A Googie View Locationless, Locationless, Locationless
By ifranz on 31-Jul-02. Waypoint GC789C

A googie building with several businesses off of Whipple Avenue in Redwood City, California.

Found an old movie theater that is now used as a concert venue in Englewood, Colorado, with its lighted theater name as a nice example of googie. The "Gothic" has twin lighted names above the marquee.

This Alabama Power sign is found in historic downtown Attalla, AL.

Old motel in Lexington, Nebraska. Cool sign.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good night...

I found this one in Cologne/Germany

Greetings
Thoto

This cache is located in LaPorte Indiana USA.
There is so much neon the camera couldn't stand it.
Last two pictures are during the day and show the GPS.
TFTC

This is the Dixie Diner in League City Texas. This place lights up with neon at night like a sports stadium and is neat looking.
The glass blocks even light up.
TFTC

You can't miss the entrance to Fraziers Restaurant in Weldon, North Carolina especially at night when the lights are on the arrow.

Gefunden in Zürich-Oerlikon, Schweiz / Europa

Gruss Die Motte

This motel has been here since the 40's. Still has some of the indivdual cabins in the back. I wanted to get a picture at night with the sign lighted but can't be they turn the lights on. This is located on Rt 7 in the town of Oneonta, NY.

We found these retro "googie" buildings while vacationing over the holidays in Colon, Panama. We saw similar designs later in Limon, Costa Rica.

I've had my eye on this one ever since I first read A Googie View. I finally got in gear and took a couple of pictures. Guida's is a popular restaurant with the locals and is located on Rt 66 in Middlefield, CT. It's near a lakefront community and is hopping in the summer. It was established in 1947 and was the building that immediately came to mind as the most 'Googie' in the area.

This is the Garden City Casino sign in Santa Clara, CA.

[url=http://web.mit.edu/evolving/buildings/stata/]Stata Center[/url]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA, USA

MIT's new Stata Center is not your typical "Googie View!" However, the amazing building definitely fits many of the "Googie" characteristics:

- out of whack squares
- undulating canopies
- zig zag roofs
- sloping glass walls.
- design themes should be combined in an abstract way
- buildings should appear to defy gravity
- new building materials like plastic, cement and glass should be utilized

Since this building isn't 50s/60s "Googie" but shares so many of the Googie features and excesses, I asked the cache owner in advance for permission to post a find for this extremely unique building. He said, "Sounds great! Go for it." So, here it is...

-----

The Stata Center was built in 2004 as the new home for MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) and the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Its striking design - featuring tilting towers, many-angled walls and whimsical shapes - challenges much of the conventional wisdom of laboratory and campus building.

Usually with locationless caches, we include a lengthy description or history for the topic of the cache. However, so much has already been written about this controversial new building that I'll simply point you to [url=http://web.mit.edu/evolving/buildings/stata/]MIT's official pages for the Stata Center[/url]. (However, I would particularly encourage you to check out the [url=http://web.mit.edu/evolving/buildings/stata/photos.html]Photos Page[/url] and the [url=http://web.mit.edu/evolving/buildings/stata/afterword.html]Afterword from the book, "Building Stata" by William J. Mitchell[/url].)

Thanks for the fun cache, ifranz!

[This entry was edited by solid-rock-seekers on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 9:34:38 PM.]

This Googie View is of Ruby's AutoDiner located in Laguna Beach, Southern California. TFTC!

The PNB (Philadelphia National Bank) building was built in the early 1950's. It was the headquarters of not only one of the largest banks in the city but also one of the lagrgest office buildings of the time. Buildings were not allowed to be taller than City Hall's William Penn Statue until 1983. The famed Philadelphia sports curse. We have not had a championship since 1983. Any way back to the building. Located on the roof is a 100 Foot tall by 175 foot neon structure with the 3 letters PNB. These 3 letters would be lit at night. You could see them for up to 20 miles away. It was a main focus point for the east side of the city. I worked for PNB in the 1980's. The bank was merged and then merged again into one of the lerger bank in the area today. The sign is no longer lit because PNB is not longer operating.

