Welcome to Googie Central, home to some of most space-age, "astro",
bold, and yes, Googie architecture and sign in all the land. Back in the
50's and 60's, America was enthusiastically anticipating the future. Space
travel was in and many wondered what it would be like to trade in their
old automobile for a space ship, just like... The Jetsons. Architects envisioned
what "future world" was to look like and began designing buildings
with huge "caddy-like" tail-fins, pronounced shapes, and boomerang
angles, just to name a few. Not to mention some that just designed the
building like a flying saucer.
To the left is a photo of an old Carrols hamburger drive in. The headquarters
was located on the east coast and owned by Slotnick Enterprises, now Carrols
Inc.?
Carrols ins now the largest Burger King franchisee of the Northeast. Many
thanks to George B. from Syracuse, NY for info.
In Orange County, Disneyland was built
with a land specifically dedicated to the world of tomorrow called Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland contained some of the most outlandish architecture, including
Monsanto's House of the Future made of purely synthetic materials.
Anaheim Convention Center Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Hence,
the world surrounding Disneyland (Anaheim, of course) followed suit and some of the most astro-looking
signs and buildings evolved. Indeed, even the Anaheim Convention Center
was developed with this googie-ish space age look in mind. To many an
observer, the Center looks like a Martian's hat or some sort of exotic
spaceship.
Similarly, the TIKI look evolved
and spread to motels, hotels, apartment buildings, restaurants, and what
not. Many polynesian styled sites still exist, however for how long, nobody
knows.
Kon Tiki Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
So sit back, relax, and enjoy what's left of the Googie era. Incidentally,
the term "googie" is a term describing architecture
similar to a Coffee Shop of the 60's, Googies. Imagine having a hot cup
of brewed coffee while reading LOOK magazine. Yes, Virginia, there WAS
a Googies.
envisioned
what "future world" was to look like and began designing buildings
with huge "caddy-like" tail-fins, pronounced shapes, and boomerang
angles, just to name a few. Not to mention some that just designed the
building like a flying saucer.
