Downey Landmark's Neon Sign May Lose Its Sparkle

Today, Johnie's neon directs folks to used cars instead of burgers, shakes and the 24-hour diner that was on Firestone Boulevard. And Downey officials are left with the question of whether they should preserve the business beacon even though the diner closed in 2001.

The city Planning Commission is expected to decide the matter tonight; its staff recommends revocation of a variance that allows the oversized signs, which have been part of the local landscape since the late 1950s.

Preservationists, who view Johnie's as a Southern California car culture landmark, oppose revocation.

A state commission in 2002 designated the site eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources.

"We're frankly baffled by the recommendation because the variance approved by the Planning Commission in 1990 was based on the historic significance of the site," said Ken Bernstein, director of preservation issues for the Los Angeles Conservancy. "If anything, that significance has only been reconfirmed by the State Historical Resources Commission."

Downey officials counter that the variance granting the signs is linked to the location's use. The signs cover an area of more than 2,000 square feet, according to Mark Sellheim, principal planner for the city of Downey. One features a pudgy blond tyke bearing a burger, affectionately referred to by fans as "Fat Boy."

"The sign variance is for a drive-in restaurant," Sellheim said. "The drive-in restaurant no longer exists."

The signs have created marketing challenges for the site's current tenant, Car Outlet.

"We have people come to our property and ask where the restaurant is," said Dave Dhillon, president of Car Outlet.

The restaurant opened in 1958 as Harvey's Broiler, but was sold to Christos John Smyrniotis, who changed the eatery's name in the mid-1960s to Johnie's Broiler. The switch was reflected in the signs.

Smyrniotis, who now rents the site to Dhillon's company, said that when he was younger and more active in the restaurant business he felt sentimental toward the drive-in's signs. These days, however, he wants to support his tenant.

"I want to see my tenant benefit from the advertisement of his product," he said. "Right now he's in limbo."