Culture: Museums: Petersens / German

The Drive-In Market

In the 1920s, creative merchants and architects in Los Angeles developed new types of commercial buildings to accommodate the car. Most of the new building types began elsewhere and reached their fullest development here. Others were local inventions, notably the drive-in market.

The idea behind the drive-in market was to allow cars easy access to and from the store. The basic plan came from the earlier evolution of the gas station -- by moving the building back from the street, cars could park in front of it.

Other features of the drive-in market followed from that step. The markets usually occupied corner lots to provide greater street access.

They followed the shape of the rear lot lines and thus took an L-shaped form. Moving the buildings back from the street made them less visible to drivers, so the markets usually had a tall sign or tower.

From the mid-1920s to about 1930, hundreds of drive-in markets were built in and around Los Angeles. The concept soon took hold throughout the rest of the nation. Merchants in Los Angeles had already begun another phase of innovation that would produce the supermarket.


ENGLISH		GERMAN

The Drive-In Market In the 1920s, creative merchants and architects in Los Angeles developed new types of commercial buildings to accommodate the car. Most of the new building types began elsewhere and reached their fullest development here. Others were local inventions, notably the drive-in market. The idea behind the drive-in market was to allow cars easy access to and from the store. The basic plan came from the earlier evolution of the gas station -- by moving the building back from the street, cars could park in front of it. Other features of the drive-in market followed from that step. The markets usually occupied corner lots to provide greater street access. They followed the shape of the rear lot lines and thus took an L-shaped form. Moving the buildings back from the street made them less visible to drivers, so the markets usually had a tall sign or tower. From the mid-1920s to about 1930, hundreds of drive-in markets were built in and around Los Angeles. The concept soon took hold throughout the rest of the nation. Merchants in Los Angeles had already begun another phase of innovation that would produce the supermarket.		Der fahr-rein Markt / the drive-in market In den 20er Jahren entwickelten kreative Händler und Architekten neue Formen von Geschäftsgebäuden, um dem Auto gerecht zu werden. Meist der neuen Stile haben ihren Ursprung woanders, aber hier erreichten sie einen Höhepunkt ihrer Entwicklung. Andere waren lokale Erfindungen, vor allen Dingen der "Drive-In"-Markt. Die Idee hinter dem "Drive-In"-Markt war, den Autos einen leichten Zugang zu und von den Geschäften zu geben. Der grundlegende Plan kam aus der früheren Entwicklung der Tankstellen, die Gebäude entfernt genug von der Straße zu bauen, so daß die Autos vor den Geäuden parken konnten. Es folgten neue Schritte, "drive-in"-Märkte weiterzuentwickeln. Diese Geschäfte belegten meistens Straßenecken, um mehr Zufahrtsmöglichkeiten anzubieten. Sie folgten der Form der rückwärtigen Grundstücksteile und hatten deshalb eine L-Form. Da diese Gebäude von der Straße entfernt lagen, waren sie für die Autofahrer weniger sichtbar. Deshalb hatten sie meistens ein hohes Schild oder Tor. Von der Mitte der 20er Jahre bis in die 30er Jahre wurden innerhalb und außerhalb Los Angeles Hunderte von "drive-in"-Märkten hochgezogen. Das Konzept wurde schnell vom Rest der Nation aufgenommen. Inzwischen hatten die Händler in Los Angeles schon eine andere Erneuerung aufgegriffen, die zu den Supermärkten führen sollte, ohne daß die "drive-in" Märkte deshalb ausstarben.