The Encounter

Few landmarks are more recognizable in the Los Angeles skyline than "The Encounter Restaurant" at the LA Airport. The building was completed at a total cost of 2.2 million in August of 1961. It remains an Icon of modernist design. Shelley and I visited the restaurant recently and I took some pics.









They have many of these giant Lava Lights.







http://www.encounterrestaurant.com/
Mahalo,
Al

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2004-02-15 23:29 ]

Great memories Al!
My mom use to take me there once a month when we would drop my dad off to fly out for business. Back when the inside of the restaurant was just like a basic diner.
I never thought of it, but this just may actually be the place that triggered my love for mod /space age/retro designs. After Tiki that is.
How was the food?
Thanks for the pics!
Unga
Addendum:
I don't know if this is true, but I was told this is why the airport was named L.A.X., regarding the top of the building as you look down on it. (?)

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-02-15 23:56 ]

Great pics! I recently watched the movie "Dead Heat on a Merry-go-round" which have many shots of the restaurant showing up in the background of scenes.

Those are wonderful pics!

Very motivating to actually take the time to go visit the place!

thanks al!

j$

I've been to the Encounter several times - in fact I will often take a mid-afternoon rather than a morning flight out of LAX, just so I can have a relaxed lunch and cocktails beforehand at the Encounter.

My last visit thispast October was interesting. I was there at about 1:00pm, and had their raw tuna appetizer (very good) and a couple of their cocktails. I love the decor of the place, and asked the waitress if they had any souvenirs for sale. She went to check, and came back with a couple of complimentary postcards, which I accepted. She then took my credit card to ring up my bill.

When she came back with my bill to sign, she also had with her an aluminum pie plate tin - and inside of it was one of their blue-ridged plates, that has a small drawing/logo of the restaurant at one edge. She was giving me one of their plates to take home with me (the pie tin was to protect it) I then left the restaurant, and decided to take some pictures from the outside.

While walking outside, I looked up to the windows, and saw my waitress standing at my former table, looking outside , along with one other person. I waved at them, and they waved back at me, and I was thinking, 'Wow, what a friendly staff.'

A few minutes later, while still walking outside, I see the same waitress walking towards me - outside the restaurant, on ground level. It turns out that I had accidently taken the credit card statement with me, and she was coming to me to get me to sign a new bill. I felt quite embarassed, and ended up giving her a bigger tip for all the troubles she had gone through with me. I currently have this plate hanging in my home.

By the way, the interior of the Encounter was used for a recent Dockers commercial about two years ago. The ad featured a waitress, and when she puts on her X-ray glasses, she notices, among other things, that a businessman at one table is wearing wearing a woman's bra and underwear beneath his business suit.

What X-Ray visions has to do with Dockers, or space-age interiors, I have no clue.

Vern

Here are some storyboard pictures from the website for that Encounter/Dockers ad

http://www.agencyfaqs.com/tvc/sboard/dockers_mobile_1701_2002.html

Vern

Below are two links that describe the Theme building at LAX that currently houses the Encounter restaurant:

http://www.ags.uci.edu/~tmheaney/SNA/LAX/theme.html

http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/Text/Concepts/Icons/Icons_LAX.htm

Then ONLY times I've ever been happy to wait at an airport were the few times stuck at LAX, hanging out at the Encounter.

Thanks for the pics!

Coooool.

Neat story Vern!

If I get to do a Tiki Road Trip down to California for my honeymoon this August, I will definitely make a point of checking that place out.

I also make time to go to Encounter whenever I have a flight to LAX. The food is good, but on the pricey side.

It's great at night when the whole building is lit from underneath with changing colors.

Vern-

Funny story.

I have been to the Encounter a couple of times on my lasts visits to LA. I never knew it was called the 'The Theme Building'. I love how minimal that name is. Great place. I can't wait to get back to LA one of these days. NYC is great but , I love Cali. 'Specially LA and San Fran.

Very nice composition, Al!

Thanks for the pics. I can't believe as long as I lived in L.A. and went by there several times, I never actually took the time to go in and check it out! I'll definately stop in next time I'm up that way.

If you ask for SWAG downstairs they'll give you this swell refrigerator magnet and this post card.


Mahalo,
Al

Wow, very cool photos!

I never knew such a place existed. Beats Heathrow any day.

Trader Woody

Meet George Jetson!! :music: Jane his wife :music: Their boy Leroy :music: daughter Judy :music: dog's name? :music:

astro

Neat! Just an additional tidbit - Eddie Sotto & team at Walt Disney Imagineering were contracted to turn the restaurant into its current incarnation - Encounter - back in the late 90s.... Eddie was definately after a "Jetsons-esque" rehab of the place... The soundtrack (background music) is pretty fun too...

