Events

Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 6:30 pmSwedish Cultural Center, SeattleIn recent months, Googie architecture has been brought to the collective consciousness of Seattleites. What is Googie architecture? Why is it significant to our architectural and cultural heritage? What does it mean in the larger context of Modernism? Why should we care?

Docomomo WEWA and its co-sponsors welcome California architecture critic Alan Hess to Seattle. He will examine how Googie architecture successfully combined Modernism and popular culture and why it is important today.

Alan Hess is the author of Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture (2004) and Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture (1985). As a practicing architect and historian, Hess documents the emerging suburban metropolises of the West. As an architecture critic, he has written a column for the San Jose Mercury News since 1986. His most recent books are Julius Shulman: Palm Springs; Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970; and Frank Lloyd Wright: Mid-Century Modern.

Hess has been active in the preservation of roadside and post War architecture. His writings and advocacy efforts have helped raise awareness and appreciation of mid-century Modern commercial architecture and have led to the preservation of many of these resources.

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at the Swedish Cultural Center (1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle), and begins at 6:30 pm. For those who wish to tour the Swedish Cultural Center beforehand, please join us in the lobby of the building at 5:45 pm. Tickets for the event are $10 each (plus $1.24 service fee) and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (click on the button above to sign up). Please arrive a few minutes before the event so that we can check you in. No paper tickets will be issued.

Docomomo WEWA thanks its co-sponsors 360 Modern, Historic Seattle, Seattle MODERN, the Swedish Cultural Center, and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. This event would not be possible without their generous support.

The Swedish Cultural Center Building, built in 1961 and designed by Steinhart Theriault and Anderson, is a striking example of post-war Modernism in Seattle. For more information on the organization and rental facilities, visit the Swedish Cultural Center’s website.