Randy’s Donuts is an undeniable icon of the 1950s Los Angeles for obvious reasons: it’s a typical mid-century diner with a giant doughnut on the roof. We’re not just talking about a giant donut; Randy’s has THE quintessential giant donut, the most famous donut in America and perhaps the world. It has appeared in countless TV shows, music videos, and movies.
This quirky building was seen in productions like Mars Attacks!, ‘The Golden Child’, Into the Night, Coming to America, Stripped to Kill, Problem Child 2, Breathless, Californication, California Girls, 2012, Iron Man 2, Volcano, or “Crocodile Dundee in L.A.,” among others.
It’s said that this famous donut shop was designed by Henry J. Goodwin as the second of the ten locations of the now-defunct Big Donut Drive-In chain by Russell C. Wendell and was completed in 1953. Several others still survive, but Randy’s in Inglewood is the most famous and iconic.
The building itself is a mid-20th century drive-in food stand, unassuming but admirably intact, and may not technically count as programmatic or mimetic architecture (where a building resembles the item it advertises). However, the rooftop doughnut is so large, so uncompromising, so demanding of our attention that we might just turn a blind eye and consider the building as programmatic architecture.
It’s rumored that structural engineer Richard Bradshaw, who worked on the nearby LAX Theme Building, designed this and other giant doughnuts with coiled steel bars and covered in gunite. The restaurant has had several owners since Wendell, including the one who named it Randy’s in the mid-70s, but it has been owned by donut enthusiasts Ron and Larry Weintraub since 1978.
Randy’s Donuts is one of the most emblematic spots in Los Angeles and uniquely represents the city’s post-war optimism and whimsy.
If you can’t make it to the original Randy’s Donut in Inglewood, you can still try their famous donuts at their branches in Century City (At the Westfield Shopping Center) or El Segundo.
