This proposed restaurant is a combination of an upscale café and an entertainment venue for small-scale music performances or special events such as weddings or corporate parties. It is intended to fill a void of eateries on Signal hill where destination visitors come to enjoy the views but do not have anywhere they can walk to for food or beverages. The design style of the building is organic and simple and it is laid out to take advantage of the dramatic natural setting and panoramic view.

The lot is on the corner of Skyline Dr and Panorama Dr right across the road from the Unity Monument. It is currently empty and owned by Signal Hill Petroleum Co. It is one of the diminishing number of undeveloped lots left on Signal hill and has a fantastic 180 degree east and south view of Long Beach and Orange County. The lot is at the corner of Skyline and Panorama roads and is approximately 270 feet above sea level. It is not currently zoned for commercial use. It has a relatively level grade with the furthest east point dropping about 15 feet from the high center as Panorama Drive wraps around and heads south down the hill toward the ocean.

Original Star Room Resteraunt

Old Star Room Menu

For much of the mid 20th century there was a similar establishment called the Hilltop Star Room. It was a jazz club and restaurant that catered to those who loved the views and wanted to enjoy them with dinner and some entertainment. Many older locals remember the good times had at the Star Room when it was in it’s heyday. It was demolished in the 1970s and is now the site of Sunset Park on the western crest of the hill.

Signal Hill has gone through a dramatic transformation in the last 20 years from an oil producing industrial town to a residential and commercial upscale place where residents enjoy dramatic views of the LA basin from their homes or condos. The city has installed a lovely network of parks and walking trails that encourage other local Long Beach residents to come up to the hill and walk, exercise, play or just enjoy the views. 

However if one wants to eat a meal or sip a drink they need to either bring a picnic or go to Mc Donalds, Jack In The Box, Subway, or one of the numerous other quick service restaurants a mile or so away that ring the base of the hill itself. There is no available upscale establishment that takes advantage of the views or the numerous visitors who often congregate on the hill throughout the day, especially around dinner-time.

The site plan for Panorama Café utilizes the topography of the land to create a two level structure with subterranean parking for 12-15 cars. The main entrance to the building is on the corner of Panorama Drive and the alley to the west. The parking entrance is on the lowest point of the site where clearance is best and the site lines provide safe ingress/egress.

Handicapped access is provided by an elevator from the lower parking area or from the flush main entrance off of Panorama Drive.

The design of this building is dictated by two primary concerns; maximizing the view from the inside and on the outside, minimizing the impact on existing residents views.

This is achieved through a sweeping triangular roof that comes to a high point furthest out from the surrounding buildings sight lines.

This effect is enhanced by the idea of “invisible view” where the shape of the buildings exterior reflects a geographic or architectural form in the existing surrounding landscape.

In this case the tips on the roof and floor echo the shape of the Long Beach State Pyramid structure a couple of miles to the east and is framed under the points of Saddleback mountain on the horizon. The design attempts to bring these fundamental features together using the simplest form and minimal number of parts.

The interior of the resteraunt is composed of a main bar, raised stage and 3 service stations with standing bar counters attached. the booths are on locking castors so they can be reconfigured to fit many types of occasions and events.

The final design is shown as a floor plate imag and a 3 dimensional model displayed in the Google Earth window below.

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