Googie architecture: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|~~Mid-~~20th-century American ~~futurist~~ architectural style}}

{{Redirect|Googie|the British actress|Googie Withers|the American percussionist|Arthur Googy|}}

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[[File:NormsRestaurant LaCienega.JPG|thumb|[[Norms Restaurants]] location on [[La Cienega Boulevard]] in [[Los Angeles]]]]

'''Googie architecture''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|u:|g|i|audio=en-us-Googie.oga}} {{respell|GOO|ghee}}<ref>{{cite episode|first=Neda|author-link=Neda Ulaby|last=Ulaby|date=July 14, 2011|title=Out Of This World: Designs Of The Space Age|series=NPR Morning Edition|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/07/14/137763046/out-of-this-world-designs-of-the-space-age|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref>) is a type of [[futurist architecture]] influenced by [[car culture]], [[Jet aircraft|jet]]s, the [[Atomic Age]] and the [[Space Age]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedlander |first=Whitney |date=May 18, 2008 |title=Go on a SoCal hunt for Googie architecture |agency=[[Los Angeles Times]] |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] |access-date=February 11, 2009 |quote=It was the 1950s. America was a superpower, and the Los Angeles area was a center of it. The space race was on. A car culture was emerging. So were millions of postwar babies. Businesses needed ways to get families out of their automobiles and into coffee shops, bowling alleys, gas stations and motels. They needed bright signs and designs showing that the future was now. They needed color and new ideas. They needed Googie. |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/la-trw-googie18-2008may18,0,7267506.story?page=1 |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106190555/http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/la-trw-googie18-2008may18,0,7267506.story?page=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It originated in [[Southern California]] from the [[Streamline Moderne]] architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the United States from roughly 1945 to the early 1970s.<ref name="Smithsonian2012">{{cite web|title=Googie: Architecture of the Space Age|last=Novak|first=Matt|date=June 15, 2012|website=Smithsonian.com|url=http://www.smithsonian.com/history/googie-architecture-of-the-space-age-122837470/|access-date=May 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605142837/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/googie-architecture-of-the-space-age-122837470/|archive-date=June 5, 2020}}</ref>

Googie-themed architecture was popular among roadside businesses, including [[motel]]s, [[coffee house]]s and [[gas station]]s. The style later became widely known as part of the [[mid-century modern]] style, elements of which represent the [[populuxe]] aesthetic,<ref name="StagerCarver2006">{{cite book|last1=Stager|first1=Claudette|last2=Carver|first2=Martha|title=Looking Beyond the Highway: Dixie Roads and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkYQT_1pO4cC&pg=PA158|access-date=August 9, 2013|year=2006|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|isbn=978-1-57233-467-0|page=158}}</ref><ref name="CotterYoung2004">{{cite book|last1=Cotter|first1=Bill|last2=Young|first2=Bill|title=The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfbPbQmG9mQC&pg=PA51|access-date=August 9, 2013|year=2004|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-3606-4|page=51|chapter=Populuxe and Pop Art}}</ref> as in [[Eero Saarinen]]'s [[TWA Terminal]]. The term ''Googie'' comes from the now-defunct [[Googies Coffee Shop]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]<ref name=latimes>{{cite news |first=Valerie J.|last=Nelson|title=Eldon Davis dies at 94; architect designed 'Googie' coffee shops |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-me-eldon-davis-20110426,0,5591348.story |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref> designed by [[John Lautner]].<ref>[http://www.archdaily.com/tag/john-lautner/ John Lautner] Why Do Bad Guys Always Get The Best Houses? October 31 by Rory Stott ArchDaily</ref> Similar architectural styles are also referred to as '''Populuxe''' or '''Doo Wop'''.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KdFQ8_csr9QC Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of The Wildwoods]'' by Kirk Hastings 2007, p.2</ref><ref name=league/>

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==Origins==

[[Image:Car Wash, San Bernardino, CA.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Googie-style [[car wash]]]]

The origin of the name Googie dates to 1949, when architect [[John Lautner]] designed the [[Googies Coffee Shop]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], which had distinct architectural characteristics.<ref name=Hess66-68>Hess 2004, pp. 66–68</ref> The name "Googie" had been a family nickname of Lillian K. Burton, the wife of the restaurant's original owner, Mortimer C. Burton, and aunt of musician [[Peter Matz]].<ref name=Hess73-74>Hess 2004, pp. 73–74</ref><ref name=latimes-burton>{{cite news |title=Googie's |url=~~http~~https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-10~~/local/~~-me-~~22162_1_googie~~22162-~~la-cienega-restaurant-row~~story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 10, 1986 |access-date=February 27, 2011 }}</ref>

