Arcadia Celebrates First Anniversary of Revitalization of Iconic Windmill

Denny’s iconic windmill anniversary of its revitalization is happening this month. -Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

By Terry Miller

Almost a year ago we told you about a man and his great plan to get Denny’s Iconic windmill running again.

“To everything there is a season,” the late Pete Seeger wrote in the late ‘50s. How appropriate that on Wednesday afternoon, June 29 last year, the man whose idea of getting the iconic windmill turned again became a reality.

The humble albeit well-known man who worked diligently behind the scenes with a letter writing campaign wants no notoriety on this anniversary but we can tell you he specializes in keeping Arcadia’s horseless carriages clean and shiny.

Denny’s CEO and the City of Arcadia gave the thumbs up to the local visionary and before you knew what was happening, the new motor was installed and the fabled Van De Camp windmill is now once again turning, inviting people to step back into Arcadia’s proud history of preservation.

Now equipped with a new variable speed motor, the windmill will runs at about six rotations-per-minute and is illuminated at night.

Originally built in 1967, the Arcadia windmill sits atop the building’s Googie-style architecture roof and was designed by Pasadena architects Harold Bissner and Harold Zook, according to LA Conservancy.

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