'50s-'60s-vintage TV viewers may recall one of the earliest 'hip' detective shows:
77 Sunset Strip, starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Roger Smith, and Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes in the adventures of a private detective agency operating out of stylish offices on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Much of the 'glamorous' tinsel-town ambience of the show came from its fictional location (provided mainly by frequently-recycled authentic exterior shots) prominently featuring the building 'next door' to the agency: the real-life 'Dino's Lodge,' the high-profile Sunset-Strip Italian restaurant and music lounge partly owned by singer and film star Dean Martin.
Formerly named the 'Alpine Lodge' -- which explains the gabled roof and faux half-timbered architecture style -- Dino's was a prominent landmark on the Strip from the late'50s through the mid-'70s...strangely keeping its iconic sign featuring the singer's grinning visage long after he had ceased to have any ownership stake in the operation. Originally a swanky hangout for the Hollywood elite, its TV exposure somewhat ironically helped accelerate its slide toward being a kitschy tourist destination for Tinsel-Town bus-tours.
Nevertheless, I remember it well from childhood TV-watching, and always though it was a cool-looking building...and that it might make an interesting scratch-building project. I've been collecting photos and references for a few years now, and fiddling with making up some drawings...but so far, all I've really gotten 'finished' is the iconic sign. I decided to do a 'scale-yet-to-be-determined' test-shot, just to see: it's a fleeting start, but I thought I might share it, just for fun.