Googies was located at the corner of [[Sunset Boulevard]] and Crescent Heights in [[Los Angeles]] but was demolished in 1989.<ref>Langdon 1986, p.114</ref> The name Googie became a rubric for the architectural style when editor [[Douglas Haskell]] of ''House and Home'' magazine and architectural photographer [[Julius Shulman]] were driving through Los Angeles one day. Haskell insisted on stopping the car upon seeing Googies and proclaimed "This is Googie architecture."<ref name=Hess66-68/> He popularized the name after an article he wrote appeared in a 1952 edition of ''House and Home'' magazine.<ref>Abbott 1993, p.174</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 25, 1952 |title=Art: Googie |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816051,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218184509/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816051,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=March 5, 2009 |quote=Googie architecture, says ''House & Home'', is 'Modern Architecture Uninhibited ... an art in which anything and everything goes—so long as it's modern'}}</ref>

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==Characteristics==

[[File:Johnnie's Coffee Shop for Wiki 1.jpg|thumb|[[Johnie's Coffee Shop]] on [[Wilshire Boulevard]], Los Angeles, designed by [[Armet & Davis]]]]

[[File:Welcome to vegas.jpg|thumb~~|left~~|[[Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign]]]]▼

[[Cantilever]]ed structures, acute angles, illuminated plastic paneling, freeform [[boomerang]] and artist's [[Palette (painting)|palette]] shapes and cutouts, and [[Car tailfin|tailfins]] on buildings marked Googie architecture, which was contemptible to some architects of then-current High Art [[Modernism]], but had defenders during the [[Post-Modernism|post-Modern]] period at the end of the 20th century. The common elements that generally distinguish Googie from other forms of architecture are:

▲[[File:Welcome to vegas.jpg|thumb|left|[[Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign]]]]

* '''Roofs sloping at an upward angle''': This is the one particular element in which architects were creating a unique structure. Many Googie style coffee shops, and other structures, have a roof that appears to be {{frac|2|3}} of an inverted obtuse triangle. An example of this is the famous, but now closed, [[Johnie's Coffee Shop]] on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

* '''Starbursts''': Starbursts are an ornament that is common with the Googie style, showing its Space Age and whimsical influences. Perhaps the most notable example of the starburst appears on the [[Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign|"Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign]]. The ornamental design is in the form of, as Hess writes, "a high-energy explosion".<ref>Hess 2004, p. 194</ref> This shape is an example of non-utilitarian design, as the star shape has no actual function but merely serves as a design element.

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The term "doo-wop" was used by New Jersey's [[Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts]] during the early 1990s to describe the unique, space-age architectural style. Many of Wildwood's Doo-Wop motels were built by Lou Morey, who specialized in such designs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doowopstuff.com/history.html |title=History Section |publisher=Doowopstuff.com |date=October 29, 2007 |access-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901132028/http://www.doowopstuff.com/history.html |archive-date=September 1, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His Ebb Tide Motel, built during 1957 and demolished during 2003, is credited as the first Doo-Wop motel in Wildwood Crest.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cresthistory.org/doowop.php |title=Wildwood Crest Historical Society Web site |access-date=December 11, 2008 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809120212/https://cresthistory.org/doowop.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Decline and preservation==

~~==Today==~~

[[File:JB Demo January 2007.jpg|thumb|left|[[Johnie's Broiler]] after its demolition on January 7, 2007. Many Googie structures have fallen into disrepair or been destroyed. (~~this~~This one was rebuilt incorporating the surviving architectural elements).)]]

After the 1960s, following the [[Apollo 11]] [[Moon landing]], the rise of [[ecology]] movements against [[nuclear power]], and the de-escalations of the [[Space Race]] and the [[Atomic Age]], Googie began to fall out of style.<ref name="Smithsonian2012"/> The architectural community rarely appreciated or accepted Googie, considering it too flashy and vernacular for academic praise,<ref>Hess 2004, pp. 66–69</ref> and so the architecture of the 1970s, especially the [[International style (architecture)|International Style]], ~~abandoned~~shunned Googie. As Hess notes, beginning during the 1970s, commercial buildings were meant to blend into the urban environment and not attract attention.<ref name="Hess p178">Hess 2004, p. 178</ref> By the mid 1960s, the novelty of Googie was starting to wane and there was a backlash ~~rose up~~ against the flashy style.<ref>Langdon 1986, pp. 108</ref> Since Googie buildings were part of the service industry, most developers did not think they were worth preserving as cultural artifacts.<ref>Hess 2004, pp. 183–188</ref> The publication of Googie by Alan Hess in 1986 inspired a new appreciation for the style. Despite the humble origins of Googie, Hess writes that, "Googie architecture is an important part of the history of suburbia."<ref>Hess 2004, p. 186</ref> Googie was a symbol of the [[1950s American automobile culture|early days of car culture]].

