Googie Architecture

[erikb02809]

It's more of a tail end of the Golden Era through to the mid 60's sorta thing, but I was just wondering what the good people at the FL thought of Googie architecture. The opinions here are always so well thought out, varied, and interesting, so I figured it might make a good topic of conversation. A friend in California recently told me a bit more about it, and I find the style and its cultural context rather fascinating.

So...yeah...Googie architecture. Waddayathink?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googie

 

[Dinerman]

I like googie stuff. Unfortunately there's very little of it here on the east coast
Most of the places I have run across were closed, and I don't just mean for the day.

Googie buildings are just so "out there", They're half building and half sign; they just scream "look at me!" Great for commercial architecture.

 

[Senator Jack]

Many links to googie architecture here.

http://www.lottaliving.com

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[TM]

The good Senator is correct! Lotta Living is the main source for Googie.

Tony

 

[cneil]

Googie Archetectuer must be a form of Art Delco.

The Term “Googie architecture” was never mentioned in any of my archetueral classes and It may be there, but I do not recall it in any of my books. But the name works for it.

It is often classified as being part of Modern Archetchture, but as I think I can demostrat on an old artical I wrote on the Bakersfield Convintion center, it really should be classified as the last of the Art Deco styles which battled Modernisam.


-=-=-=-=
What Style is it?
A question offten asked and seldom answerd with a well thought out responses with concerns to the Bakersfield Convention Center, reconizes as one of the greates buildings architecaly in Kern County and apponed its answer many building are built.

Manny of the government building on Truxtun Ave. where design to be in a style compatable with this great design. The Bakersfield Gardens Arean, The Kern County Administration Building.... it has shaped the look of our goverment center.

Manny pepole conclude that the Bakersfield Convention Center is in the Modern style , after all it was built in the 1960’s, is built with out tradianial decorations or ornimentation, built of concreat, steel, and glass.

But what about that round saucer top, brite blue color ban and large shaded entry, it dose not match the harsh and cold box of modern, the Bakersfield Convention Center use of color, shape, cematry, acematry, afely of play, a fealy of movement is not modern.

So what style is it? Lets break it down, Brite colors, Cementry and Acemetry in a building, A feling of movement, excitement and that round top that makes every kid in Bakersfield to refer the building as the Flying Suaser building.

What style has new materials, both cemetry and acemitry, geometric shapes, scince of movement, looks to the future, playful and commly employs transportation theams.

Answer is Art Deco, yes Art Deco, and for 40years we have been buildy building in the moder style to be complemtry to the Convention Center and they are all wrong.

Curtis ....
Dec. 20, 1998

 

[TM]

The term Googie Architecture comes from the coffee shop on Sunset Boulevard next door to Schwabs Drug Store. It was named Googie and was designed by noted architect John Lautner. It was a type of programatic architecture where the roof swept up becoming a neon billboard for the coffee shop.

More can be found here: http://www.johnieswilshire.org/#what-googie

The term Googie later became used in a pergorative sense. An architecture critic named Douglass Haskell was driving past Googies with photographer Julius Shulman and exclaimed "This is Googie Architecture". He later wrote a blistering and mean spirited article for House and Home magazine which pretty much slandered Lautner, adding another log to his fire of bitterness.

Both Googies and Schwabs were demolished and replaced by a Virgin Megastore.

Tony

 

[erikb02809]

Thanks for the links and info so far everyone. Lots of interesting stuff

 

[Nathan Dodge]

I'm about as far away from California as the continental U.S. will allow, but Googie interests me no end! Thankfully, I live in Miami, so we have our own version of Mid-Century Modern architecture, "Mimo", short for Miami Modern. There's a great book called Mimo: Miami Modern Revealed that is going for $5.00 hardcover at Barnes & Noble.com...new! It's a great introduction to Mimo:

 

[Mike in Seattle]

It was pretty popular in Palm Springs as well, except they refer to it as "Mid-Century Moderne" - the last word pronounced "moe-durn." We shared a car rental from LA with friends of friends (the infamous 30 hour Seattle-Palm Springs flight Christmas of 05). They live next door or two doors down from William Holden's former residence and introduced us to the term. I mentioned it to the friends we were staying with, making the egregious error of saying "modern." lol lol lol From then on, it seemed wherever we went, the phrase seemed to pop up in others' conversations. One of those words or phrases you'd never heard before and then seems to pepper conversation from then on.