In the same design vein, anyone paying attention to the plight of the TWA terminal at JFK? It's now on the list of America's 11 most endangered historic places.... http://www.nationaltrust.org/11most/2003/twaterminal.html

"Oh mystic powers - hear my call...
From my limbs, let new life fall..."
http://www.christophermerritt.com

[ Edited by: Tangaroa on 2004-02-17 11:39 ]

[ Edited by: Tangaroa on 2004-02-17 11:42 ]

So, this was a refurbished design? It appears that they nailed the "Moderne" style pretty well then....I especially love the sign!

It remined me of when all of anaheim around Disneyland had that look!

Now, if they could just repair Tomorrowland, back to the original style...I could die happy!

The soundtrack (background music) is pretty fun too...

I seem to remember Esquivel playing last time I was there. Not live, of course, but as the ambience music. Actually, I believe this place could have been Esquivels "space age bachelor pad"
I've only been there at night - your day pix are great! They make me want to go there tonight and have a Manhattan!

[ Edited by: Polynesiac on 2004-02-17 15:51 ]

On 2004-02-17 15:26, tiki mick wrote:
It remined me of when all of anaheim around Disneyland had that look!

Now, if they could just repair Tomorrowland, back to the original style...I could die happy!

I miss the old Anaheim too... not a lot left...

I think this carport is still there (at the Westcoast Anahiem)...




[img]

Yes - the Convention Center is still there - but a lot is gone too....

An interesting bit of trivia about the Encounter building is that one of the contributing architects was a man named Paul Revere Williams - who was an African-American.

Although he eventually became known as the 'architect to the stars', for the first 50 years of his life he was not able to buy a home and live in the nicer parts of L.A. He succeeded despite racial prejudices early in his career - he learned to draw upside down so his uncomfortable white clients would not have to sit next to him.

In addition to the Encounter building, he was also the main architect for Frank Sinatra's 1950's bachelor pad.

A short biography on Paul Williams can be found here ...
http://www.socalhistory.org/Biographies/pwilliams.htm

A picture of architect Paul Williams in front of the Encounter Building .....
http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/ethnicstudies/africanamerican/williams/williams_airport.html

Vern

awsome Pix tangaroa!! Thanks!!!

Satellite Shopland mall, Katella Way, Anaheim. This is the sputnik atop the now-demolished Satellite Shopland sign with its original colors.

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-02-18 14:03 ]

Unga, I totally remember that satellite!!

How cool that you have a picture of it!

What did the interior of the Theme Building (as-built name of the structure that currently houses the Encounter Lounge) look like before the Walt Disney Imagineering remodel?

I've done a bit of googling, but have not run across anything.

http://www.thelope.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: tikijackalope 2006-03-24 04:11 ]

What an amazing and cool place! Boy, do I feel stoopid! All the years I was growing up in SoCal I thought that was part of the control tower (thanks to my idiot stepfather who, of course, knew everything there was to know about everything).

Definitely need to figure out a trip that flies me into LAX...

Thanks for sharing Al!

amiotiki

On 2006-03-23 10:35, tikijackalope wrote:
What did the interior of the Theme Building (as-built name of the structure that currently houses the Encounter Lounge) look like before the Walt Disney Imagineering remodel?

I'd love to see pics of that - I'll ask Eddie Sotto next time I see him if he took any "before" pics. Sam McKims son Matt did the rockwork - he may have something too....

Zippy the Pinhead paid a visit to the Encounter this past Monday.

http://zippythepinhead.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=27-Mar-06&Category_Code=m2006&Product_Count=22

Vern

I just blogged the pictures I shot at Encounter and, for text, used parts of an interview with Eddie Sotto at laughingplace.com by permission. Here's my effort: http://www.thelope.com/2006/04/future-was-so-cool-in-1961.html

[ Edited by: tikijackalope 2007-08-09 01:59 ]

I just found out today Encounter at LAX is now open. They were closed to repair the piece that fell off one of the legs.

http://www.encounterlax.com/encounter_contact.html

Thanks for the Heads up Johnny.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2007-11-12 16:36, johnnievelour wrote:
I just found out today Encounter at LAX is now open. They were closed to repair the piece that fell off one of the legs.

http://www.encounterlax.com/encounter_contact.html

Such is great news!
I do not think there is a better example of Modern architecture in LA.

Has anyone tried the mai tai here?
Ultimate Mai Tai gives it a perfect rating.

http://www.kevdo.com/maitai/geo.html

I stopped in at the Encounter 11 days ago, and ordered a mai-tai. The bartender made the drink in front of me, and I asked her to stop when she started pouring grenandine in the drink. She did include Meyers Dark rum though - perhaps more than usual to make up for the grenadine. It was nothing like the drinks I had at the Tiki Ti the days before, but better than the average mainstream bar attempt at a mai-tai.

Although the Encounter is open, the building is currently surrounded by scaffolding - it reminds me of a mixture of space-age architecture and mad mathematical fractals.

Vern

The Encounter Restaurant was the subject of an interview on the Cocktail Nation podcast

Cocktail Nation Podcast: Encounter Restaurant