extremely handy. Thanks to the massive set of searchable records it provided, I was able to verify pretty quickly that the Joseph A. Maddox who'd owned a restaurant at 5406 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles was indeed the father of the Everett Maddox who'd owned a restaurant at 1153 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead. I also confirmed that Joseph's middle name was Andrew and Everett's middle name was Floyd. I won't bore you with the exact details, but things like census records, draft cards, and names of siblings and spouses left very little room for ambiguity.

I now had a personal theory that the Pup Cafe and the Bulldog Inn were built around the same time by two members of the same family. I wasn't sure if I'd ever find definitive proof of this fact, but then the answer basically dropped into my lap.

Joseph and Everett

Ancestry.com users can create entries about their ancestors, tying them to certain records and including extra material. It turns out that someone had already gone in and created entries for Joseph Andrew Maddox, Everett Floyd Maddox, and the rest of their family. They'd even included some photographs:

Joseph Andrew Maddox (left) and Everett Floyd Maddox (right).

Both photographs dated November 1925. Source (1, 2).

But even more important was a note attached to Joseph Maddox's entry, attributed to his granddaughter Lorna Elizabeth Maddox Williams and labeled "Joseph Andrew Maddox in LEMW's Words":

He was a carpenter and a building contractor. At one time he owned a second-hand store in Kansas and was a part-time sheriff's deputy.

With his three sons, he built his house at 5354 Westhaven St. in Los Angeles and lived there from 1924 until 1949 when he died there.

At one time he owned a small lunch stand built in the shape of a large bulldog, built by Joseph and his sons in the 1930s on W. Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. Later on, his son Everett built one like it in San Gabriel. After the parents' death, Irene and Edwin lived in the same house until their deaths, when the property was sold.

So my theory was no longer just a guess — it was what had actually happened. The Pup Cafe in Los Angeles belonged to Joseph Maddox, and the Bulldog Inn in Rosemead belonged to his son Everett Maddox. (The Bulldog was just yards over the border between San Gabriel and Rosemead, so placing it in San Gabriel was entirely reasonable). Also note that 5354 Westhaven Street is just a few blocks away from 5406 West Adams Boulevard.

Of course, a few questions remained. Lorna Williams described the Pup Cafe as being built on West Washington Boulevard, but it seems pretty clear that it started out on West Adams Boulevard and was moved to West Washington Boulevard a few years later. It was probably moved to West Adams from some earlier location, but that location was outside the Los Angeles city limits, not on West Washington Boulevard. I think the best explanation is just that Mrs. Williams simplified the story when retelling it years later. In fact, she spent some time living in Culver City in the 1940s and so may have seen the Pup there after it was moved.

I'd like to think that Mrs. Williams's memory that Joseph Maddox and his sons built the Pup together is accurate. That's why I think the building moved to 5406 West Adams Boulevard in 1929 may have just been a generic cafe that was modified into the shape of a dog.

According to censuses and city directories, Joseph and Everett Maddox worked as contractors for most of their lives. Neither man seemed to own his restaurant for more than five years. Perhaps they built them as a kind of advertisement for their construction abilities.

The Pup in Culver City

The Pup Cafe was moved from Los Angeles to Culver City sometime between April 1933, when the classified ad was placed, and June 1934, when the Pup was photographed from the air. Different editions of California Crazy by Jim Heimann give either of the two addresses 12728 and 12732 West Washington Boulevard as its new location. However, I learned from old newspapers that the Pup Cafe's new address was actually 12718 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City. (Both incorrect addresses, as well as the correct one, point to approximately the same spot: the south side of West Washington Boulevard, between Rosabell Street and Wade Street.)

Here's the June 1934 aerial photo that I keep alluding to:

Source [direct link to TIFF file]

The Pup is clearly visible near the center — you can even make out the shadow cast by its head. West Washington Boulevard is the wide street curving across the top of the photo. Rosabell Street is the bent street on the left, and Wade Street is on the right.

Here's the earliest mention in print that I've seen of the Pup Cafe in Culver City, from November 1934:

Source: Venice Evening Vanguard, November 8, 1934.

Along with providing the 12718 West Washington Boulevard address, this advertisement also confirms that the name "Pup Cafe" wasn't just invented by history—it was really a contemporary name for this restaurant.

