A sweeping remodel of the Lighthouse Café, once a seminal West Coast jazz venue, was within days of Planning Commission approval when it was discovered that the city officially considers the venerable brick building a potential historic resource.
George Kelly, owner of the Los Angeles firm Kelly Architects, credited City Attorney Michael Jenkins with the timely discovery, which prompted a rethinking of the remodeling.
As a result, the brick exterior of the Lighthouse, an eight-decade-old building on the Pier Plaza, will undergo little change in the conversion from a “bar-nightclub” to a restaurant.
“It won’t look new” from the outside, Kelly said.
From the start, restaurateur Paul Hennessey was determined to preserve the building’s cultural significance, and the discovery of the Lighthouse’s official status with the city prompted a lengthy historical review, resulting in even fewer changes to the exterior.
“We said, whoa, slow down,” Kelly said. “Paul Hennessey was all about celebrating the history” of the Lighthouse, which houses the echoes of Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Buddy Guy, and Howard Rumsey and his Lighthouse All-Stars.
The previous tentative plan had called for the creation of a partially open-air second floor above the ground floor patio, and an expansion from 4,026 square feet to 4,788 square feet.
Kelly said the Lighthouse could expand without having to account for additional parking, because the city’s parking rules are less restrictive for a restaurant than for a bar or nightclub.
Hennessey has secured a lengthy lease on the building, allowing him to sink money into the conversion to a sit-down restaurant with live music, an establishment “between a tablecloth restaurant and a cheap beer place,” Kelly said.
The new Lighthouse could draw patrons somewhat older and better heeled than those of some other nightspots, he said.
“The bar business is a good business, but the city wants more,” Kelly said.
Hennessey wants to preserve all the brick walls with new steel supports, display vintage jazz instruments and other Lighthouse memorabilia, and name a part of the restaurant after Rumsey.
“We want people to know the old Lighthouse will be back,” Kelly said. ER
