Edgemar

“My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.”

― Marcel Proust

Like new branches on a valley oak, a cityscape never stops changing. Our Edgemar cafe in Santa Monica, housed in a capacious Frank Gehry–designed building, can attest to that. Long before the local dairy owned the building and environs, the city block housed a turn-of-the-century ice factory.

When architect Frank Gehry came around in the 1980s, he renovated the industrial complex to retain a utilitarian feel, but infused art deco flair, adorning the cafe’s exterior with oceanic green tiles. Inside, a sun-drenched seating area with clerestory windows invites guests to linger over espresso, single origin pour overs, or, fresh from the beach, seasonal cold brew and a pastry. Architects at wrk-shp have updated the space with an eye toward the past, helping us continue the evolution of this storied city block.