Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture

Hess, Alan

ISBN 10: 0877013349 / ISBN 13: 9780877013341

Published by Chronicle Books, 1985

About this Item

GOOGIE: FIFTIES COFFEE SHOP ARCHITECTURE, Alan Hess, softcover, stated first printing, illustrated with numerous B/W and color photos, 1985. ITEM CONDITION: near fine. The text block and illustrations are in fine condition, with no tears, dogears, or marks. No bookplate or signature of a prior owner. Not a library item or remainder. The wraps are in very good condition (printed on thick, glossy paper; a faint, thin line runs from top to bottom in center of front and back covers). 10 x 7 ½, 144 pages, 17 ounces XX [From the cover flaps] The euphoria about the future that followed World War Il permeated the outlooks of architects, who, influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and with ready access to remarkable new construction material and building techniques spawned by the war technologies, faced the intriguing prospect of redesigning the postwar world. Initially the futuristic designs were outrageous, and the only clients willing to risk such nontraditional structures were small commercial establishments focused on the emerging car culture who were unafraid to cast their lots with the controversial new images. The metal-framed angular designs, employing lavish use of glass, natural (and unnatural) stone, tile, and integrated landscaping became a cachet for the proliferating coffee shops and drive-in restaurants of the 1950s. Detractors labeled these structures the Googie School of Architecture after a particularly outlandish coffee shop in Los Angeles. Googie would seem far from outlandish today as those once controversial design elements have become commonplace in both commercial and residential architecture. Author Alan Hess traces the evolution of these early postwar designs in a lively yet learned essay profusely illustrated with both color and black-and-white photography. GOOGIE: FIFTIES COFFEE SHOP ARCHITECTURE is a nostalgic trip back to the Fifties and a look forward at the architectural future. XX Roadside architecture attracted Alan Hess's attention when he returned to his native Los Angeles (after attending Principia College in Illinois) to get his master's degree from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA. His architectural criticism and research, specializing in the 1950s, has appeared in Arts + Architecture, Fine Homebuilding, and the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. He has appeared on PBS's Smithsonian World and KCET-LA's Videolog series. A practicing architect in Marin County, California, Hess is a member of the Society for Commercial Archaeology and serves on the Board of Directors of the Museum of Modern Mythology in San Francisco. His proudest accomplishment is qualifying the oldest McDonald's stand in the nation for the National Register of Historic Places.

Seller Inventory # 003088

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication Date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0877013349
• ISBN 13: 9780877013341
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 17 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Architecture
  • Popular Culture
  • Mid-Century Modern

About this title

Synopsis

The euphoria about the future that followed World War II permeated the outlooks of architects, who, influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and with ready access to remarkable new construction material and building techniques spawned by the war technologies, faced the intriguing prospect of redesigning the post war world. Initially the futuristic designs were outrageous, and detractors labeled these structures the Googie School of Architecture after a particularly outlandish coffee shop in Los Angeles. Googie would seem far from outlandish today as those once controversial design elements have become commonplace in both commercial and residential architecture. Author Alan Hess traces the evolution of these early post war designs in a lively yet learned essay profusely illustrated with both color and black-and-white photography. Googie:Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture is a nostalgic trip back to the Fifties and a look forward at the architectural future.

About the Author

Alan Hess is architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News and the author of numerous books, including Palm Springs Weekend (0-8118-2804-2) and Rancho Deluxe (0-8118-2420-9). He divides his time between Northern California and Michigan.