architecture was born of the post-WWII car-culture and thrived in the
1950s and 1960s. Bold angles, colorful signs, plate glass, sweeping cantilevered
roofs and pop-culture imagery captured the attention
of drivers on adjacent streets. Bowling alleys looked like
Tomorrowland. Coffee shops looked like something in a Jetsons
cartoon.
For decades, many "serious" architects decried Googie as frivolous or crass. But today we recognize how perfectly its form followed its function.
Even as the best historic examples are bulldozed, architects are rediscovering the importance and utility of Googie and are adopting it for their own designs. (Continued...)