Rocket Tiki is a signed art print from an illustration by Chet Phillips. "Googie Architecture" inspired sign design. The term "Googie" originates back to 1949 with the design of Googie's coffee shop in LA, designed by John Lautner. It served as an inspiration for an architectural style based on space-age designs using shapes such as boomerangs, atoms and parabolas. Motels, coffee houses and bowling alleys were some of the building types that were used to express this form of art, starting in the late 40s through the mid 60s. I present this series as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the "Googie" form of art. Image presented within an 8 x 10 area with white border. This image was created using the digital software program Painter. Printed using high quality enhanced matte archival paper and archival inks. Please note due to computer monitors differences in colors may vary. The vivid color in your print may differ somewhat from what you see on your monitor. Copyright mark will not be included on your print. Shipped flat and well protected via USPS First Class Mail. (Domestic and International.) Please allow 1 to 2 business days to print, prepare and ship your item. Domestic First Class Mail averages 3-4 days transit time. International First Class Mail varies depending on the destination.

Ici, l’hôtel Kon-Tiki de Phoenix (Arizona), 1961 (collection Scott Schell).

From what used to be The Islander Club, Grimes, CA. The building is now abandoned. Near as I can tell, they closed because they lost their liquor license, which is bad for business with this type of establishment.

Is there hope for an abandoned Googie bowling alley to lace up again?

