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For those of a certain age, the phrase "Meet George Jetson!" will instantly evoke the distinctive imagery of the early 1960s vision of the coming Space Age as viewed through the 1962-63 Hanna-Barbera cartoon creation, The Jetsons. The antics of George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, and Rosie the Robot were synonymous with the era's optimistic view of the future. Set in 2062, the future-fantastic cartoon was essentially a send-up of familiar sitcom tropes re-imagined with the possibilities — and limitations — of the imagined world of tomorrow. In many ways, The Jetsons was representative of its era, the shared North American enthusiasm for what was seen as the imminent arrival of the Space Age. Already a feature of the American roadside by then, especially in Southern California and the emerging neon extravagance of the original Las Vegas strip, what became known as Googie architecture had begun to define North American futurism, its Atomic- and Space-Age architectural themes transforming the automobile-defined suburbs of Los Angeles and the heart of Sin City. Part I of this special two-part edition of Cityscape will take on Googie architecture in all its neon Space-Age glory, as it appeared in Southern California, the style having persevered as one wholly unique to the era and setting in which it emerged.
While the world of the The Jetsons has yet to materialize in full, we haven't managed to emulate the breathtaking views of the cartoon family's home at the Skypad Apartments in suburban Orbit City, or the shops at Mooningdale's and the excitement to be had at Flamoongo's in nearby Las Venus, the real-world inspiration behind the look and feel of the popular show were already beginning to appear in Southern California prior to its original 1962-63 airing.
Beginning in the late 1940s and reaching its heyday during the 1950s, what became known as Googie architecture — coined as such in 1952 by noted architecture critic and editor of House and Home magazine, Douglas Haskell, in reference to Googies coffee shop in Los Angeles — soon came to define the Space-Age future-fantastic architecture of the countless roadside diners, coffee shops, bowling alleys, and motels of the postwar Automobile Era. Featuring go-to architectural tropes that included cantilevered structures, sharp angles, domes, and illuminated plastic paneling, along with decorative motifs which incorporated a mix of boomerangs, starbursts, and swooping arches and pylons, this distinct combination of themes added to the futuristic, Atomic- and Space-Age flair of the designs.
Though Googie's exact origins are difficult to pin down to a single architect or firm, the short-list of agreed-upon pioneers of the style centre around the work of John Lautner, Wayne McAllister, Douglas Honnold, and the firm of Armet & Davis, the majority of which was located in and around Southern California. Perfect for the sprawling, automobile-centric suburban neighbourhoods of Greater Los Angeles, the illuminated, neon-lit, eye-catching designs of the various roadside attractions associated with Googie architecture were the perfect form to match to their function, that of capturing the imagination of that era's Baby-Boom-driven teen culture. The default setting for everything from family outings to teenage get-togethers and first dates, was the diner, malt shop, or drive-in. Recognizable from a mile away, the roadside buildings of this era were designed to capture the imagination — as well as their fair share of customers — amid a landscape that was quickly becoming crowded with a plethora of suburban dining, service, and recreational options.
In suburban Los Angeles, the epicentre for all things Googie, many of the best surviving examples of the style can be found. Many of the surviving buildings are now protected via heritage designations, after their countless extinct counterparts came down in droves throughout the 1980s and 90s, at a time when the style had long passed out of vogue, and was not yet recognized as culturally significant. One of the first Googie-themed structures, which has remained virtually untouched since its debut in 1949, is the oldest remaining location of Bob's Big Boy restaurant located in Burbank, California, and designed by Wayne McAllister. Featuring a relatively relaxed design, this early example of the style is fairly sedate in comparison to the more outlandish Googie experiments that came to define the next decade and a half.
Moving into the 1950s, the Googie style grew bolder and grander, its signature design cues and decorative motifs becoming increasingly more elaborate as the years went by. Cantilevered rooflines, arches, and pylons, began to replace flat rooflines, while the style's soft colour palette was increasingly paired with bright neon lights in an attempt to out-do the competition. The introduction of decorative flagstone, especially in Southern California, formed an aesthetic connection to the luxurious lifestyle then associated with Hollywood and Beverley Hills. Below, the Armet & Davis-designed, 1951-built, Johnie's Coffee Shop on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, is representative of the gradual upward trajectory of the Space-Age Googie style.
Perhaps more than any other cultural icons of the time, the bowling alley and diner became synonymous with the Baby Boom Era during the 1950s and early 60s, both viewed as wholesome places for teens to gather with their friends; the ideal congregating spot for the greasers and pink ladies to grab a root beer float and a burger following a night of cruising the Miracle Mile.
Established in 1940, McDonald's soon expanded into a North American network of fast-food restaurants, the company's signature Golden Arches a throwback to the first generation of franchise locations which began to crop up across America in the early 1950s. Seen below, the third such location, also the oldest continuously operated McDonald's in America, can be found in Downey, California, the 1953-built structure and neon sign highly representative of the Googie era in which it was created.
Beyond the Miracle Mile, the Googie style continued to be a major influence upon contemporary architecture, its usage expanding both geographically and categorically throughout the late 1950s and into the 1960s to numerous regions across the country. It featured in the construction of airports, casinos, hotels, and in the creation of the famed Tomorrowland, which formed a central part of the original Disneyland that opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California.
Seen above, the 1961-built Theme Building at LAX was designed by Peirera & Luckman Architects to be evocative of a UFO, the flying saucer-shaped restaurant and observation deck supported by four arched stands. Designed as a rotating restaurant, the central feature of the Theme Building has long since been made stationary, while diners and plane-spotters alike are still privy to an excellent view of the arrival and departure of LAX's endless flow of air traffic.
Viewed above, the original Tomorrowland was a Googie-inspired, Space-Age wonderland, complete with rocket-ship amusement rides, colourful monorails, swooping futuristic architecture, and men and women in spacesuits in lieu of the usual Mickey and Minnie Mouse figures found within the rest of the park. Long a staple of any visit to Disneyland until its first major update in 1998, Tomorrowland continues to inspire visitors young and old, its optimistic view of the future part and parcel of a place that bills itself as the happiest place on earth. Having come full circle, from the cartoon fantasy of The Jetsons, through to the real-world application of Googie architecture throughout the coffee shops, diners, and bowling alleys of Southern California, and at last to the future-fantastic, Space-Age wonderment of Tomorrowland, it is evident that there exists a strong common theme that has carried the style throughout its nearly two-decade run from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
Synonymous with an optimistic view of the future, one of the coming Space Age, and of the endless stream of possibilities that would come with that, not to mention the explosion of youth culture that was a direct result of the Baby Boom, Googie architecture serves as a snapshot of its day, a technicolour still frame of life as it was at a very unique time in America's not-so-distant past.
Part II of this special two-part edition of Cityscape will travel down the I-15 to Sin City and the Googie-inspired original Las Vegas strip of the Rat Pack days — of the Sands, Stardust, and Golden Nugget. In the meantime, SkyriseCities welcomes new suggestions for additional cities and styles to cover in the weeks to come. Got an idea for the next issue? Let us know!
