When I was at the Mod Weekend event last weekend in Fort Lauderdale, I was talking with other fans of vintage modern and thought it would be great to document these places on a map so other people can find them easily. I have taken out of town guests on tours myself a few times. The map would allow people to guide themselves.

I came home and have explored the idea. The first effort is HERE. Vintage Knoxville. I started it tying it into my website pages, but am expanding to add various cool spots.

If you’d like to help with the project, drop me a line. Do this for your own city! It is not hard, just takes time.

Now if there was a mobile app for this to drop a pin on the map as we drive, that would be super!

Just a bump so you know I finally added images of this fantastic Lustron home here in Knoxville.

 

Mai-Kai: History, Mystery and Adventure

 In 1933, Don Beach’s place was one of many thousands of bars that opened the day after Prohibition ended. No one knew then that his bar would invent a whole new genre and be copied across the globe for the next 30+ years. “Don the Beachcombers” set the bar by which not just restaurants were judged, but cocktails especially. It was the dawn of the cocktail era, and Don Beach was the undisputed king of tropical mixology. In an era of cocktails of 2 or 3 ingredients, his secret recipes were mixed with 2 or 3 rums and 8 more ingredients to create drinks like the world had never seen before or since.

 In 1956, the brothers Bob and Jack Thornton of Chicago set out to open their own Polynesian restaurant. These brash young men were well versed in the ways and tastes of “Don the Beachcombers” as well as his imitators Trader Vic and Steve Crane’s “Kon Tiki” restaurants. Their ideas would far surpass those from whom they drew inspiration. When they teamed up with Robert Van Dorpe, the inside man at Don’s place in Chicago, they got an ally that went beyond their imagination. With his help, they not only hired away a top chef and bartender from Don’s, but also got the source for all the glassware, artwork, kitchen equipment and most importantly, secret ingredients to make those world famous cocktails. When the Mai-Kai opened in late 1956, at a cost $350,000, it was the most perfect copy of Don’s plan imaginable, but taken to new heights.

 The Mai-Kai quickly outshined its predecessor. The Mai-Kai earned all the prestigious awards like Don the Beachcomber, but also became the biggest seller of rum in the nation. It was the haunt of celebrities such as Johnny Carson and Jackie Gleason. The Mystery Girl – a Mai-Kai invention – made her way onto Johnny’s “Tonight Show,” twice!

 In 1989, both Don Beach and Robert Thornton, who bought his brother Jack’s portion in 1970, passed away. In Don’s case, the last of his restaurant empire closed soon afterward. The Polynesian Pop era was all but gone. In the next 2 decades, almost nothing survived except the Mai-Kai. By the year 2000, there were only two places on earth to get Don’s “Rum Rhapsodies” made the way he created them, and only the Mai-Kai still had the grandeur of Don’s golden days.

 Today, the craft cocktail is coming back. Those in search of great concoctions are returning to the master Don Beach and finding nothing to compare. They are in awe of his ability to make deep, balanced, incredible masterpieces of rum and flavorings. And they are returning to the cocktail Mecca that is Mai-Kai. There they can taste the drinks as they should be, and served in the specialty glasses with ice shells or fresh pineapples and seasonal coconuts. In the Mai-Kai, it is as if Don and the Thorntons never left. Carefully made, complex drinks are served with wonderful food and the utmost gracious service. All this is done in the most reverie inducing environment on earth.

 It is time travel.

 On Saturday March 16^th, Mai-Kai historian Tim “Swanky” Glazner will give a presentation on the people and stories of this great place. The very people of the Mai-Kai who witnessed and made 55 years of its history will be on hand for a Mai-Kai Family Reunion.

  The Molokai will open at 2PM for the event with Happy Hour and my presentation will be at 3PM.

It will also be a reunion of the Mai-Kai veterans, the living history of the greatest Tiki Temple on earth. Last year we had Molokai girls, perfomers, Maitre d’s and others who had worked there as long ago as the 50s.

Please join us for a greater understanding of the Mai-Kai’s place in Polynesian Pop history and an appreciation of the 80 year legacy they represent. This is your chance to hear the stories first hand.

Facebook event

Also check out Mod Weekend occuring that weekend as well. I will be giving a guided tour of the Mai-Kai Sunday moring as part of that event.