“On October 4, 1957, a finger reached out and pushed a button in the Soviet Union, launching Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit. Afraid of losing face during the Cold War, a stunned United States responded in several ways, one of the most unusual of which was the building of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.” “The original theme of the fair was ‘Festival of the West’, celebrating the past. But with Sputnik circling overhead, the focus now became the future and the space race was on. The fair took on a decidedly science and space focus, as reflected in its formal name, the Century 21 Exposition. The fair is best known, though, as the less elegant sounding 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.” As a result, the theme of the architecture of the fair had some of the best examples of space-age googie design ever built in the United States. This simple pen sketch is a masterpiece of Tropical Space Age design for the fair’s Islands of Hawaii Pavilion with the Space Needle in the background. Color rendering Construction begins on the Islands of Hawaii Pavilion The Space Needle and palm trees, what a beautiful clash of primitive and modern cultures. Construction is complete and the Fair opens on April 21, 1962. This is an easy to find postcard of the Hawaii pavilion that was sold at the fair. Upon closer inspection, you can see the tiki torches are burning and there are three large fern wood tiki statues (two on the left in the sandy landscaped area and one near the food service window). This is a rarer shot of the building showing the googie designed signage up top. If you wanted to do some shopping at the fair, all you had to do was head over to the Boulevard of the World and you could find items from around the globe. Note the two red painted tikis standing guard at the entrance into one of the stores. At the end of the Boulevard of the World was the Philippines Pavilion with its giant tiki face and mouth doorway. Here you could pick up a tiki or a moai carving. Note the world’s largest tiki fork and spoon set hanging on the outside wall. Those are awesome! How many of you tiki collectors out there have the smaller version of the fork and spoon set, I bet you all do. I’ve got a set hanging in my tiki bar. If you still need to finish your shopping, head back over to the Hawaii pavilion and pick up a World’s Fair aloha shirt. What a great aloha fabric design. I like the comparison of the Space Needle to the Aloha Tower and the Hawaiian pavilion with Diamond Head in the background. After all of that shopping, how about heading over to the Gayway for a Space Needle ice cream cone. I love those Space Needle cones with a wafer platform on top! If you want to step back in time to see what it was like to visit the fair in 1962, check out this video produced by the Bell Telephone company called ‘Century 21 Calling’. It starts on the Alweg monorail then travels around the fair. The sound track really sets the mood and takes you back. The first 4:30 minutes and the last 1:30 are great, the middle of the video is a sales pitch for Bell telephones (it’s fun to see what passed for new technology back then). When the City built the 1962 World’s Fair, a monorail was included. One station was located at the fair, near the Space Needle. The other station was located in downtown Seattle. It was a short 1.2 mile ride down 5th Avenue to the Westlake station at the other end. The intent after the fair closed on October 21, 1962, was to expand the monorail system to serve other portions of Seattle. Sadly, that never happened. However, the monorail is still in existence and running today. In fact, I was just in Seattle a few weeks ago and took a ride on the monorail and the Space Needle while I was in town. Now what’s interesting to tikiphiles when it comes to the monorail, is the fact that it travels along 5th Avenue and the end station is only a block away from the current Westin Hotel. Back in the day, the Westin used to be the Hotel Benjamin Franklin. Tikiphiles may recognize that name, because the Benjamin Franklin was home to Seattle’s Trader Vic’s restaurant. Originally, Trader Vic’s opened as The Outrigger in 1948. The name was later changed to Trader Vic’s. The World’s Fair monorail and Trader Vic’s at the Hotel Benjamin Franklin. The Space Needle is visible in the background between the monorail and the Trader Vic's sign. The Seattle Trader Vic’s had the very unique distinction of being the only Vic’s that was accessible via monorail! It was only a one block walk from the Westlake Station. Seattle Trader Vic’s at the Hotel Benjamin Franklin. This entrance faced 5th Avenue. If the photographer would have rotated to face down the street, the monorail would have been visible overhead along the center of 5th Avenue. That would have been a cool photo (I’ve been looking for a long time and have never found a photo like that). Interior of the Seattle Trader Vic’s The Hotel Benjamin Franklin was converted to the current Westin in 1967 and Trader Vic’s continued to operate there until it closed in 1991. Imagine what a great day it would have been to spend at the 1962 World’s Fair, then hop on the monorail over to Trader Vic’s in the early evening for an exotic cocktail and a pupu platter. Your evening didn’t have the end there. After cocktails at Trader Vic’s you could have headed over to Pier 51 a few blocks away to have an elegant dinner at the Polynesia Restaurant. The Polynesia Restaurant, while not Tropical Space Age design on the exterior, was very different from Trader Vic’s and most other tiki restaurants. The interior was sleek and modern. Check out that awesome sculpture on the right. It is a tube that spirals up towards the ceiling. Little holes are poked in the tube and ignited so that flames extend around the piece. The only tiki visible in this picture is the small 3’ stature in front of the hostess stand. Does it look familiar? Go back up in this post to the color photo of the Philippine pavilion and check out the two tikis standing guard at the top of the steps. They are the same. Looks like the folks at the Polynesia bought their tiki at the fair and brought him home to their restaurant. 1962 would have been a great year to be in downtown Seattle. The Century 21 Exposition, Trader Vic’s and the Polynesia were all within a mile or two of each other and each represented a different type of Polynesian Pop design, including Tropical Space Age, Tiki and Tiki Modern respectively. One last resource if you’re looking for some more great visuals from the fair. Put the Elvis movie “It Happened at the World’s Fair” into your Netflix queue. It was filmed on location at the fair and is an hour and half of Elvis and World’s Fair goodness. It’s a fun movie. Credit: Some of the text and photos are from ‘Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair’ by Bill Cotter.

a gallery curated by amy

The triblend t-shirt features a soft combination of cotton, polyester, and rayon blend. 50% Polyester, 25% 32-single, 4.3 oz. Combed & Ring-spun cotton, 25% Triblend jersey. Due to print sizing, design image may appear smaller on larger garment sizes.

The 1950s brought a futuristic, fanciful style known as Googie. We also remember Tiki and Mimetic as we look back at America's Roadside architecture.

A great way to kick off this blog is to showcase the Waikikian Hotel, a shinning example of extreme tiki architecture. The Waikikian Hotel, billed as Hawaii's Most Beautiful Hotel, was built in 1956 in Waikiki, Hawaii. It was designed by a local architect named Pete Wimberly and his Honolulu architectural firm Wimberly & Cook. Pete was responsible for establishing the tropical resort design style in Hawaii. Prior to the mid 1950's, most of the architecture of the resorts on the islands in Hawaii were based on plantation or colonial designs. Pete's exotic designs in Hawaii included the The Waikikian, the International Market Place, Don the Beachcomber Restaurant (Pete and Don Beach were close personal friends), The Coco Palms Resort, the Kona Hilton and several more. Pete was a very laid back personality and would show up to his office in shorts, short sleeve shirt and sandals while others in the profession were wearing suits and ties to work. One of his quirks was that he hated air conditioning. He would close off the vents in his office and open the windows to allow the constant tropical breeze found in Hawaii to flow through his office. He echoed this philosophy when he designed the Waikikian. The resort did not have AC. Pete excelled at the conceptual designs of his projects. He would comment that his job was to create sketches and the other architects in his firm would be responsible to create the plans and designs based on his rough sketches. Here is one of Pete's drawings for the Waikikian. Based on this sketch, a color rendering was created. It was also reproduced and sold as a print in the lobby of the hotel.

