Googie architecture is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. 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.
John Edward Lautner was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for the remainder of his career. Lautner practiced primarily in California, and the majority of his works were residential. Lautner is perhaps best remembered for his contribution to the development of the Googie style, as well as for several Atomic Age houses he designed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which include the Leonard Malin House, Paul Sheats House, and Russ Garcia House.
Mel's Drive-In is a term referring to two American restaurant chains, the successors of a restaurant founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs in San Francisco, California. It is closely associated with the film American Graffiti.
Norms Restaurants is a regional chain of diner-style restaurants in Southern California. Founded in 1949 by used-car salesman Norm Roybark, some restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As of May 2024, the company operates 23 locations in Greater Los Angeles, with plans to expand into Las Vegas, Nevada.
Westfield Fashion Square is a shopping mall in the Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys areas of Los Angeles, California. It is owned by Westfield Group. The mall features the traditional retailers Bloomingdale's and Macy's.
Bob's Big Boy is a casual dining restaurant chain founded by Bob Wian in Southern California in 1936, originally named Bob's Pantry. The chain's signature product is the Big Boy hamburger, which Wian created six months after opening his original location. Slicing a bun into three slices and adding two hamburger patties, Wian is credited with creating the original double-decker hamburger.
The Original Pantry Cafe is a coffee shop and restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Located at the corner of 9th and Figueroa in Downtown L.A.'s South Park district, The Pantry claims to never have closed or been without a customer since it opened including when it changed locations in 1950 to make room for a freeway off-ramp; it served lunch in the original location and served dinner at the new location the same day. This claim is also attributed to the fact that Dewey Logan never refused a customer even if the customer was short on money. It was however, closed briefly at the order of health inspectors on November 26, 1997, and reopened the next day. That tradition ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in California, and the restaurant has since been open from 7 am to either 3 or 5 pm, depending on the day. The restaurant was owned by former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan and has served many celebrities and politicians.
Pann's is a coffee shop restaurant in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, known for its history, role in movies, and distinctive architecture. The restaurant was opened by husband and wife George and Rena Poulos in 1958. It is also known for its neon sign, Googie architecture, and 1950s decor. The building and its iconic neon sign were designed by architects Eldon Davis and Helen Liu Fong of the Armet & Davis architectural firm. Pann's remains one of the best preserved examples of Davis' Googie designs, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Armet Davis Newlove Architects, formerly Armét & Davis, is a Californian architectural firm known for working in the Googie architecture style that marks many distinctive coffee shops and eateries in Southern California. The firm designed Pann's, the first Norms Restaurants location, the Holiday Bowl and many other iconic locations.
Wich Stand was a '50s-style coffee shop restaurant and diner in Los Angeles, California, featuring a tilting blue roof and 35-foot spire (11 m), designed by architect Eldon Davis.
Johnie's Coffee Shop is a former coffee shop and a well-known example of Googie architecture located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Architects Louis Armét and Eldon Davis of Armét & Davis designed the building, contributing to their reputation as the premier designers of Space Age or Googie coffee shops—including the landmark Pann's coffee shop in Ladera Heights, Norms Restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard, and several Bob's Big Boy restaurants.
The Ivy is a restaurant located at 113 N. Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles founded and owned by chef Richard Irving and interior designer Lynn von Kersting. They run the restaurant alongside their daughter India von Kersting Irving. Open since 1983, The Ivy is known for its historic significance to the LA food scene, popularity with celebrities, distinctive interiors, and its eclectic menu.
Eldon Carlyle Davis was an American architect, considered largely responsible for the creation of Googie architecture, a form of modern architecture originating in Southern California. Googie architecture is largely influenced by Southern California's car culture and the Space Age of the mid-20th century. Davis was a founding partner of the Armet & Davis architectural firm which championed Googie architecture, including the original Norms Restaurant, a Googie coffee shop designed by Davis. For his work, the Los Angeles Times called Davis, "the father of the California coffee shop."
Ships Coffee Shop was a small chain of coffee shops with iconic Modern architecture in Los Angeles, California. The architectural style is classified as Googie Architecture. Ships was especially known for its signage. Martin Stern Jr. was the architect.
Helen Liu Fong was an American architect and interior designer from Los Angeles, California. Fong was an important figure in the Googie architecture movement, designing futuristic buildings like Norms Restaurant, the Holiday Bowl, Denny's, Bob's Big Boy, and Pann's Coffee Shop that helped usher in an era of boomerang angles, dynamic forms and neon lights. Fong became one of the first women to join the American Institute of Architects, and worked with Armet and Davis on many of her most well-known projects. Many of Fong's best-known building designs feature large glass fronts and bold colors on interior walls, designed to stand out and entice potential customers.
Panorama Mall is a mall in Panorama City, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California. It is an enclosed mall anchored by two large discount stores, Walmart and Curacao, aimed primarily at a Hispanic customer base.
Googie's Coffee Shop was a small restaurant located at 8100 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles next door to the famous Schwab's Pharmacy at the beginning of the Sunset Strip. It was designed in 1949 by architect John Lautner and lent its name to Googie architecture, a genre of modernist design in the 1950s and 60s. Interest in the style was revived by the 1986 book Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture by Alan Hess.
Ben Frank's was a restaurant in West Hollywood, California, opened in 1962 by Arthur Simms and Bob Ehrman. The location, surrounded by the famous nightclubs of the Sunset Strip, led to a celebrity clientele, and the 24-hour restaurant became a popular late night destination. The distinctive googie architecture and eye-catching neon sign helped attract musicians like Jim Morrison and Frank Zappa, as well as patrons of the nearby music venues. The youthful patrons that frequented the restaurant inspired the producers of the Monkees TV show to place an ad seeking "spirited Ben Frank's types" when casting the show in 1965.
Casa Vega is a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California. In 2022 it was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation.