Since Googie buildings were usually part of the [[service industries|service industry]], most developers did not think they were worth preserving as cultural artifacts.<ref>Hess 2004, pp. 183–188</ref> The publication of Googie by Alan Hess in 1986 inspired a new appreciation for the style. Despite the humble origins of Googie, Hess writes that, "Googie architecture is an important part of the history of suburbia."<ref>Hess 2004, p. 186</ref> Googie was a symbol of the [[1950s American automobile culture|early days of car culture]].

One of the earliest organizations in the country that advocated for the preservation of Googie architecture was the [[Los Angeles Conservancy]] Modern Committee, which was formed in 1984 in response to the demolition of Ship's coffee shop in Westwood and [[Tiny Naylor's]] Drive-In in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web| last1=Los Angeles Conservancy| title=ModCom's History| url=https://www.laconservancy.org/explore-la/curating-city/modern-architecture/saving-modern-places/modern-committee/modcoms-history| website=Los Angeles Conservancy| location=Los Angeles}}</ref> Despite the loss of these and the original Googie's in Hollywood, other Googie coffee shops including [[Norms Restaurants]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parvini|first=Sarah|date=May 20, 2015|title=Norms restaurant designated as L.A. historic monument|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norms-historic-monument-20150520-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926094552/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norms-historic-monument-20150520-story.html|archive-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref> [[Johnie's Coffee Shop]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sailant|first=Catherine|date=November 27, 2013|title=Johnie's Coffee Shop named an L.A. landmark by City Council|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-johnies-historic-landmark-20131126-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008204924/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-johnies-historic-landmark-20131126-story.html|archive-date=October 8, 2020}}</ref> and the [[Wich Stand]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chastang|first=Carol|date=April 9, 1995|title=WINDSOR HILLS : Happy Days to Health Food for This Landmark : Renovation: A '50s-style coffee shop, the Wich Stand, gets new life as a Simply Wholesome store|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-09-we-52652-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222050/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-09-we-52652-story.html|archive-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref> have received historic designations. The world's oldest McDonald's in Downey and the earliest remaining [[Bob's Big Boy]] in Burbank, have also been preserved and restored.<ref>Hess 2004, pp. 184–185.</ref>▼

▲One of the earliest organizations in the ~~country~~US that advocated for the preservation of Googie architecture was the [[Los Angeles Conservancy]] Modern Committee, which was formed in 1984 in response to the demolition of Ship's coffee shop in Westwood and [[Tiny Naylor's]] Drive-In in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web| last1=Los Angeles Conservancy| title=ModCom's History| url=https://www.laconservancy.org/explore-la/curating-city/modern-architecture/saving-modern-places/modern-committee/modcoms-history| website=Los Angeles Conservancy| location=Los Angeles}}</ref> Despite the loss of these and the original Googie's in Hollywood, other Googie coffee shops including [[Norms Restaurants]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parvini|first=Sarah|date=May 20, 2015|title=Norms restaurant designated as L.A. historic monument|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norms-historic-monument-20150520-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926094552/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norms-historic-monument-20150520-story.html|archive-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref> [[Johnie's Coffee Shop]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sailant|first=Catherine|date=November 27, 2013|title=Johnie's Coffee Shop named an L.A. landmark by City Council|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-johnies-historic-landmark-20131126-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008204924/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-johnies-historic-landmark-20131126-story.html|archive-date=October 8, 2020}}</ref> and the [[Wich Stand]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chastang|first=Carol|date=April 9, 1995|title=WINDSOR HILLS : Happy Days to Health Food for This Landmark : Renovation: A '50s-style coffee shop, the Wich Stand, gets new life as a Simply Wholesome store|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-09-we-52652-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222050/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-09-we-52652-story.html|archive-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref> have received historic designations. The world's oldest McDonald's in Downey and the earliest remaining [[Bob's Big Boy]] in Burbank, have also been preserved and restored.<ref>Hess 2004, pp. 184–185.</ref>

In [[Wildwood, New Jersey]], a "Doo Wop Preservation League" works with local business and property owners, city planning and zoning officials, and the state's historic preservation office, to help ensure that the remaining historic structures will be preserved. Wildwood's high-rise hotel district has been the first in the US to enforce "Doo Wop" design guidelines for new construction.<ref name="league"/>