This is the Lincoln Lodge Motel in East Ames, Iowa. It is located on the Lincoln Highway, just East of Duff Avenue.

This is the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. It was completed in 1952, and it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973. The design uses two intersecting parabolas as it's outlining form with a curved roof connecting them and straight vertical lines along the round walls.

I ate at this "Googie View" earlier today, which is called the "Lake Effect Diner" and is located in North Buffalo, NY. Thanks for the cache!

Tubby's Subs
Clinton Twp, Michigan
This building was once much mor flashy than it is now.
In the 1960's the building housed the Golden Point Hamburger stand.
The roof had a 20 ft tall taper monolith, covered in the same golden tiles that you see on the corners of the remaining mansard roof.
The house I grew up in lies due east of theis restaurant. I remember the sun glinting off the tower when I look west out my bedroom window.

The hamburger stand close in the late 60's or early 70's.
The building then housed a Taco stand, Paco's Tacos (still exists in a different location) and a fish carry-out, Susie-Q (als, no-more.)

This is the Eastview Mall located in Vanier ON. The neon signs are long gone, but the building still retains it's architectural elements including arches, decorative concrete blocks and exposed steel beams.

The Starlight Diner, a typical Googie, in Bellville, a suburb in Cape Town South Africa

CONEY ISLAND HOT DOGS, Worcester, Massachusetts
http://www.coneyislandlunch.com/
Founded in 1918, George’s Coney Island remains in its landmark location at 158 Southbridge Street in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1938, its namesake George Tsagarelis expanded his "store" to include its art deco design, wooden booths, tile floor and all-important counter. In 1940, he added the Romanoff designed 60 foot neon sign. Modeled after George’s hand, the hot dog dripping mustard sign has welcomed hot dog lovers and seekers of the secret sauce as well as photographers and artists from all over the world.

This is the Donut Wheel in Livermore, CA. This has the classic googie zig zag roof. Thanks for the cache.

Chuck-a-Burger is a well known diner that is famous in this area for classic car cruises, up untill it became such a liability issue the carhops even wore skates. Here's the website for this St. Louis Missouri area attraction http://www.chuckaburger.com/index.html . This location features the typical googie zig-zag roof of the carports as seen here http://www.chuckaburger.com/cgi-bin/webdata_pho.pl?cgifunction=form&fid=1090195464

This cube shaped building has a definite look of defying gravity! It is the Discovery Center, located in Costa Mesa, CA and invites children of all ages to learn about science.
TFTC!

This is the TipTop Lounge in Ames Iowa. It is a local icon in it's own right among the many "friends" of Iowa State University. It began in 1952 and is still quite popular today.
Whooda thunk it was going to be this popular!

I found this drive in while in jackson,ms. i was up here because i am displaced from new orleans because of katrina. it happens to be a pretty good place to eat too. thanks for the hunt

Eastport Business Center in Valparaiso, Indiana has newer buildings, but these 2 that are across the street from each other make me smile & think of the fun architecture of decades past.

Wasn't sure if it was necessary for me to be in the shots with GPSr, so I covered myself...unlike when I was out 3 days ago trying to collect some locationless caches before they disappear! Haste definitely made waste that day!

The distant bldg is the new Ivy Tech...still under construction! The rounded one looks great with snow on it too & is the home of Chester, Inc. Yes, we have agri-culture in Indiana! TFTC

This is the Red Rock Diner on HWY 133 in Carbondale Colorado. The outside appears to be aluminum and the whole style is 1950's.

The Aspen Motel in East Missoula, MT.

This architecural design is an auto dealership in Lexington, KY

This old Twin Oaks gas station is/was located on Old Route 66. The gas station itself is in extreme dire need of repair or better yet needs to be torn down. This is located on Old Route 66 just east of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which has been turned into a park, commemorating Route 66. You do not see many signs like this anymore.

