A whimsical subcategory of mid-century design, known as 'Googie' architecture, was as integral to the Southern California architecture scene as any modernist homes designed by Schindler, Neutra or the Eameses. This is because Googie architecture was the design of choice   for coffee shops, delis and other public architecture patronized by local and tourist alike. 

Helen Liu Fong, a Chinese-American taught at UC Berkeley's school of architecture, was an indispensable member of the design movement during the middle of the 20th century. "In 1949," according to Curbed LA, "she fulfilled her childhood dream, earning a degree in city planning from the architecture school at Berkeley." 

A few years later, after a long stint as a secretary, the architects Armet and Davis, known for producing Googie architecture throughout Southern California at the time, hired the young architect to work on The Clock Restaurant in Westchester, California. "Fong soon proved a master of practical yet fanciful touches, insisting the structure feature “strong colors, such as reds, because they would register from the roadside.” Perhaps her most famous project continues to be Norm's Restaurant, a classic example of Googie architecture, completed in 1957 on La Cienega.

"Fong was determined to make every detail at her coffee shops fun and functional. “It needed to be inviting,” she told the Los Angeles Times, “that’s why the glass doors are important. Because when you approached, you were outside, but you were almost in.” Once in, you would encounter booths, barstools, counter and chairs—all designed by Fong herself."