Pizza Hut and the Legacy of Corporate Architecture

For Americans growing up in the 1980s, the sight of a stand-alone restaurant with board-and-batten siding and a red-tile roof meant one thing: pizza ahead.

1 minute read

January 2, 2014, 6:00 AM PST

By Anna Bergren Miller @abergrenmiller

Pizza Hut’s signature architecture was the brainchild of founders Dan and Frank Carney and architect Richard D. Burke, Sarah Goodyear writes. Though the “Red Roof” style is no longer used by the brand, many of the structures still stand.

That’s where Mike Neilson’s blog, Used to Be a Pizza Hut, comes in. Neilson chronicles the second lives of former Pizza Huts with photographs from around the world. Whatever their current uses, the buildings aren’t hard to spot. “The effort made to establish an architectural symbol tied in with their brand is a great move until they start to close,” Neilson said. “They can’t really hide from their past.”

FULL STORY: The Secret Second Lives of Pizza Huts

Monday, December 30, 2013 in The Atlantic Cities

Architecture History / Preservation United States Pizza Hut corporate architecture Branding Red Roof Used to be a Pizza Hut Adaptive Reuse View More

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