Googie is a futuristic architectural style that emerged in Southern California during the late 1940s and flourished until the early 1970s. It is a subset of Mid-Century Modern architecture and is heavily influenced by the Space Age , the Atomic Age , and car culture. The style is defined by its dramatic and exaggerated features, intended to be eye-catching and optimistic.

Googie architecture is characterized by its use of upswept and cantilevered roofs, sweeping curves, and bold geometric shapes like boomerangs and parabolas. Visual motifs like starbursts, chrome, atomic models, and flying saucer shapes are common decorative elements. The style utilized modern materials like glass, steel, and neon, and was primarily used for commercial buildings such as coffee shops, motels, gas stations, and bowling alleys, which were designed to attract the attention of customers driving by on the newly constructed highway systems.

Googie emerged in the latter half of the 1940s, following the decline of Streamline Moderne . The term was coined in 1952 by architecture critic Douglas Haskell after he saw a coffee shop in Hollywood called Googie's, designed by architect John Lautner.

Googie faded in popularity by the mid-1970s, with styles becoming less lavish following the 1973 oil crisis and economic recession. In the late 1970s and 1980s, it made a comeback via the Diner Kitsch style, where 50s-themed diners became popular. In the 1990s and 2000s, it gave way to the Googie Kitsch style, as part of the broader mid-century revival in those years ( Groovival ).