Hello from Germany.

Found this pretty one in Wermelskirchen!

Greetings from Martin S.

This one is downtown Evansville, Indiana.

Freezing cold in Posey County Indiana the morning of November 24, 2005, Thanksgiving. The family are still asleep, so I snuck out and logged a few locationless sites. Visited the following and took pix. Thanks for the finds. Mike

A Cache of Palindromes GC202B
A Googie View GC789C
A Pair of Quintuplets GC338E
Aircraft Nav/Aids of the world GC5AAB
Alphabet Rock GC5ABA
Carnegie Libraries GC633E

This is the old Sahara Motel located in Tucson, Arizona, USA that was closed in the late 70’s and at one time or another it looked like someone was doing renovations on it but always seemed to stay in an unoccupied state. About 2 years ago the rooms were turned into “High Tech†dorm type apartments for the college students in town. They kept the original sign but changed the bottom to read Apartments instead of Motel.

I found it in Duesseldorf, Germany.

THX Ralf

The Casbah is one of very few but still operating drive in restaurants which can be found, a real relict of the 50th and 60th.

This particular one is situated in Pretoria West in South Africa and offers the traditional drive in fare of Hamburgers, Ribs, Steaks the lot.

Greetings from Cache Fan South Africa

Found this in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The googie loooks towards the huge harbour of Santa Cruz and probably can be seen from all ships entering the harbour.
Thanks for the cache and
un saludo de Paco

This is a sign in front of the Beech Hill Bar and grill on route 40 near St. Clairsville,Ohio

[This entry was edited by NIGHTOWLS01 on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 at 5:43:16 PM.]

vancouver, bc

Noticed this googie view on the front entrance to a local medical center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Mercedes visitor center located just a few hundred yards from their manufacture near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

This is a cool sign. The building was originally a Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in the 1950s. It's been Murphy's for many years now. Here's a little history:
http://murphyssteakhouse.com/history.php
TFTC!

Carriage House Motel is still in operation on Rte 1 in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. This is 2 miles from my house.

Plaza Motel. Rte 1 Lynnfield, MA is still in operation. Right next door to the Carriage House Motel. You can also see another one in the background

Coney Island Hot Dog, Worcester, MA. I particularly like the lettering on "George's" - Those are googie G's fer sure!

Peace - Love - Fog.

Located at 705 California St.,Socorro,New Mexico. This restaurant was built in the early 60's under the same name. The El Matador Bar was attached and even had a drive thru window. This place still has great food,we visit here each year for the Mineral Symposium at New Mexico Tech. The sign is the original.

This is the sign at Kahn's Liquors on Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. A triple row of yellow lights flash down and culminate at a star.
This store used to be Penn Liquors and boasted "The Coldest Beer in Town".
Penn Liquors was purchased by Carroll Kahn as a retirement business which soon became a top wine shop and his business expanded into catering. Carroll died last year but his businesses survive.
Keystone Avenue used to be lined with googies 25 years ago but over time they have all reverted to understated images that are a mere shadow of their former selves.

This sign is way more magnificant than the hotel it advertises!

Found this sign on Old Highway 66 in Canute, OK.

Voici le restaurant Le Vendôme, situé dans le vieux Québec (Canada).
Here is Le Vendôme restaurant, located in the old Quebec City (Canada).

TFTC !

An old cafe in Cypress had that "Googie View." This place is on Lincoln Ave. TFTC!

Found this bar/package store near Tampa.

This is a old motel with gaz-bar at St-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada.

The Admiral Theater on Pacific Avenue in Bremerton, Washington utilizes glass building blocks, strong neon elements, and pattern molded concrete.

Found this one with the Trilogy of Terror; Check4Cache and The AlbinoRhino.

This Wimpy's Diner is located on Queenston Road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Had to wait until after dark to get the full effect of the signs!