Here are a few photos of the Pup Cafe in Culver City. More signage accumulated on and around the building.

Photo 4

Source. Looks to have been found at a flea market.

Described as being from 1939 — maybe the year was written on the back?

This next photo was taken by the famed Ansel Adams "around 1939," according to the Los Angeles Public Library. There's a good description of its provenance at the source link.

Photo 5

Source. Photograph by Ansel Adams, c. 1939. Look for the cat in front of the Coca-Cola cooler.

It seems clear that these photographs were taken in Culver City for a few reasons. First, the date associated with Photo 5 is pretty solid, placing that photo after the Pup's arrival in Culver City. Then, since Photo 4 clearly shows the Pup in the same location from a different angle (little details like the Coca-Cola cooler and front patio match), it must have been taken in Culver City as well.

In 1948, a rectangular extension was added to the Pup's left-hand side (sources: "Building Permits Receive Approval," Venice Evening Vanguard, July 15, 1948; aerial photography). At some point, the Pup ceased to function as a restaurant and became Ugly Dog Records. Below is a photograph from 1969.

Photo 6

Source: "There Was an Old Woman Who Worked in a Shoe," Lawrence Dietz,

West Magazine of the Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1969. Photograph by Mike Salisbury.

Because it was in the West Magazine Sunday supplement to the LA Times, this photograph would have originally been in color and it's a shame the only version archived online is in black-and-white. Nevertheless, it's the only photographic evidence of Ugly Dog Records that I've been able to find. It's nice to see that the Pup has been cleaned up somewhat and maybe given a new coat of paint (although the image quality likely hides many flaws).

But the Pup wouldn't be around for much longer. By 1971, it had been replaced by a parking lot and entered the realm of memory.

Here's what the Pup's Culver City location looked like in 2019. The spot once occupied by the Pup is somewhere within the footprint of the white apartment building, which has the address 12712 West Washington Boulevard. I tried to capture a similar angle to that of Photo 5.

Source: Google Street View, March 2019.

The Maddox Bulldog Timeline

Below is my attempt to construct a timeline of Joseph and Everett Maddox's Pup and Bulldog restaurants. Sources are in brackets. I've included the remaining photos of the Pup that I know of as well.

Note that the Pup Cafe seemed to have a new owner pretty much every time it appeared in the news or in a city directory.

See my post on the Bulldog for more information about that restaurant's own history.

1864

Joseph Andrew Maddox born in Illinois. [1900 US census]

1899

Everett Floyd Maddox born in Pennsylvania. [1900 US census]

1924

Joseph Maddox builds a house at 5354 Westhaven Street, Los Angeles, and moves in. ["Joseph Andrew Maddox in LEMW's Words"]

1929

In July, Joseph Maddox files a permit to move a restaurant from somewhere in LA County to 5406 West Adams Blvd. This is the restaurant he would refer to as the "Bull Dog Cafe," which we know as the "Pup Cafe." [Los Angeles building permit records]

1930

Joseph Maddox is listed as a cafe proprietor by the 1930 US census.

At some point early in the Pup's existence, the following photos are taken at 5406 West Adams Boulevard.

Photo 7

Source

Photo 8

Source

Photo 9

Source

1931

In January, Joseph Maddox is robbed of $15 by bandits at the Pup Cafe. ["Hold-Up Totals Rise Anew," Los Angeles Times, January 12, 1931]

In February, Joseph Maddox fights back against two bandits at the Pup Cafe and thwarts their robbery attempt. ["Store Owner and Bandits Battle," Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, February 21, 1931]

Everett Maddox of 934 South Palm Avenue, San Gabriel is listed for the first time as the proprietor of a restaurant at 1153 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead. This is the pipe-smoking Bulldog Inn. [1931 Alhambra / San Gabriel Valley city directory]

1932

The Alhambra / San Gabriel Valley city directory no longer lists Everett Maddox as owning a restaurant.

The Pup appears in video footage labeled "Driving Through Hollywood (1932)." I'm not entirely certain that the date is correct, but I think that 2614-2616 South Burnside Avenue does appear in the background, which would place the footage before the move to Culver City.

Pup Cafe appears at 2:21. Source.

