Hot Cha Cafe

In about 1932, a small, hexagonal shingle-style Victorian building in Long Beach got a programmatic makeover, adding a large, angular percolator made of metal and glass on the roof, to become the Hot Cha Café. The name changed to the Koffee Pot Café, but it remained a coffee shop into the 1960s. It was then used for a variety of businesses including a barber shop, diner, bar and marijuana dispensary before being abandoned and falling into disrepair. It was reported in January 2014 that city officials inspected the property and reported that it had become “substandard and a public nuisance.” Despite being a city landmark, it was threatened with demolition until a new owner, working with an historic preservation organization, submitted a plan to renovate and restore the building. The project, completed in August 2016, received a Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award.

Long Beach, Los Angeles County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt