The Pacific Dining Car, an institutional landmark in Los Angeles, has been added to the city’s list of historic-cultural monuments, paving the way for a potential restoration of the famed steakhouse that for decades was the center of pricey lunch hours and after-hour politicking — but today is empty and attracting graffiti.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 on Tuesday, May 23, to grant the restaurant’s original dining car, at 1310 W. 6th St. near downtown L.A., the status of a historic-cultural monument – a nod to its heyday as a place where elected and business power brokers hobnobbed in a setting of plush leather seats and shining silver.
Hollywood took notice, filming a scene for the 1974 film “Chinatown” that featured the restaurant in the background, and it was seen in the 2001 movie “Training Day.”
According to a timeline on the restaurant’s website, Pacific Dining Car was opened in 1921 by Fred and Grace “Lovey” Cook. It underwent several expansions. Wes Idol II, the Cooks’ grandson, returned from touring wineries in France and Germany in 1964, set the restaurant on a path to offer one of the widest selections of wines in L.A., and he upgraded the restaurant’s beef to USDA Prime.
In 1975, Wes Idol II bought the restaurant and expanded the menu to veal and fresh seafood. A couple years later, Pacific Dining Car’s open grill and counter seats were replaced with red leather and white linen tablecloths to add to the ambiance of fine dining, and an even more lush interior redesign was undertaken in 2004.
But the restaurant closed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, some members of the Cook and Idol families thanked city officials for recognizing the significance of the restaurant. “We’re grateful to the city for deeming this piece of history worth saving,” said Conlee Idol, the daughter of Wes Idol II.
Her brother, Wes Idol III, who became president of the restaurant in…
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