Are you ready for 14th annual Tiki Oasis event that is being held in San Diego, CA from August 13th-16th? Are you ready for one of the biggest Tiki events that is packed with entertainment, shopping and Polynesian Pop?! I hope you are and I hope you show us your #catslikeusstyle! Julie Ann is wearing the Charcoal Design's Green Restless Native Brooch with her vintage barkcloth dress. A great pairing for her #catslikeusstyle. It is no secret around here that the Cats Like Us crew are total Tikiphiles and though we wish we were joining in on the Tiki Oasis fun, we want to live vacariously through all of you! Though we can't complain as we've had our own little slice of Tiki vacation while going to Ohana, Luau at the Lake, we just can't get enough! *Wink* @the_atomic_blonde showing us her Tiki style! Of course, we hope you're not distracted too much by your ensembles as it's all about cutting loose and enjoying all the tropical libations and fun. If you've got some time, snap a selfie or a group photo and tag us, we'd love to see! But, if you find you are in need of some Aloha fashions, like the Ella Tiki Hibiscus Dress there is still time! The last day to to get your Tiki gear sent straight to you is Sunday August 9th! Don't delay!!! And we have the matching Hibiscus Panel Bowling Shirt by Steady Clothing! Matchy matchy! Shop the rest of our Tiki section for more tropical goodness. Mahalo! -Meagan Kyla

Cover Art, Amazing Stories, 1963 Tropical Space Age Architecture is a term coined by Desoto Brown of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. He describes the architectural style as "A comtemporary Island Idiom merging the Jet Age with the Tropics." Desoto Brown It was a mid-century design style that was popular in Hawaii, however, local architects and islanders did not particulary appreciate the outlandish look. As of today, most of these buildings are long gone. However, if you dig around long enough, you can also find many fine examples of Tropical Space Age buildings that were built here on the mainland. The Space Age future as envisoined on Saturday morning cartoons in 1962. Upon closer inspection, that space age design looks vaguely familar...... ....Ah yes, That's it. The Hyperbolic Parabolid shaped lobby of the Waikikian Hotel in Honolulu (demolished 1997), a stunning example of Tropical Space Age. That's a neato design......have I seen that as a tiki restaurant before?..... ...Not exactly the same, but another gleaming example of Tropical Space Age. This was the Hilton Inn in St. Petersburg, Florida. The hotel hosted three different Polynesian Restaurants, including the beachside Aekai restaurant, the Luau Room (on the 10th floor, accessed via the exterior glass elevator on the front of the building), and the rotating Bali Hai Lounge on the top of the building (what an excellent place to sip an exotic cocktail while waiting for your resversation down in the Luau Room.) Note the beautiful upswept Port Cochere over the front door. ...A few of the stand alone Don the Beachcomber restaurants echoed this UFO inspired design, including... Don the Beachcomber, Marina Del Rey, California Don the Beachcomber, Dallas, Texas. The Dallas location had the overall round UFO shape, but added additional exterior elements like the upswept decorative beams over the entrance, the waterfall and bridge over the lagoon, and flaming tiki torches in the lagoon and on the roof of the building. In 2001, photographer Tony Paiva created this Photoshop art titled 'Trad'r Rix Tiki Island' which is a literal interpretation of Tropical Space Age style.

Tucson, AZ

Learn all about the history behind Googie Architecture which is futuristic, fluorescent and flashy.