==Neo-Googie architecture==

The architect Michael Hsu designed multiple restaurants for the Austin-based restaurant P. Terry's in the Googie style. Each location is uniquely designed, featuring oblique shapes, color, and large geometric roofs.<ref name="Structures2018">{{cite web |title=Structures P. Terry's – 32nd and Lamar |url=http://structurestx.com/portfolio/p-terrys/ |website=structurestx.com |date=May 19, 2013 |publisher=Structures |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426001116/http://structurestx.com/portfolio/p-terrys/ |archive-date=April 26, 2017 |location=Austin}}</ref><ref name="Wilder2018">{{cite web |author1=J, Wilder |title=Iconic Googie Gas Station in Waco: Googie Architecture Revival |url=http://www.motortexas.com/doc/googie-gas-station-waco |website=www.motortexas.com |publisher=MotorTexas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203220254/http://www.motortexas.com/doc/googie-gas-station-waco |archive-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref>

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==See also==

* [[1950s American automobile culture]]▼

* [[1964 New York World's Fair]]

* [[Atomic Age (design)]]

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* [[Tiki culture]]

* [[UPA (animation studio)]]

▲* [[1950s American automobile culture]]

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==References==

* {{cite book |last=Abbott |first=Carl |year=1993 |title=The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West |~~last~~url=~~Abbott~~https://archive.org/details/metropolitanfron00abbo |~~first~~url-access=~~Carl |year=1993~~registration |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=0-8165-1129-2 ~~|url=https://archive.org/details/metropolitanfron00abbo |url-access=registration~~ }}

* {{cite book ~~|title=Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture~~ |last=Hess |first=Alan |year=2004 |~~publisher~~title=~~Chronicle~~Googie ~~Books~~Redux: ~~|isbn=978-0811842723~~Ultramodern ~~|oclc=249477365~~Roadside Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYiGA6QNE8sC |publisher=Chronicle Books |page=222 |isbn=978-0811842723 |oclc=249477365 }} (previously published in 1986 as ''Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture'' {{ISBN|978-0877013341}})

* {{cite book |last=Langdon |first=Philip |year=1986 |title=Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The Architecture of American Chain Restaurants |~~last~~url=~~Langdon |first~~https://books.google.com/books?id=~~Philip |year=1986~~oDVUAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-54401-3 ~~|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oDVUAAAAMAAJ~~ }}

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Books are arranged in chronological order by year of publication:

* ''Learning from Las Vegas'', by [[Robert Venturi]], 1972 ({{ISBN|978-0262720069}})

* ''Populuxe: the Look and Life of Midcentury America'' by Thomas Hine, 1986 ({{ISBN|978-1585679102}})

* ''LA Lost and Found: An Architectural History of Los Angeles'' by Sam Hall Kaplan, 1987, ~~Pages 145-155~~pp. 145–155

* ''Southern California in the 50s'' by [[Charles Phoenix]], 2001

* ''Los Angeles Neon'' by Nathan Marsak and Nigel Cox, 2002

* ''Mimo: Miami Modern Revealed'' by Eric P. Nash and Randall C. Robinson, Jr., 2004

* ''The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister'' by Chris Nichols, 2007 ({{ISBN|978-1586856991}})

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==External links==

* [http://www.lottaliving.com/bb Lotta Living] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725023337/http://www.lottaliving.com/bb |date=July 25, 2008 }}, Googie architecture message board for the LAC Modern Committee and Recent Past Preservation Network

* Chris Jepsen. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020802164308/http://www.spaceagecity.com/googie/index.htm Googie Architecture]

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Preservation groups working to save Googie architecture include

* [http://modcom.org/ Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

* [https://archive.today/20130113050542/http://modcom.org/ Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee]

* [http://psmodcom.com/ Palm Springs Modern Committee]

* [http://www.doowopusa.org/ Doo Wop Preservation League]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121212020455/http://recentpast.org/ Recent Past Preservation Network]

* [http://www.docomomo-us.org/ DOCOMOMO], Dutch-founded '''DO'''cumentation and '''CO'''nservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the '''MO'''dern '''MO'''vement.

* [http://www.laconservancy.org/ Los Angeles Conservancy home]

* [http://www.johnlautner.org/ John Lautner Foundation], Googie architect site.

[[Category:Googie architecture| ]]

[[Category:American architectural styles]]

[[Category:Futurist architecture]]▼

[[Category:History of Los Angeles]]

[[Category:Modernist architecture]]

▲[[Category:Futurist architecture]]

[[Category:Retrofuturism]]

[[Category:Space Age]]