The Atomic Age Influence: Googie Architecture in Georgia

Rural Georgia is a long way from LA physically and culturally.  That’s why I had to stop and turn around in order to be sure what I had seen was the real deal, and it was!

Valene Bennett, President of the Alma Exchange Bank was influenced by the “Googie” style of architecture when he visited the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York.  The style was emblematic of the atomic age, evoking space ships and Jetsons mid-Century push-button modernity.  As of late 2023, the architect of the building is unknown. 

There was a second, similarly designed branch of the bank in Sylvester, GA which has been demolished.  Fortunately, this building was restored in 2020 by Paul and Lawrence Bennett, who had accompanied their father on that trip to the New York World’s Fair.  The Bennett Brothers manage the Pinelands Bank, successor to the Alma Exchange Bank.