![]() Googie's beginnings are with the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s. History Ĭlassic Googie sign at Warren, Ohio drive-in In his article he used the fictional Professor Thrugg's overly effusive praise to mock Googie, at the same time lampooning Hollywood, which he felt informed the aesthetic. Though Haskell coined the term Googie and was an advocate of modernism, he did not appreciate the Googie aesthetic. Haskell insisted on stopping the car upon seeing Googies and proclaimed "This is Googie architecture." He popularized the name after an article he wrote appeared in a 1952 edition of House and Home magazine. 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. Googies was located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights in Los Angeles but was demolished in 1989. Burton, the wife of the restaurant's original owner, Mortimer C. The name "Googie" had been a family nickname of Lillian K. The origin of the name Googie dates to 1949, when architect John Lautner designed the Googies Coffee Shop in Hollywood, which had distinct architectural characteristics. Some examples have been preserved, though, such as the oldest McDonald's stand (located in Downey, California). As with the Art Deco style of the 1910s–1930s, Googie became less valued as time passed, and many buildings in this style have been destroyed. These stylistic conventions represented American society's fascination with Space Age themes and marketing emphasis on futuristic designs. Googie was also characterized by Space Age designs symbolic of motion, such as boomerangs, flying saucers, diagrammatic atoms and parabolas, and free-form designs such as "soft" parallelograms and an artist's palette motif. įeatures of Googie include upswept roofs, curvilinear, geometric shapes, and bold use of glass, steel and neon. Similar architectural styles are also referred to as Populuxe or Doo Wop. The term Googie comes from the now-defunct Googies Coffee Shop in Hollywood designed by John Lautner. The style later became widely known as part of the mid-century modern style, elements of which represent the populuxe aesthetic, as in Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal. ![]() Googie-themed architecture was popular among roadside businesses, including motels, coffee houses and gas stations. 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. Googie architecture ( / ˈ ɡ uː ɡ i/ GOO-ghee ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. Norms Restaurants location on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles Morning Call reporter Michelle Merlin can be reached at 61 or at. Paul Frank, a special projects manager for Ciocca Dealerships, said the outcome of the auction ? the sign is remaining in the Lehigh Valley ? is ideal.Ĭiocca will use the proceeds to buy lunch for area first responders. He’s trying to see if they’re still around and can be kept with the sign. The cup and saucer he used were placed in a glass case, Flickinger said. ![]() Clinton stopped by after an address to Kutztown University. In addition to thrilling locals with its novelty, the Charcoal Drive-In attracted then-President Bill Clinton in 1995. Bieber Tourways opened the bus terminal there in 1971 and later bought the property. The diner dates to 1953, when brothers Amos, Donald and Wayne Weida opened it. “The quality of life was so much slower and so much more enjoyable, and that’s what I get when I drive antique vintage cars,” he said. The drive-in is part of an era that shouldn’t be forgotten, he said. When he heard it was on eBay, he knew he couldn’t let it go. The Charcoal Drive-In sign remained on the property after the restaurant closed in 2007, but the site continued to function as a bus stop for the now-defunct Bieber Tourways.įlickinger looked in to buying the sign once the diner closed, but the owners weren’t interested. Totally restoring it would be a step too far, he said. He wants to preserve the feel of the sign and its authenticity. He said the sign will be repaired with new neon and modern transformers and sockets, but the original face will stay. He preserves and maintains vintage cars from the 1920s to 1970s. “It’s iconic.”įlickinger is the curator and manager of the NB Center for American Automotive Heritage in Allentown, a 27-acre campus devoted to the preservation, restoration and maintenance of cars. “To me, it had to stay in the Lehigh Valley” Flickinger said. ![]() The auction closed around midday Wednesday, with Flickinger offering the highest bid for the sign at $2,125, besting 48 bids from 18 other potential buyers. ![]()
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