If you ever find yourself in the tiny western town of Ely, Nevada then you might just belly up to the bar that is under this googie style sign.

Never noticed this sign before even though I drive by just about every day. The front of the bowling lanes has been moderized. However, the back entrance still has the old google sign from days long gone. This is at Sheridan and 31st in Tulsa, OK. So if you enter from the front, it's the AMF Lanes and if you enter through the back, it's still Sheridan Lanes and will always be known as that.

When I grow up, I want to be a whataburger!

I found this googie building in Thomasville, GA. It is a burger joint. TFTC.

I found that goodie at Dunham near Cowansville in Quebec Canada

Found this googie in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Thanks for a fun locationless!

The Space Station Gas' sign is definately a good example of Googie with it's spiky satellite looking top. The Space Station is a working gas station and liquor store in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

This is in Boulder Colorado. They tore the theater down - but they liked the theater sign - and left it. It was sad to see the houses built where the theater was.

As you can see it was dark and the flash from my camera was the only light and I forgot to get my GPS in the picture.

A diner in Rocky Mount, North Carolina with a 'googie view'.

Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Looks very cool at night all lit up.

There are still quite a few holdovers of this style in the Austin, Texas area. Enclosed are photos illustrating this. Genie Car Wash on Burnet Road is a non-chalant building with a unique sign. It definetly catches the eyes of morning commuters.

This I think was Monteagle Tennessee's attempt at something Las Vegas. The downside is it is empty and has been for quite some time. It is however for sale so maybe the cache owner is interested? Either way it is very ugly. I would have taken a night shot to get all the cool lights but it has not been lit for 10 years.

This is part of old Fallon Nevada. This sign is on top of the old Fallon Theaters, which was a theater many moons ago. I don't know how long this sign has been here but it is pretty old. You can see it in old photos of the town.

We found that googie view just next to our house. The Outpost Theater in the Allied Museum.

The buildings taken over by the Museum bear witness to the U.S. and thus the Allied presence in Berlin. The Outpost Theater was built by the U.S. army in 1952/53 and is now protected as a historic monument.

More information are available under:www.alliiertenmuseum.de
Opening hours
daily except Wednesdays
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Free entry


Thx for the Cache

Nepi_und_seine_Bande

Everyone has heard the click of a Zippo, especially those of us here in Bradford, PA. We've also seen this brightly colored sign intermittently flashing every evening as we drive down Main St. It is located on the building on Barbour St. which is where the Administrive offices are. The building is all black and has a reflective look to it. If you ever get to the area, you can't miss it - the street lights are actually Zippo lighters! Though you may not want to visit the Administrative offices, the museum is a great place to visit if you've ever in town! Zippo lighters have been around for over 60 years - as the sign is to look.

Heids is located in Liverpool, NY. It is well known for its hotdogs, coneys & mustard. It has survived the years & is still going strong today.

A modern take on the Googie style. 96th Street Steakburgers, appears at first glance to have plucked right out of the 40's or 50's. Notice the sign & the modestly over hang of the canopy. I think this is a fine example of this style of architecture living on.

I love this cache. This is a style of architecture I have loved, but didnt know the name of. There are many buildings in my area that are still standing, in this style. Since we can only post once, I will be claiming this as a find, and loading others as notes later. Im assuming notes can be claimed as finds later on by other people.

This is an old church in an area with much redevelopment. Los Arcos Church is next to what was once Los Arcos mall, and is now bulldozed. A new universtity research park will be built soon. Hopefully the church will be rejuvenated. So far, it looks like it is in a state of some minor decay.

The Garden Church is a church whose architecture Ive long admired.

This is a signpost for the Bacardi Rhum installed in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located near corner of Mansfield Ave and Maisonneuve West Str. (N45 30.106 W73 34.378)

Ceci est une enseigne publicitaire pour le Rhum Bacardi, située près des rues Mansfield et Mainsonneuve Ouest, au centre-ville de Montréal, Québec, Canada. (N45 30.106 W73 34.378)

Restaurant où nous avons mangé avant de reprendre la route. Henri Buger existe depuis 45 ans. Il est situé à Fair Plain au Michigan.

