DRIFTWOOD DRIVE-THRU DAIRY

Driftwood Drive-thru Dairy. Photo by Adriene Biondo.

The Driftwood Drive-thru Dairy, at 10724 Lower Azusa Road in El Monte, was threatened with demolition in 2007.

To help protect this unique structure, the Conservancy’s Modern Committee commissioned a nomination for the drive-thru dairy for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. The State Historic Resources Commission voted unanimously in November 2008 to determine the dairy as eligible for listing in the register.

About the Dairy

Originally known as the Driftyland Dairy-Port, the drive-thru is a spectacular example of roadside architecture that the Los Angeles Times described as “space age” and “one of the most modern dairy drive-ins in the world” upon its completion in 1961. It reflects both the height of space-age design and the influence of the automobile in shaping retail methods and signage.

Driftwood Dairy is also one of very few drive-thru dairies that are still intact, with a very high degree of historic integrity. Although El Monte had several dairies from the 1930s through the ’50s, no others offered drive-thru service.

In fall 2007, Driftwood Dairy’s new owners announced plans to replace the drive-thru with a new retail strip and office development, prompting the Modern Committee to nominate it for landmark designation.

Although the new owners had pledged to “vigorously oppose” the nomination, they did not show up for the final hearing in Sacramento. Conservancy staff testified at the hearing, along with Modern Committee representatives and the nomination’s author, Teresa Grimes of Christopher A. Joseph & Associates.

A local nomination for the drive-thru is currently not possible because the City of El Monte does not have a historic preservation ordinance in place (the city received an “F” grade in our 2008 Preservation Report Card).