Tiki Room's 40th Anniversary - SHAG, 2003

"Bottoms Up!" is a high-quality print of the original painting on stained birch wood by the artist Scooter. All prints are professionally printed, packaged, and shipped. Choose from multiple sizes and mediums. Our Deluxe Prints are printed on Luster Fine Art paper and some sizes come Double Matted. All of our fine art prints are printed on an Aqueous Printer using Archival Inks to provide the highest quality. For Double Matted Luster Fine Art Paper Prints add 4 inches to each side for the Double Matte. Example:  an 11x14” print will have a Matte sized 15x18” *Please note: the 24x34” and larger sized luster paper prints will not come Matted, and will include a 0.5" white border around the print. These larger prints ship rolled in a tube. Our Giclée Canvas Gallery wraps are Fine Art stretched Canvas on a 1.5” deep wooden frame. Each piece will be produced on demand, made in the USA specifically for you, and will ship directly to you ready to hang! All sizes are width x height format, in inches.

The mid century modern wood wall art is inspired by the mid-century decoration trends. With the atomic googie pattern and elements; the witco inspired wood wall decor will be a perfect housewarming gift for an art lover. All of our abstract modern wall art pieces are created with care and handcrafted by ourselves. The geometric wall decor is painted with water-based natural acrylic paint and eco wood dyes. We finished the tribal wall hanging with natural wood oils to add perfect protection to the mid-century decoration for you to gift this as a housewarming present. We used Mid-Century colors for this modern wall art but if you like we can customize the geometric wall decor to compliment your interior design taste. The mid-century art piece measures 20'x40'x1.2' (40x100x2.8 cm) The color of the geometric shapes on the tribal wall hanging is turquoise green. You can hang the modern all art both horizontal or vertical according to your taste. Your Mid-Century decoration will be sent in a wooden crate with a registered post and tracking number. Also, wood wall art will be signed and dated on the back. If you’d like to ask questions about our tribal wall hanging please feel free to contact or read our shop policies.

Many famous people have visited the Kahiki. The Kahiki Supper Club was built in 1961 and its food manufacturer lets you enjoy almost all of the dishes today.

The Travel Channel presents iconic examples of Googie architecture from the 1950s that include hotels, restaurants and businesses that are still in operation.

Cover Art, Amazing Stories, 1963 Tropical Space Age Architecture is a term coined by Desoto Brown of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. He describes the architectural style as "A comtemporary Island Idiom merging the Jet Age with the Tropics." Desoto Brown It was a mid-century design style that was popular in Hawaii, however, local architects and islanders did not particulary appreciate the outlandish look. As of today, most of these buildings are long gone. However, if you dig around long enough, you can also find many fine examples of Tropical Space Age buildings that were built here on the mainland. The Space Age future as envisoined on Saturday morning cartoons in 1962. Upon closer inspection, that space age design looks vaguely familar...... ....Ah yes, That's it. The Hyperbolic Parabolid shaped lobby of the Waikikian Hotel in Honolulu (demolished 1997), a stunning example of Tropical Space Age. That's a neato design......have I seen that as a tiki restaurant before?..... ...Not exactly the same, but another gleaming example of Tropical Space Age. This was the Hilton Inn in St. Petersburg, Florida. The hotel hosted three different Polynesian Restaurants, including the beachside Aekai restaurant, the Luau Room (on the 10th floor, accessed via the exterior glass elevator on the front of the building), and the rotating Bali Hai Lounge on the top of the building (what an excellent place to sip an exotic cocktail while waiting for your resversation down in the Luau Room.) Note the beautiful upswept Port Cochere over the front door. ...A few of the stand alone Don the Beachcomber restaurants echoed this UFO inspired design, including... Don the Beachcomber, Marina Del Rey, California Don the Beachcomber, Dallas, Texas. The Dallas location had the overall round UFO shape, but added additional exterior elements like the upswept decorative beams over the entrance, the waterfall and bridge over the lagoon, and flaming tiki torches in the lagoon and on the roof of the building. In 2001, photographer Tony Paiva created this Photoshop art titled 'Trad'r Rix Tiki Island' which is a literal interpretation of Tropical Space Age style.

With their dynamic roofs and neon signs, these diners, motels, and car washes showcase the best of Googie style.

13th Ave, Wichita, KS

A new book surveys the stunning work of Ezra Stoller, the most prominent photographer of 20th-century American architecture