clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Watch the World's First Taco Bell Travel Through the Streets to Taco Bell HQ

By Adrian Glick Kudler

Los Angeles's signature event of the early Twenty-First Century is the Massive Move: impromptu traveling block parties that follow some enormous and interesting object or another (a space shuttle, a boulder, tons of people in the case of CicLAvia) through the streets in a glorious inversion of Los Angeles's signature event of the Twentieth Century: the traffic jam. An old Taco Bell is not quite a space shuttle, but early fast food restaurants are part of LA culture too—last night, the company moved the first-ever Taco Bell building from its location in Downey to its headquarters in Irvine.

Glen Bell (a white dude) opened his tiny little taco shop on Firestone Boulevard in 1962. By 1986, the chain had spread far and wide and the original location was sold to more small-time taco concerns (there is now a new Taco Bell across the street). It was shuttered for good last December and, with the property owners hoping to clear the lot, preservationists/fast food geeks rallied to save the historic Taco Bell. The historic Taco Bell.

The corporation itself had the resources and the will, so last night the 400-square-foot building traveled 45 miles down to Orange County, sometimes topping 20 mph and clearing the whole journey in just a little over three hours. The Orange County Register reports it headed out just after 10 pm, accompanied by cries of "Viva Mexico!", which shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Taco Bell, and arrived right around 1:30 am with a very small crowd of supporters.

Taco Bell will store the old building for now and let "fans" decide if it'll become a museum or return as a restaurant.

Meanwhile, enjoy the journey via video and the move's webcam:


· The First Taco Bell Will Be Saved and Moved to Taco Bell's HQ [Curbed LA]
· The Oddball Original Locations of Los Angeles's Most Famous Fast Food Chains [Curbed LA]

Next Up In Los Angeles Historic Preservation