 Now online is the fantastic 1969 Mai-Kai calendar. This one features sisters Leila and Andree and their cousin Liva.

HERE

The event will be March 15 – 17th and is centered around the Modern design of the Fort Lauderdale area. One of the architects celebrated will be Charles McKirahan. Besides designing several Modern buildings in the area of the event near A1A, he also worked with Bob and Jack Thornton to design the modern primitive Mai-Kai in 1956.

As part of the activities there will be a double-decker bus tour of buildings and the first stop is the Mai-Kai. I will act as docent and lead a tour, highlighting the design elements and designers who left their imprint upon the place and the genre.

I hope you can join us!

Another addition to Knoxville Then and Now is the Redmon Court. Not exactly confident I found it. You decide.

Redmon Court

 

A New Year’s resolution was to add more to the Swank Pad, and so we have an addition to Knoxville Then and Now!

This is the Ridgeview Motel in Clinton. See the place now at the site:

Ridgeview Motel.

 

As a public service, let me bring to your attention the fact that the year 2013 is exactly the same as the year 1963. So you can re-use that 1963 calendar this year, and you can print out the 1963 Mai-Kai calendar for this purpose from my site!

For this year I included the calendar pages.

See it HERE.

p.s. You can also use the 1974 calendar this year, but that actual calendar part is not on the site.

 In 2002 when we were planning the first Hukilau and thinking about a second, Dante’s was a location we greatly wanted to include. It is a really unimaginable themed restaurant in Atlanta’s Buckhead area. An 19th  century ship is inside and you can dine on various levels in it, and around it is an entire port village. It was a yearly pilgramage we made, just to have a cocktail at the bar to start the evening or end it.

It appears the development of Buckhead, a very treandy area, has meant a huge increase in their property taxes. Started in 1970, this is about to be their end.

Find a way to go see this place while you can. There is no set closing date yet. And when you are there, wander around outside as well, including the garages under and behind the building. Even the bathrooms are interesting.

HERE is the news.

HERE is their website

I was proud to share some of my Mai-Kai research at the Mai-Kai during Hukilau this year. My presentation went over well and several said it brought tears to their eyes. A good sign. There were a dozen or so Mai-Kai veterans there who gave me lots of info to move forward with. And after my talk, I was interviewed for an NPR piece. If you have not heard it, then here it is: Mai-Kai and Hukilau on NPR.

 On April 20th, I will give a much updated version of my Mai-Kai history presentation as part of Hukilau. I have many more stories and images and long lost videos than when I was at Oasis, plus, I will have many of the people whose stories I am telling, right there in the room with me!

I am really looking forward to this once in a lifetime event. I hope you will join me as I share the tales that will greatly deepen your appreciation of the Tiki Mecca.

Come meet the man who invented the Mystery Drink, see the Mystery Girl on the Tonight Show, hear how the Mai-Kai was able to recreate Don the Beachcomber’s recipes so perfectly, and how so many incredible people are linked to this incredible place.

Tickets at The Hukilau

 In researching the Mai-Kai’s history, I come across a lot of things that I am not sure will ever make it into a book, or a lecture or anywhere besides me and my wife. This weekend, with spare time due to the holidays, I did some digging. I have an October/November 1965 “Happy Talk”, a news magazine published by the Mai-Kai, and it is full of great stuff. The cover announces that Mariterangi will begin performing in the Molokai soon. I had not heard that name come up before, so I searched for the story of her life. There is not much.

There is a ton of her music online. I found Dub DJs with her in their list of music to mix. She, like many of the performers at the Mai-Kai, was from Tahiti, born in 1926. The fast tempo of the Tahitian drums is a draw for creating a live show I am sure. Toti was the lead there. Mireille was the choreographer and dancer from Tahiti. They likely knew of Marie and when she landed on the mainland of the US, they worked to recruit her. Marie came to the US via Hawaii, like many of the island performers, and created her own troupe. She started at the Bora Bora in San Francisco in 1960. That location became a Skipper Kent’s in the late 60′s after the owner was shot by his wife. Few even knew it was ever anything else. It stayed a Skipper’s into the 80s.

There were local island natives who would come to the Mai-Kai and as the evening came around, they got out their guitars and began to play and sing the songs of their homelands. It was simply a natural thing and it was enjoyed by the snowbirds as well. The Mai-Kai recognized the beauty of it and made this a standard practice there. Marie may have been the first formal player in the Molokai.