This googie has been hanging here for 50 years except for a short time (recently) out for repairs. The location is on Yonge St. (the longest street on earth) just above Major MacKenzie Dr., Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto, Canada. The name of the restaurant is 3 Coins & is a great spot for breakfast. The interior is all 1950's retro.

Zeker the Seeker
&
MiniMe

Seen better days but now a used car lot has taken up residence here.

We found this old Uptown theater at Broadway and Valentine Streets in Kansas City, Missouri.

Steve & Mary Brown
http://mysteve.com
Kansas City, MO
MOKan Geocaching Forum
http://mogeo.ipbhost.com/index.php

Kansas City, Missouri
This googieish looking place is in the historic Northeast section of the city. Amazing that it is still in business.

This "Googie" is located in Downtown Kansas City's Historic "Blues" area. Many of our greatest blues artists have played in the "Blue Note", one of which, is Charlie "Bird" Parker. The GEM theater is across the street from the Blue Note.

This diner has been a thriving business for over forty years. It's parking lot is always full on weekends and it us very busy during the week. It is located about a mile east of Leechburg, PA on Riverside Road. Keith and Susan

This resteraunt used to be called Hogies, which opened in 1959, but was renovated and renamed to Quincy's this year. The pics show the resteraunt in the morning and at night.

This is a movie theater in La Grande, Oregon and has had this type of sign out front for years.

This is the Chief Movie Theater located in Bemidji, MN. I was in Bemidji with my boyfriend when we drove by and saw this cool sign.

This building at the corner of Pearl & Ridgefield Roads in Parma, Ohio has changed hands a number of times since it was built in 1954. I remember it in the fifties when it was a local chain hamburger restaurant named Beardens. Back then it had lots of neon lights around it and the curved windows and deep canopy that you can see in the picture. It also was a drive-up, eat-in-your-car restaurant with car hops to deliver your food back then. Over the years with various owners, the look has changed a little but you can still see the googie influence.

1950's and '60's architectural design. This diner is established at 4801 St-Denis street in Montreal, now these days they serve excellent pizza.

This one goes into action at night, it is located in St. Joseph missouri, home of the Pony Express.

In the 50-'s and 60's the most popular bakery chain in Indiana was Roselyn's. Their signs were definitely "googie" with a arrow, boomerang appearance. They were forced out of business a few years ago after a Board of Health inspection found sanitation problems at their main bakery. This is the downtown Indianapolis location. It is now a Chinese restaurant, but they have kept the basic sign. I am enclosing a picture of an original Roselyn sign too for comparison. TFTC.

This fifties diner is owned by a Harley Davidson Motorcycle
dealer and is located in Tarentum, PA. Knowing how motorcyclists long for the fifties, this makes for a great place to stop for a soda fountain drink! Keith and Susan

This building is in Detroit, Michigan. I remember as a kid so many building of the Googie style, very few left around here.

We found the third QUICK restaurant in Luxembourg (Bereldange) just like the logs from "georges and windsor" (Howald) and "www.team-buda.tk" (Bereldange).

Thanks for keeping GC going on!

Team BO
(Alain, Ben)

This is the 'Blast From the Past' diner on Route 5 in Waterboro, ME. Nota bad place to eat! The picture isn't the greatest thanks to the overcast weather at the time I took the shot. TFTC!

This is the Surf Bowl in southern Californa's City of Oceanside. Located on the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 101) about 45 miles notrth of San Diego, it seems to combine several Googie elements. Thanks, ifranz, for this locationless cache; we'll certainly miss them when they go away at the end of 2005.
mmcgr & minnie

found this google view resturant that looks like a soda shop your mom and dad might have visted when they were teenages..