What is Googie anyway?
Just think of it as a collection of design motifs that became popular as the Space Age kicked into full gear in the early 1960s. Would the cartoon Jetsons have used it? If so, it's probably Googie. And it can be seen at a variety of locations in Anaheim. Typical Googie design elements:
Googie architecture and its goofy style rapidly is disappearing as the Disneyland/Convention Center area undergoes a major makeover.
Googie's was a West Hollywood coffee shop that lent its name to the architecture and design motifs of the 1950s and '60s.
During those years, the Space Age preoccupied popular culture, and its symbols began appearing everywhere — like the rocket jungle gym at Boysen Park, for example, or the Satellite Shopland sign on Katella Avenue.
At the same time, new construction materials like poured concrete and sheet glass made it possible to build a different type of structure — one that fit the car culture of Southern California.
Anaheim, whose population grew tenfold from 1950 to 1960 as its resort area was developed, has achieved a sort of glory among the many fans of Googie architecture.