Sadly, Marie passed away of cancer in 1971. She was honored in her homeland, along with her sister Emma with a stamp. Her music lives on forever. Her voice is so full of emotion. If you can find her “Tahiti Nui”, it is a classic.

And today, the tradition lives on. It may be Mua and his guitar or any number of other musicians playing in the Molokai. Singing the songs of the islands…

This icon on Kingston Pike, which dated back to the 1930s at least, and which seemed to deny time by still standing in a location that was heavily commercialized all around, is no more.

Those who went to Opal’s Lounge were right next to it and there were many mysteries in the old courtyard. An older man lived there and came by to say hello to Opal regulalrly. There was a GTO Judge in there somewhere. I hope someone got the old sign… Wish it were me…

In an effort to turn blog posts to web pages, I have started with the Mai-Kai calendars. This also gives me a chance to share a bit of history along the way.

If you are interested in helping with this project, please email me. I do not have every calendar.

Mai-Kai Calendar Girls

Check back for updates!

Or maybe this is the all Dusty Cajun hour! Try looking through these for some OG Tiki Central feelings:

Mah Jong, Syosett, Long Island, NY
The Tahitian, Pasadena, CA

Ports O Call, Dallas

Tropics Motor Hotel, Seattle, WA

I have been a huge fan of the Mai-Kai since I saw it for the first time when organizing Hukilau 2003. Since then I have collected all the mugs, stories, postcards and memories I can.

I have interviewed the founders of this legendary place, along with the varied people who have worked there as performers, servers, mixologists and owners. And I have heard the many tales of those who took their first drink there and patronized it for decades.

For Tiki Oasis 2011, I am bringing the story of this great place to everyone. You’ll find out how the Mystery Drink was invented, and who was the first legendary girl auditioned for the job. Learn how the Thornton brothers used the best parts of Don the Beachcomber’s and added to it to make the grandest Tiki Palace in existence. See amazing images and never before seen vintage video and get the chance to receive the Mystery Ceremony done by former Mai-Kai performer Marina!

Get your tickets via the Tiki Oasis website and join me for a fantastic trip through 60 years of Tiki history!

If you are heading to Fort Lauderdale for Hukilau next week, you might want to take a little side trip as you drive to the Mai-Kai and see other places designed by Mid-Century master Charles McKirahan. McKirahan worked with the Thornton brothers to design the stunning A-frame of the the original Mai-Kai, and also has many surviving grand designs in the area. A couple of side turns as you go will give you the chance to see these great buildings.

• Premiere Hotel – Just off A1A as you go to the Mai-Kai.
• Sea Chateau, now the Alcazar Resort - Now a gay resort.
• Manhattan Tower – Great neon, so check it at night. Near the Premiere and on your way to teh Mai-Kai
• Birch Towers - Now condos along the way to the Mai-Kai
• Birch House -  Also on the way
• The Jolly Roger - now the Ramada Sea Club – On the left as you go
• Coral Ridge Yatch Club - Just past Sunrise on your way
• Coral Ridge Country Club
• Breakwaters Towers - As you come in from the airport
• Ocean Manor - Further up the coast
• Maybury Mansions - Further north

As you can see (if you looked) if you turn in around Bayshore Drive before you get to Sunset, and just cruise around those streets, you’ll see lots of great mid-century places. This area was home to the first Hukilau in 2003, but we outgrew the Holiday Inn very quickly!

Some images by Agilitynut

History and preservation site to browse: HERE

I just got this postcard of the Myrtle Beach Hawaiian Village. Great to see the exterior and another interior shot. The front is classic A-frame with Witco onthe doors.

Another view of the Witco Tiki in the center. Check out the funky round lights on the tables.

Previously on the Swank Pad Blather: Post 1 and Post 2

We recently sold our 1968 Serro Scotty “canned ham” 15 foot camper for something with more room and amenities. We got a 1964 Avion 24 foot Holiday. Great vintage style. We look forward to making our own and bringing it back to a classic, vintage modern look. Click the above image for the brochure featuring our camper and the whole Avion line.

Not much to add to this. Please click the article and read for the exact heaping praise this great magazine put upon the Mai-Kai. And try this very elusive recipe for the Moonkist Coconut. One of very few of Mariano’s recipes that have been made public.

