The Donut Hole

On the first day of our recent mini California road trip, we were driving down Route 66 en route to the Wigwam Motel in Rialto. I left our itinerary open for a leisurely drive, but when I realized that we were just about 20 min away from The Donut Hole, we decided it was worth the short detour.

The Donut Hole was built in 1968 in La Puenta, California, about 30 minutes east of downtown LA. The iconic building is programmatic, or novelty architecture at its best: two huge wood and stucco donuts with a drive-through donut shop in between. You go in one donut hole, out the other and it's both a sign and building in one (like The Big Duck or Orange World or this Shell Station).

There is no mistaking what you'll be buying at The Donut Hole, and while this was the second of five locations it was the only one built to resemble donuts—and not coincidentally, the only one still in business. It's also apparently one of the most photographed donut shops in the country, and although the donuts we bought were good, the building itself is definitely the main attraction.