HISTORY OF THE COFFEEHOUSE, PART III: Personality in Architecture Signifies American Coffee Moderne

Published on: February 2, 2007

Coffeehouses have been social centers of cultures from Istanbul to London, from Paris to Rome, and most of these were havens for intellectuals, entertainers, writers, and political observers who sat for hours in either very plain (London) or very ornate (Paris) buildings where the coffee was strong, hot and the best conduit for the greatest conversationalists of every era from the 15th century to the 21st.

Following the Second World War, soldiers returning from the Europe often brought back a desire for the coffeehouse experience they enjoyed there but few were to be found. These veterans also returned with an increased appetite for coffee that exploded in popularity with sailor and soldier alike.

America's love affair with the automobile had begun, and drive-in coffee shops were an incredible phenomenon. Hope was in the air, and everyone wanted bright and new things as they cast off the worry of the Depression and the sorrow of the war. The answer, particularly in Southern California and the emerging city called Las Vegas, was the lively in-your-face architectural style called googie after one shop named, obviously, Googie's. In 1952, in an article penned by Douglas Haskell in House and Home, the term googie came to be a positive description of "coffee shop modern."

Googie architecture dismissed brass railings, dark mahogany and marble topped tables, and welcomed Formica, Naugahyde, and whimsy bright colors everywhere. "Coffee shop modern" wasn't just a western phenomenon but was reflected in hotels and shops in New York and Miami exhibiting an urban, organic expressionism that was the farthest thing from "subtle and elegant."

The American coffeehouse also became the source for much much more than a croissant and cappuccino, or an espresso and a pastry. In fact, espressos and espresso-based drinks were unheard of during the 1940s through 1960s except in fine Italian or French restaurants. Instead, coffee was poured from globe-like glass carafes into thick, heavy earthenware mugs that were as ubiquitous as cat-eye glasses and hairspray. And, those carafes held only two coffee choices: regular and decaf, hold the hazelnut. "Coffee and ..." evolved into menus of complete breakfast-lunch-dinner selections making these shops more restaurants than coffeehouse. Coffee was a huge seller, and more coffee was sold than any other beverage on the menu.

Steel, plastic, and other materials were being used to decorate the exteriors with details soaring skyward, and the colors were vibrant, especially oranges, reds, and yellows. This dynamism also served as a magnetic lure that again signaled that happy times were possible.

In many ways, googie architecture in 1950s coffee shops was equal to the flamboyance, the liberation, the uninhibited elements of the abstract art that was emerging with its shapes and forms and splatters to depict feelings rather than meticulous controlled painting techniques to reflect images of people, places and things as seen by the naked eye. And, they indicated a more relaxed, upbeat, American "personality" that soon infused music, dance, and more risk-taking in theater and other disciplines from car design to advertising illustrations.

Perhaps no city has more googie-style coffee shops than Los Angeles which easily embraced, and still does, the dynamic, over-the-top, combination of structure, space and function that dazzled the driver and pedestrian alike with brilliant colored neon or chubby "Big Boy" statues. Even the shop names bore a spirit of fun that European cafés never did: Sherrie's and Rae's; Norm's, Coffee Dan's and Pann's; Ben Frank's, Johnnie and Tiny Naylor's, Chip's, Biff's and Ship's, and the eponymous, Googie's. Restaurants like Denny's and McDonald's captured the trend for arched details and dynamic signage that have become intrinsically linked with these businesses.

Among the architects contributing their visions to this new style were John Lautner, Louis Armét of Armét and Davis, and Douglas Honnold. Many of their striking coffee shops, car washes, bowling alleys, restaurants, and yes the coffee shops, remain. You'll delight in the sunny spectacular of these buildings next time you visit Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Miami and the local visitor's bureaus will be happy to steer you in the direction of the Great American Coffee Shops.

While these shops were hugely popular for teens and families, another coffeehouse experience was available at many universities and cities like San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. University hangouts bore fraternity paddles, wooden tables, and served pizza with coffee to frat kids and athletes, 50s and 60s geeks who used the newly invented ballpoint pen on paper napkins to sketch their ideas as the personal computer was decades away and the only computers around took up entire rooms. Sophisticated urban coffeehouses featured bongo drums thumping to the beat generation, interiors were traditional dark woods, the music was be bop, the open mikes were for poets and folk singers, and everyone wanted to be as cool as their java was hot.

Today, coffeehouses are light colored and sleek, ultra clean, and wireless friendly serving a dazzling menu of coffees from Latte Lite or a Turbo hot or iced, and flavored blacks proving that some things really do get better with time.

FEATURED RECIPE:
Double Coffee Breakfast Pancakes

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