The Manning's/Denny's building is a landmark because it's ordinary.

That's according to Alan Hess, an architect and author of 15 books on 20th Century West Coast architecture.

After a surprising vote by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board last week to protect the quirky diner from demolition, Hess told the Ballard News-Tribune why he thinks the building is so important to architecture, Ballard and the city as a whole.

"Manning's was just an ordinary restaurant for the average person in a typical neighborhood," Hess wrote in an e-mail to this newspaper. "But more and more, it is being recognized that the buildings which tell us about how the average person lived are just as important as the buildings where rich, famous and powerful people lived. It's all a part of telling who we are as a people."

Hess, architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News, said much of the controversy lies in the recent date of the building.

Built in 1964 as a cafeteria for common folks, it's not seen to be as important as museums, big cathedrals or other "magnificent civic building," he said. Styles like Victorian and Deco that are recognized as historic today had the same controversy surrounding them when preservationists first proposed examples as landmarks.

"The fact is that this era has only recently been looked upon as historic," said Hess, who lives in Irvine, Calif. "Each of those styles was called ugly and insignificant; now we treasure them. It's just that now it is Mid-century Modern's time to make the transition to recognition as a serious type and style that adds to the quality of our cities."

He said all styles go through the same cycle: popular when new, out of style as it ages, some get demolished, then recognized as unique and esteemed again, and later preserved, "if any are left."

"If we erase the past - especially such an important era as the post-World War II decades - then we are committing self-inflicted amnesia," said Hess. "We are erasing a part of who we were, which made us who we are. That can't be healthy."

There's been much debate recently as to whether the building is actually a style of roadside architecture called Googie, which was made popular in Manning's time period.

In Hess' opinion: "Yes, the Manning's is Googie."

He said the building reflects most features associated with the space-age style of that time: "the roof line has flair and purpose that expresses its structure in an exaggerated manner; a site along a road to attract car-mobile customers; modern design, materials and fixtures reflected the excitement about the modern age and technology (just like the Space Needle)."

He disagrees with Judith Sobol, an art and architecture historian from Las Angeles who told the Seattle landmarks board it was most definitely not Googie.

"The range of interpretations of the themes of Googie allow for wider variations than she seemed to allow," said Hess.

Sobol, brought in by the property owners who wish to tear down the diner and build an eight-story condo there, said that style is "quintessentially" Southern California. She should know, she said, since she grew up there and frequented several such eateries.

Hess believes that Googie can be interpretive, not imitative, and still be Googie. He said that was the approach of the building's designer, Bay Area architect Clarence Mayhew.

Sobol had also suggested that Seattle is more "cloistered" and "isn't a Googie city," where interaction is played in and covered, not up and out. But Hess said the style was found in almost every city in the 1950s and 1960s, with variations according to the region.

"The idea that Seattle is not a Googie city may relate more to the distaste for the style that many academics and high art architects expressed about it then - and which continues today," Hess said.

It could be particularly important to save buildings like these to stop neighborhoods like Ballard, which has many new buildings going up, from becoming repetitive and dull, he said.

"Manning's is historic," Hess said. "It is well designed for its purpose, with flair and skill. Beyond that, it contributes to the quality of its area."

Landmark board staff submitted a recommendation the designation be turned down due to loss of structural integrity. That point was also stressed by the property owners, while proponents of preserving the building say restoration is possible.

Hess said the crucial architectural characteristics of the Manning's remain and could be refurbished.

"It may look ugly because its windows are boarded up, but it is not too difficult, with a bit of imagination, to look beyond the peeling paint to see the basic bones of a good original design," said Hess.

Alan Hess is the author of "Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture" and "Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at 783-1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com.