Googie's Coffee Shop (styled googies) was a small restaurant located at 8100 Sunset Boulevard in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Schwab's Pharmacy Schwab's Pharmacy was a drugstore located at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, and was a popular hangout for movie actors and movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s. History Opened in 1932 by the Schwab brothe ...

. It was designed in 1949 by architect John Lautner and lent its name to

Googie architecture Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, Jet aircraft, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popu ...

, a genre of modernist design in the 1950s and 60s. Interest in the style was revived by the 1986 book ''Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture'' by Alan Hess.Hess 2004, pp. 66–68 A 1952 article in '' House & Home'' magazine titled "Googie Architecture" featured a photograph of the building by

Julius Shulman Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph " Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as the Stahl House. Shulm ...

with commentary on the unique style by critic Douglas Haskell. "(The building) starts off on the level like any other building," Haskell wrote. "But suddenly it breaks for the sky. The bright red roof of cellular steel decking suddenly tilts upward as if swung on a hinge, and the whole building goes up with it like a rocket ramp." Additional Googie's locations were built at 5th & Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles in 1955. Architects Armet & Davis created an eye-catching roof for the restaurant which was located on the ground floor of the six-story San Carlos Hotel. Another location was opened in the City National Bank building at 420 N. Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, California. Googie's Beverly Hills was photographed by Allan Grant for Life magazine in 1956. Another location operated at the Atlantic Square shopping center at 2080 S. Atlantic Boulevard in Monterey Park, California. The restaurant was originally owned by Mortimer C. Burton and Ernie Goldenfeld. By 1954, the restaurant was sold to Ed Thrasher. It became a popular meeting place for celebrities including

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

who often made latenight visits with a regular group that included actor and artist

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

and TV horror host

Maila Nurmi Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American actress best known for creating the Camp (style), campy 1950s character Vampira. She was raised in Astoria, Oregon, where ...

, also known as Vampira. Dean was photographed at the restaurant by Phil Stern. Steve Hayes, onetime manager of the restaurant, noted that Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Lee Marvin, and Steve McQueen were regular customers during the 1950s. Comedian

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...

got into a fight inside the restaurant in 1957 and was thrown through a plate glass window. The restaurant changed hands several times from the 1960s to the 1980s and operated as Gee Gee's, Steak 'n Stein, and Pippy's Pizza. The property, along with neighboring Schwab's Pharmacy, was sold to developer Condor Wescorp and demolished in 1988. The site is now a two-story shopping center called 8000 Sunset Strip.

References

* (previously published in 1986 as ''Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture'' ) * * ) * ) {{Refend

External links

Googies Coffee Shop
on

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Defunct restaurants in Hollywood, Los Angeles Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles Modernist architecture in California Googie architecture in California Googie architecture Restaurants established in 1949 Commercial buildings in Los Angeles Buildings and structures demolished in 1988