University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2020 Preserving Los Angeles's Googie: An Analysis of a Commercial Style, Change, and Preservation Emelyn Nájera Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Nájera, Emelyn, "Preserving Los Angeles's Googie: An Analysis of a Commercial Style, Change, and Preservation" (2020). Theses (Historic Preservation). 693. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/693 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/693 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Preserving Los Angeles's Googie: An Analysis of a Commercial Style, Change, and Preservation Abstract "Inspired by the imposing forms of planes, ships, and sleek futuristic technology, Googie gave Los Angeles’s commercial architecture “wings, angles, texture, color, and just about anything else that would catch the eye and lure a passing motorist.” Like its Programmatic precursor, Googie was cultivated in a vernacular commercial landscape geared towards advertisement. The style defied tradition with its glossary of dramatic angles; its ostentatious color palette; and its use of steel, chrome, and neon. Notably, it saw extensive use in the most vernacular of commercial structures, lending character to bowling alleys, motels, car washes, gas stations, and restaurants. By the 1960s Googie architecture had spread beyond the Southern California boundaries, dotting the country with corresponding roadside designs. However, by the 1980s the style’s popularity had waned, and stiff competition in the commercial landscape coupled with a pressure to maximize the profitability of prime real-estate locations, resulted in the demolition of significant Googie structures.