"Googie" describes a futuristic, often outrageous, building style that evolved in the United States during the 1950s. Googie architecture was designed to attract customers.
The name "Googie" comes from a famous coffee shop in Los Angeles. Like the shop, Googie buildings often have flashing lights, sharp angles, boomerang and flying saucer shapes, and lots of glass and steel. On the east coast, googie ideas were expressed in the zig zag rooflines of coffee shops.
The Googie style is sometimes called called Coffee House Modern, Doo-Wop, Populuxe, and Space Age.
"Googie" is just one type of Roadside Architecture that evolved after World War II when Americans began to spend more time in cars. Other types of American Roadside Architecture include Tiki and Mimetic. Tiki buildings look like Polynesian huts. Mimetic buildings are shaped like the products they sell. For example, a hot dog restaurant might be shaped like a giant hot dog.
