This is an excellent photo essay on the Coffee Shop Architecture that was common in California from the 1950s though the nineties.

From the dust flap:

The euphoria about the future that followed World War II permeated the outlooks of architects, who, influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and with ready access to remarkable new construction material and building techniques spawned by the war technologies, faced the intriguing prospect of redesigning the post war world. Initially the futuristic designs were outrageous, and the only clients willing to risk such nontraditional structures were small commercial establishments focused on the emerging car culture who were unafraid to cast their lots with the controversial new images. The metal-framed angular designs, employing lavish use of glass, natural (and unnatural) stone, tile, and integrated lanscaping became a catchet for the prliferating coffee shops and drive-in restaurants of the 1950s. Detractors labeled these structures the Googie School of Architecture after a particularly outlandish coffee shop in Los Angeles. Googie would seem far from outlandish today as those once controversial design elements have become commonplace in both commercial and residential architecture. Author Alan Hess traces the evolution of these early post war designs in a lively yet learned essay profusely illustrated with both color and black-and-white photography. Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture is a nostalgic trip back to the Fifties and a look forward at the architectural future.