The Eames Case Study House (#8)

The Eames House, Case Study House #8, Pacific Palisades, CA.

A little trip outside of Orange County for something really special. These designers created a world of geometry and science in art which planted the seeds for Googie. The Eames' are my everything, and it was something magical to visit their home and studio in Pacific Palisades. Please enjoy.












The Eames house was built in 1949 in about three days, by hand, with off-the-shelf steel parts. Originally designed in 1946 with Eero Saarinen, the layout was rearranged to accomodate the beautiful meadow that the real estate contained. The house was instead nestled in the corner within the meadow. The Eames' occupied the house until their deaths.

Having watched all the Eames' films available on dvd, I was wowed to see little details inside the house that I had seen in House: After 5 Years of Living and other Eames' films. I would have taken photos, but it was asked that I only take photos of the exterior (although you can see the beautiful staircase in one of the photos, through the open doorway).

The Eames' House is open year-round for exterior-only tours, although the curtains and doors are open to be able to look inside. The home is still filled with Eames furniture, from the fiberglass molded chairs to the lounge chair.

I even convinced my boyfriend how great the Eames are. He's dying for an armchair, trying to get me to buy one for him-- sure, when I have a spare $5000! (Herman Miller still manufactures them).

Ye Barber

Ye Barber, Anaheim, CA.

Same shopping center as the La Palma Chicken Pie Shop, a great old sign. According to Roadside Peek [link], the sign was brought over by the owners from Vietnam when they moved to Anaheim.

Ye Barbers
930 N. Euclid St.
Anaheim, CA 92801

Chappy's Liquor

Chappy's Liquor, Anaheim, CA.


Right next to "Tomy's Drive-In" on Chapman, another great sign for a liquor store.

Chappy's Liquor
9682 Chapman Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92841

Satellite Center

Satellite Center, Anaheim, CA.


Although nowdays it's the standard for Googie architecture to be removed for the "greater good" of the community and "progress," sometimes there sign regulations can manifest a snarky little jibe at the city council, too. Case-in-point, the Satellite Market in Anaheim. Located right off the 5 freeway at Katella, the glowing metal sputnik that used to grace the top of their sign was claimed by progress in 1999, when the city began revamping the Anaheim Resort area to prepare for all the revenue that Disney's now-failed California Adventure park would pull in, and also for widening of the I-5 freeway.

But, the clever shop owners at the Satellite couldn't just let their beloved sputnik be dismantled completely. Instead, they threw a big "F you!" to the establishment, putting a vector-based image of the same sign on their new, city-mandated sign, identical in shape and size to every other sign on the street.

The sign was apparently saved by a fan and was stored in a backyard in Pasadena, according to anaheimcolony.com [link] The American Sign Museum in Ohio now has the Satellite sign as a part of its permanent collection. [link]

An homage to the Satellite Shopland's sputnik of the past:


In a way, Googie's shopowners can preserve a shell on their history. At Satellite Shopland, still a good old-fashioned market, they have done just that.

South Side Market

South Side Market, Orange, CA.


I drive past this place at least four days a week, since I go to school at Chapman University. Noticed earlier this week that the $0.99 video rental sign was scrubbed off the windows, and pulled up earlier this week to snap a picture of the sign, just in case...

Turns out that I might have had a good idea. Things maybe aren't lookin' so good for South Side Market.


South Side Market
391 S Glassell St.
Orange, CA 92866

Chris & Pitts BAR-B-Q

Chris & Pitts BAR-B-Q, Anaheim, CA.



That sign sparkled with a million tiny lights when I drove past it. At 2 in the afternoon. Love the font on the "cocktails" parts of the sign-- reminds me of my favorite kinds of motels. Building's not so exciting, but it has a fun sign too.

Chris & Pitts of Anaheim
601 N Euclid St
Anaheim, CA 92801
(714) 635-2601