California Crazy — American Pop Architecture
California Crazy — American Pop Architecture
-
1/11 Toed Inn
12008 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, c.1940
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
2/11 Big Donut Drive-In
805 West Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood, c.1955
Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
3/11 Deschwanden’s Shoe Repair
12008 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, c.1940
Owner: Chester Deschwanden
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
4/11 The Brown Derby
3427 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, c.1930
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
5/11 Tail o’ the Pup
311 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, c.1959
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
6/11 La Salsa Man
Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 1988
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
7/11 Pup Café
12732 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City, c.1934
Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
8/11 Pig Café
La Brea and Rosewood Avenues, Los Angeles, c.1934
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
9/11 Big Red Piano
2251 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, c.1977
Architect: Frank Gaw
Copyright: Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
10/11 Hoot Hoot I Scream
1201 Valley Boulevard, San Gabriel, 1932
Owner: Tillie Hattrup
Jim Heimann Collection/Courtesy TASCHEN
-
11/11 California Crazy. American Pop Architecture
Jim Heimann, £ 40
TASCHEN
The release of a glossy new edition of a book celebrating the garish novelty buildings of southern California seems to prove the effect of time and a dose of irony to turn the most kitsch design from corny to cool.
California Crazy – American Pop Architecture was first published almost 40 years ago.
At the time author Jim Heimann coined the term “programmatic” architecture to describe structures that usually take the form of objects not normally associated with buildings, such as food, animals or characters.
This promotional roadside architecture – designed to catch the attention of drivers and entice them to stop and buy anything from a tank of gas to a burrito – has a long history in the United States.
A 1912 edition of the Los Angeles Times quoted in the book says the city was “noted for the diversity of its buildings, the types of design here being almost as cosmopolitan as the population”.
The novelty buildings could be found in the shape of anything from elephants to coffee pots.
They began proliferating in Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century when the development of this sprawling city of 450sq miles collided with the mass adoption of the motor car, a spirit of nonconformity and an appetite for the outrageous and amazing.
The fact that the California of the era was a blank geographical template with no architectural tradition meant that the architects and builders of the era could experiment.
The result – as Californians started exploring their state in shiny new gas-guzzlers – was that entrepreneurs came up with ever-more eye-catching ways to try and get them to pull over and make a purchase.
These structures weren’t just one-off follies, though there were plenty of those, too. As roadside vendors became successful and expanded they started establishing chains.
The Sanders System drive-in restaurant chain, shaped like giant coffee pots, opened three branches in 1930, while Chilli Bowl (no prizes for guessing what they looked like), launched by entrepreneur Arthur Whizin in 1931, established 23 branches.
Although many of these buildings no longer exist, the book is an enjoyable reminder of the architectural origins of the golden arches that are now familiar to drivers all over the world.
California Cool – American Pop Architecture is published by Taschen.
