#Googie

[pallas-pretoria]

utopian futuristic artwork by Congolese sculptor Bodys Isek Kingelez

[acmeoop]

Futuristic Background Layout Drawings (1962)

[phana-banana]

Had tons of fun making this Fallout GIF with a mid-century Hanna-Barbera-ish vibe. Look at these lil'goobers, makin' their way down town, walkin'fast...

[googiearchitecture]

Sparkle Car Wash (San Bernardino, California)

[evan-collins90]

Apartment of Apryl Miller - designed by Apryl Miller and unnamed architect - Manhattan, NY (1990s)

Great example of the wild & wacky 'Whimsicraft' aesthetic popular in the 1990's, with touches of the 'Googie' revival as well.

Scanned from the book, 'Artist Interiors: Creative Spaces, Inspired Living' by Laurie Dickson (2003)

[papercutterportfolio]

Vintage Publix grocery store paper cut.

[americaisdead]

los angeles. june 2025

© tag christof

[imperialgoogie]

The House of Googie in The Land of Googie

In June and July this year, I travelled to the United States for a four-week holiday to celebrate my 30th birthday. In that time, I took in the sights of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Southern California, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. It was my first time stateside, and I'm not exaggerating when I say the entire trip was incredible and I wish I could have stayed even longer. It's such a beautiful part of the world.

Why is this relevant? Southern California is the birthplace of Googie, and if there's one thing I love, it's Googie. With my good friend and fellow vintage enthusiast KoHoSo's help, we travelled around greater Los Angeles and out into the Mojave Desert in search of old signs and architecture. We were very lucky to find no shortage of beautiful mid-century delights, some in better conditions than others.

As if that wasn't enough, on the day before my birthday, we headed to Palm Springs, the mid-century Mecca. To see so many Mid-Century Modern and Googie houses and stores was just a pure delight, and it was so nice to see the city embracing the aesthetic. The fact it's out in the desert with all the beautiful plants accenting it just makes it even better.

For my birthday, we did a road trip along the old Route 66 from San Bernardino all the way to Santa Monica, with a few deviations along the way. The trip took far longer than any of us had expected, and while we ended up thoroughly tired by the end of the day, I got to see some great sights, and no shortage of Googie delights along the way.

Of course, it wasn't enough; no amount could be. I hope I'll be able to return again soon to take in more of California's gold. Finally being able to behold authentic Googie for myself is an experience I'll cherish forever.

I apologise for the quality of some of the photos, sometimes the photos were taken at the last possible second as we passed. I'm sure you'll enjoy them all the same.

Alternatively, KoHoSo has some more photos on his Flickr if you're interested. They're not as Googie-focused as this post, but you can see some more of the places we went to, with some explanations added in. Trust me, the foot photo is relevant.

Long live Googie.

[orchidblack]

Retro-futuristic fashion from Pierre Cardin.

[fuckyeahkitschy2]

[brianfrench1995]

LAX - Encounter Restaurant - Los Angeles - Exterior View - Postcard

@postcardtimemachine

[acmeoop]

You’rrrre Fired!!! “Private Property” (1963)

[oldshowbiz]

Carolina Pines Jr.

[googiearchitecture]

The Theme Building at LAX (Los Angeles, California)

[coolsvilleprincess]

Everybody give it up for more cleaned up sketches!! This time it's characters that I have simply been thinking about recently that are not the main gang, yes I did get distracted while cleaning up my Shaphne sketches, yes this is the result now I must return to the caves to finish them.

[googaloogagoog]

Not wensday but here is a snippet of the retired!gamer!roommate!soap x reader (eventual poly 141) I really gotta find a name for that.....

Well it's un edited, no beta, literally just wrote it then posted it, didn't even read though it agian. Rawdogging it. Let's go

You look back over your shoulder at the sudden quiet and there Johnny stands, in the middle of the isle, stiff, eyes clouded over as he stares at nothing. Sighing you walk back over to him, your heart stitch in your throat. Remember, you tell yourself, gentle and slow,stay on the side without his wound, brush your fingers against his, DONT grab at him, he will swing. Your touch is feather light on the back of his knuckes. Soft voice, dont let the panic show, “Johnny?, Hun?” your voice is gentle as you slowly increase the pressure of your fingers on his. No response, ok time to hold his hand, slowly slide your hand into his, dont grab too hard, you dont want to be flipped again. He squeezes your hand back slightly. Ok. good sign, now bring your other hand up to his chest, center no shoulder touching, makes him irritated. You bring up said hand and gently press your palm on his chest “Hey, Darlin’ you with me?” you slowly start to rub his chest, he likes that, says it grounds him. Johnnys eyes move to look at you, still glazed over, so you bring the hand that you are holding up to your face, risky, he cound go for the throat, but all signs point to him being lost in his head, not having a flashback. So you gently press your lips to the back of his fingers. He blinks and you smile at him “Hey bud” he blinks a couple more times as his eyes focus back on you. He brings his free hand to grab at the one on his chest and smiles “Hi.” his voice is soft along with his smile as he looks down at you. You feel your smile brighten “Hi” you reply. Johnny pulls you into a hug shoving his face into your neck “Ah wis lost agin wasnt ah” 

“Yeah” you pat his back to ground him more rubbing up and down firmly “sorry” 

“ no need to apologise hun,” you pull back from him to ruffle his hair “just glad i was here”

“Youre th' best, Bee” ne nuzzles into your shoulder then stansd back up, “Richt whaur wur we “

He says with his iconic laugh, now back to his old self.