Hughes Aircraft Company, Cafeteria Building, 6775 Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Significance: The most ambitious interpretation of the International style within the Hughes complex, Building 10 is an asymmetrically organized structure with a small, flat roofed second story which rises from the northwest corner of the single story volume and cantilevers over the north facade. The second floor housed the executive dining room and its attached kitchen and is accessed by an external glazed stairway. The stair rises from the northwest corner and is sheltered by a series of four stepped, overhanging flat roofs. The raised, angled main entrance is inset immediately east of the stairway in the north elevation. Its glazed double door is sheltered by a flat roofed canopy. The east elevation features a corresponding entrance, also with an angled approach and a flat canopy with pipe and trellis supports. Building 11 adjoins the cafeteria at the southeast corner. ... H.L. Gogerty was responsible for the design of the original cafeteria, as well as the 1950 remodeling which added 8700 sq ft - more than doubling the size of the existing building. A 72 x 100 ft dining room was added to the east end, and the north side of the building was extended 13 feet. Space added at the southwest corner housed storage and support facilities and the second level executive dining room was added at the northwest corner. Company folklore maintains that Howard Hughes kept a private office in the southwest corner of Building 10, from which he could reach the executive dining room on the upper level via a stairway from the main kitchen added during renovations in 1952. The upper level contained a dining room with a balcony, restroom, and a small kitchen. It was initially available only for special uses, such as conferences and luncheon meetings, and would certainly have been at Hughes' disposal. The balcony was enclosed in 1957, as was an outdoor patio dining area along the south side of the cafeteria for use as private dining/conference rooms.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1610
Survey number: HAER CA-174-F
Building/structure dates: 1943 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1950 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1957 Subsequent Work