When the Cock ‘n Bull closed in 1987, the building at 9170 Sunset was purchased by the owner of the adjacent building, Hornburg Jaguar. After the Cock ‘n Bull moved out, Hornburg combined the former restaurant with its existing building into a new auto dealership and showroom. The restaurant’s interior walls were removed and the wall separating the two buildings was opened up, effectively doubling the auto dealer’s showroom. The exterior of the building was redesigned and all the distinguishing features of the two buildings were removed. The Jaguar dealership was fully remodeled into a 1980s postmodern French Provincial style, topped by a mansard roof.
In 2021, after more than 30 years on the Sunset Strip, the Hornburg Jaguar dealership was sold. The dealership relocated to La Brea Avenue and the Sunset Boulevard property was purchased by Faring, a West Hollywood-based developer, and its partners. Faring has announced plans to replace the dealership building and adjacent surface parking lot with a creative office building that features innovative digital signage. The City of West Hollywood has embarked on a program of new digital billboards and signage on Sunset Boulevard. 9176 Sunset would serve as the Western anchor of this “Sunset Arts and Advertising Program.”
Although both original buildings are around 90 years old and a convincing case could be made that the Cock ‘n Bull’s 50 year run was historic, the site is ineligible for preservation. Eligibility is based primarily on the condition of the exterior, and the buildings’ architectural features were irrevocably altered when Hornburg combined them in the late 1980s. Local historians and historic-preservation experts have unanimously agreed that there’s nothing remaining from the original exterior. (Full disclosure, I prepared one of those research findings.)
9176 Sunset
Faring plans to replace the dealership building and adjacent parking lot with a “Class A” office building. As the name suggests, Class A buildings are considered the top of the line in construction, with industry-leading finishes, design and the latest utility, security and HVAC technologies.
While not a “historic” project, Faring says, its design “seeks to make its own small mark in the West Hollywood record books as the first all-electric building Class A building in city history.” The building design includes rooftop solar panels to reduce the building’s dependence on the power grid, features green screening and hanging plants on the exterior and promotes water sustainability with rainwater capture/recycles systems, according to the developer.
As proposed, 9176 Sunset will be a five-story building with about 53,000 square feet of interior space. The ground floor will likely be occupied with new restaurant space, and upper floors will house office suites. The city has designated the west end of the Sunset Strip for creative businesses, so tenants are likely to be in entertainment-related industries. Once completed, the new building will be designated a “minor landmark” according to the City of West Hollywood Sunset Specific Plan.
If the final plans include a restaurant, an enterprising restaurateur should open a 21st century version of the Cock ‘n Bull in that space. It could become, like the 20th century version, one of the best – and most famous – dining and drinking spots in Los Angeles and keep the reborn Cock ‘n Bull alive for another 50 years.