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Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery

By Jillian Olivas
June 6, 2013
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Built in 1930 in Glassell Park, adjacent to the Fletcher Drive rail overpass, the Van de Kamp's Bakery's building served as headquarters for the chain of bakeries and coffee shops whose trademark "windmill" buildings and neon signs prevailed throughout mid 20th century Los Angeles. The building was designed by New York architect J. Edward Hopkins to resemble a Dutch 16th century farmhouse, reflecting the company's corporate image. The building remains the only example of an industrial plant in the Dutch Renaissance Revival style. In 1992, the building was listed as Los Angeles Historical Cultural Monument Number 569.

The recent history of the Van De Kamp Bakery is a vivid tale of loss, rebirth and "reuse". Since the factory closed in 1999, local residents had been fighting to save the historic structure and reuse it as a community space. Over time and through negotiations, the Los Angeles Community College District agreed to take the property and adaptively reuse the facade to create a new Community College for Northeast Los Angeles. Today, the site has not been used for its full potential with 90% of the site remaining vacant. With existing educational uses, this site has great potential for use as a workforce center and/or retail hub for students and residents, especially since surrounding businesses are primarily fast food restaurants.

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