Van de Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakery, founded in 1915, was a Los Angeles institution for much of the twentieth century. Its trademark Dutch windmill appeared on its bakeries and coffee shops across the region, but today only one windmill survives intact, atop a coffee shop (now a Denny’s) in Arcadia.

The building was completed in 1967 and was designed by Pasadena architects Harold Bissner and Harold Zook. It features a large update of the company’s Dutch windmill sitting atop the building’s circular folded-plate roof.

The Arcadia Van de Kamp’s is the last surviving windmill-topped restaurant in Southern California, and this is only because of loud public outcry when new owner Denny’s proposed demolition of the windmill in 1999. Enthusiastic protests quickly changed the company’s mind, and instead of ruining a historic building to match its brand’s 1950s “retro” style, it opted to retain the real thing. The result is a more than appropriate modern use of a wonderful example of Googie architecture, and the windmill lives on to see the future. Its arms were once operable, turning cheerfully on the corner of Huntington and Santa Anita, and who knows—maybe they will turn again someday.

On June 29, 2016 the windmill started operation again, for the first time since 1989.

When Denny’s planned a redesign in 1999 for their iconic location in Arcadia, formerly a Van De Kamp’s coffee shop, news that the soaring windmill would be removed sparked public outcry.

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.