1933

The Pup Cafe appears in Los Angeles by Morrow Mayo.

In April, the Pup Cafe is put up for sale. [Illustrated Daily News, April 20, 1933]

The Pup Cafe is moved to West Washington Boulevard in Culver City at some point before June 1934. [UCSB aerial photo archive]

1934

In April, the Pup Cafe appears in Modern Mechanix (below). The image used is still of the West Adams location.

Photo 10

Source

In November, an advertisement appears for "Mac's Pup Cafe" in Culver City. [Venice Evening Vanguard, November 8, 1934]

Also in November, the Bulldog Inn appears in National Geographic.

Everett Maddox now lives at 5351 Homeside Avenue, Los Angeles, not far from his father. [Los Angeles voter registration archives]

The Los Angeles city directory no longer lists Joseph Maddox as owning a restaurant.

1937

The Sadler family are listed as proprietors of the Bulldog Inn in Rosemead. [1937 Alhambra / San Gabriel Valley city directory]

Dorothy Bishonden is listed as the proprietor of the Pup Cafe in Culver City. [1937 Culver City / Los Angeles city directory]

1938

Virginia Jacobson is listed as the proprietor of the Pup Cafe in Culver City. [1938 Culver City / Los Angeles city directory]

1939-1940

The Pup Cafe is photographed by Ansel Adams. [Los Angeles Public Library]

Below is a second photo of the Pup taken by Adams at the same time.

Photo 11

Source. Photograph by Ansel Adams.

1940

In June, the Bulldog is advertised for sale or rent in the Los Angeles Times:

Source: Los Angeles Times, June 16, 1940.

Note that 1153 East Valley Boulevard is given as the residence of the cafe's owners. This aligns with how the Sadler family were listed as both residents of 1153 East Valley Boulevard, and proprietors of a restaurant at the same address (see my post about the Bulldog). They must have lived right next door to the Bulldog.

1940-1944

The Bulldog is moved from Rosemead to Monterey Park. [my own research]

1945

In August, Esther Chase, the proprietor of the Pup Cafe in Culver City, throws hot coffee at three would-be robbers and stops them from robbing her restaurant. ["Coffee Treatment Scares Bandit," Venice Evening Vanguard, August 23, 1945]

1948

In July, Esther Collings receives approval to build an addition to the Pup Cafe (this time referred to as "Dog Restaurant" in contemporary coverage). ["Building Permits Receive Approval," Venice Evening Vanguard, July 15, 1948]

1948-1949

The Bulldog is either moved out of Monterey Park or demolished. [Historic Aerials]

1949

In January, Joseph Maddox dies at his home in Los Angeles. [Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1949]

1957

In August, eight teenagers are arrested for "gang activities" and violation of curfew at the Pup Cafe (this time referred to as "Dog Cafe" in contemporary coverage). ["Teenagers Nabbed in Local Drive-In Raid," Venice Evening Vanguard, August 10, 1957]

1962

In November, Everett Maddox dies in a construction accident in Los Angeles. ["Police Probe Building Fall; 1 Man Killed," Valley Times Today, November 17, 1962]

1969

The Pup Cafe, now Ugly Dog Records, appears in West Magazine of the Los Angeles Times.

1969-1971

The Pup Cafe is demolished. [UCSB aerial photo archive]

Open Questions

Some questions remain about the Pup Cafe:

• What building did Joseph Maddox move to 5406 West Adams Boulevard in 1929, and where did he move it from?

• Was it already in the shape of a dog, or did he modify it?

• Did he move an unrelated building, then demolish it and build the Pup soon after?

• When did the Pup become Ugly Dog Records?

Last Bits

There's one photo of the Pup Cafe that I couldn't even attempt to place into the rest of the chronology. It appears as part of the endpaper design of California Crazy & Beyond by Jim Heimann and is credited to the author's personal collection. For completeness's sake, I'll include it here.

Photo 12

Source: California Crazy & Beyond, Jim Heimann, 2001.

Finally, I'll close with a memory of the Pup Cafe from Culver City that someone posted on Facebook, which I thought was really nice: On Sundays my dad would walk with us here and lift us up to pet the dog's nose. 

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or corrections, feel free to reach out!