City of Arcadia to Proclaim June 29 ‘Windmill Day’

The famous former Van De Camp’s turned Denny’s Restaurant sports a massive windmill that is now turning 24 hours a day thanks in no small part to a former Mayor George Fashing. – Photo by Terry Miller/Beacon Media News

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Mr. George Fasching, the famous windmill atop Denny’s restaurant is alive and well. The city of Arcadia is about to honor Fasching’s efforts by proclaiming June 29 Windmill Day during the next council meeting on June 18.

On Wednesday afternoon, June 29, 2017, the idea of getting the iconic Van De Camp windmill turning again became a reality, only to be destroyed in a freak incident a few months later on Dec. 29, 2017. On that Friday morning the iconic landmark fell off and one blade sliced through Denny’s restaurant around 8 a.m.

 

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A large windmill blade that sits atop the @dennysdiner at the corner of Huntington Dr. and Santa Anita Ave. in Arcadia broke off Friday and fell onto the restaurant. The broken-off windmill punched a hole in the restaurant’s roof, according to Arcadia Mayor Pro Tem Sho Tay. Police, the fire department and the building department responded. No injuries were reported. The historic Van de Kamp Dutch Bakery windmill was refurbished last year, when the city of Arcadia teamed up with Denny’s to celebrate its restoration. Denny’s says it spent more than $100,000 to get the blades lit and spinning again in June of 2016.

A post shared by ABC7 Southern California (@abc7la) on Dec 29, 2017 at 2:15pm PST

The humble, albeit well-known, man who worked diligently behind the scenes with a letter writing campaign wants no notoriety about getting the windmill turning again, but we can tell you he specializes in keeping Arcadia’s horseless carriages clean and shiny. On that particular Friday, he was devastated when he saw what happened. So were we.

Read more: Denny’s Windmill Turns Once Again After 40 Year Hiatus

George Fasching never gave up hope that the windmill would turn again and after months of restoration the famous windmill light up the Arcadia skyline with colorful blades turning counterclockwise.

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