The flashy Van De Kamp’s coffee shop in Arcadia had been an icon of Googie architecture since opening in 1968.  Following a change in ownership, the restaurant became a Denny’s. The distinctive eatery with its folded plate roof and soaring windmill became threatened by a corporate-sponsored makeover.  Denny’s had launched a nationwide rebranding effort in 1999 aimed at redesigning all of its locations in a retro style recalling 1950s diners. According to Denny’s’ new design scheme, the soaring windmill would have to go.

When news of the windmill’s proposed removal was made public, the Conservancy and its Modern Committee organized a rally to protest. More than two dozen people turned out to the rally to show their support for keeping the iconic windmill in place. The demonstrators used creative ways to demonstrate the building’s history to passersby, offering powdered donuts from the white-and-blue Van de Kamp’s boxes that still carried the brand’s trademark windmill logo. One rally participant donned a homemade hat crafted in the shape of the building’s zig-zag roofline and windmill (pictured) while holding a sign that proclaimed: “Where there’s a mill, there’s a way!”

The rally was a success and, through the course of one weekend, the company began to understand the importance of the windmill and the building’s original design to the local community. Denny’s reacted to the overwhelming public outcry and changed their plans in favor of retaining the windmill in place. The effort to keep Arcadia’s former Van De Kamp’s coffee shop intact demonstrates the power of a rally as an advocacy tool.