COLUMBIA BAR & GRILL

Hollywood, California

 

The Columbia Bar & Grill project was just plain fun! Imagine getting the opportunity to design a place where people come to enjoy themselves? This became “the” location for the "Industry" (entertainment industry) people to come for meetings. The name "Columbia" actually comes from the fact that the site used for this building is actually part of the original Columbia Studios in Hollywood. As part of our responsibility of providing ongoing architectural services for the entire studio we ended up meeting the needs of the area by providing an upscale location for lunch and dinner, and also for business meetings on neutral turf.

 

This project established and pioneered the use of slenderwall masonry design in the City of Los Angeles. We worked diligently with the City to obtain special permission for this type of structural design thus paving the way for other design professionals to utilize this same structural system. Property value in the area is at a premium and reducing the thickness of a masonry wall can add to the usable area of the building. In addition the structurally "flexible" masonry design works better in a seismic location. On top of that it saved construction cost.

 

We focused the building design inward with no windows to the exterior public right-of-way. Incorporating an outdoor dining courtyard with full height French doors created an indoor-outdoor ambience and insulation from the busy Hollywood Boulevard. We were fortunate in being asked to do the interior design as well working with actor Wayne Rogers, and Paul Witt, Tony Thomas and Susan Harris of the television production company Witt/Thomas/Harris. We created the restaurant around a central bar area that is more like a living room in a large home. Gourmet Magazine said it was the only place in Los Angeles that a woman could go in alone and feel comfortable. Each dining table is enclosed by mahogany partitions for privacy, except of course outdoors. The overall feeling of the restaurant is intimate and friendly.

 

We got the joy of designing the project and now we get to continue enjoying it with lunch, dinner or just getting together and relaxing with friends.

 

Cheers!  A project that was fun to design and continues to be fun for lunch, dinner or just to get together with friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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