Though its future was previously unclear, the Tail O’ the
Pup hot dog stand in West Hollywood will definitely be moving from
its current spot on San Vicente Boulevard to another location,
though the new site is yet to be determined.
Owner Dennis Blake said negotiations are ongoing with Regent
Properties ““ which recently acquired the land where the Pup
now sits near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ““ concerning where
the stand will reopen.
Though a new location has yet to be selected, the Pup is
definitely moving from its current location, Blake said.
“It’s just a matter of crossing the Ts and dotting
the Is,” he said.
The Blake family has operated the Pup stand since 1975, and it
has been at its current location since it moved from La Cienega
Boulevard to accommodate the construction of a hotel in 1986.
The Pup is currently being required to move because Regent
Properties plans to build a retirement complex for gay and lesbian
seniors.
There is a strong possibility that the Pup may reopen in
Westwood near Broxton Avenue because Regent Properties owns land
there, Blake said.
He said he would prefer to keep the stand at its current
location, but has resigned to the Pup’s imminent move.
“I don’t like it, but some things are beyond my
control,” Blake said.
Still, Blake remained optimistic about the stand’s
possible new surroundings in Westwood Village and said he would
relish the opportunity to serve students in Westwood.
And if the Pup does end up in Westwood, students would be
willing to try its hot dogs.
Third-year mechanical engineering student Jose Nuñez said
he would definitely stop by the Pup to get a hot dog because there
are not many options to buy hot dogs in Westwood.
Third-year business economics student Kin Lui said he would also
welcome the Pup to Westwood.
“I would check it out, for sure,” Lui said, adding
that parking in Westwood is so bad that a hot dog place within
walking distance would be convenient for students.
But to many, the Pup is more than just a place to buy a hot
dog.
“It’s more than just a typical hot dog stand.
It’s the most notable example of programmatic
architecture,” said Ken Bernstein, director of preservation
issues with the non-profit Los Angeles Conservancy.
Programmatic architecture, also called kitsch, developed in the
1930s with the rise of the automobile, Bernstein said.
In order to catch the attention of consumers as they drove by,
business owners began to build structures that resembled the
product sold inside.
True to form, the Pup operates out of a 17-foot-wide hot dog
facade covered in mustard and sandwiched between two buns.
Bernstein first got wind of Pup’s imminent move from
online Web logs and concerned area residents who
e-mailed him. He has since been negotiating with Regent
Properties over where the Pup will be relocated.
Bernstein called Pup a “visible roadside landmark”
that should stay in West Hollywood.
He said the Pup has been a fixture in the community for over
five decades and that the stand’s surroundings are just as
important as its architecture. Bernstein said the Pup’s
historical context and ties to the area would be lost if it
moves.