Long live Mai-Kai and the Mystery Girl!

Elvis was huge in Hawaii, but I guess that crossed on over to Samoa and Mr. Fatu got the bug.

I don’t know much about what is going on here, so I will leave off with comments. I will note that the track names are as they were printed on the LP.

Hawaiian Inn pics, history and commentary HERE and more HERE

There is something distinctly sleazy about Mr. Cannova. His picture is bigger than Fatu’s and he doesn’t really have a role here that we can be sure of…

Download it here 

This image is from the June 1959 issue of Esquire magazine. It says:

“The fabulous mixologist Mariano Licudine of the famed Mai-Kai Restaurant in Florida creates new ways with rum in his Derby Daiquiri. The secret: one ounce of fresh orange juice, one half ounce of fresh lime juice, one scant teaspoon of sugar, one andone half ounces of Puerto Rican white label rum, one cup of crushed ice; mix in a blender for 10 seconds or shake vigorously. The bee? Oh, he’s just buzzy. But this, designated the oficial drink of the Florida Derby, is the DERBY DAIQUIRI.”

This date seems to have confused people into thinking this was named the official drink of the Derby in 1959. The Derby Daiquiri has been on the Mai-Kai drink menu since the earliest printings. And it has always been pictured served in the special Jockey glass. So, I would assume it has been the drink of the Derby since 1957 at least, which is the copyright date on the oldest menus I have seen.

Here is Mai-Kai owner Bob Thornton holding the drink with the original coaster.

Here is my glass with the coaster.

UPDATE 8/10/2011:  After extensive research, though the Derby Daiquiri was on the first Mai-Kai menu, it did not become the official drink of the Gulfstream Derby until probably 1959.

Yes, that’s right, it’s a bear with topless island girls, having a cocktail. Oh, and an old miner too. That’s from the drink menu for a very unique Tiki bar in Alaska. Right, Alaska. This great menu is obviously a perversion parody or the classic Trader Vic’s menu. In one image, that bear is doing something with an Alaskan native totem pole. For a moment I wondered if this wasn’t pre-Tiki, as the only Tiki cocktail on the menu was Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie. But then, duh! It’s the Trader’s menu! So, maybe it is mid to late 30′s. Very low prices and few classic cocktails as we knew them.

There is a great thread on Tiki Central that details the quest for this place and what might remain of it. Pictures unearthed by Unga Bunga and Taboo Dan:

James Teitelbaum was on his way to try to find what remained of the place, but, it turns out, most everything there was destroyed by an earthquake in 1964. Bummer.

More ripped live Hapa Haole vinyl. I had recorded this record in 2007, but just recorded it again. It appears to be from the 70s. Looks like the dying end of the Tiki Epoch. Everyone in the images is elderly. The show was recorded in the Malia Polynesian Room in Asbury Park, NJ. I find no internet record of this place existing.

Sad, as Sam Makia made one of my all time favorite records. Take it as you will.

Download it here.

I have narrowed my collecting over the years, mainly due to the fact that I could quickly run out of space. Now that the Hideaway is in operation, I limited it even more.

One of the few things I do collect now are items from the Hawaii Kai, NYC. In the last few months, my very favorite recordings have become the live recordings from various island and Tiki establishments. Nothing is better than the sound of forks on plates in the background!

So when I came across this LP I thought I had hit a home run. However, I was more than a little disappointed to find out that it was a studio recording.

Here it is for you to download. If some expert out there can tell me what is causing the high end distortionin my recordings I’d appreciate it. My guess is the needle on the turntable. It is not a problem with recording levels, etc. It is at the source.

Download it here.

Lots of info on the Hawaii Kai here

Related post on the Goddess of Love mug

And the girls of the Hawaii Kai menu

 

Back in 2001, I made Swank Vinyl Exotica I to sell at the first Hukilau. It turns out that was the only money made on the first Hukilau! I made a second and sold them both on my website.

I just didn’t feel like putting in the time to make the CDs anymore and they ended.

I decided to resurrect them and share them now. I do not swear by the quality of these recordings, only their mood, which at those times, they reflected.

So, download and enjoy!

The Ice Shell is one of those lost arts, or perhaps, lost little extras, that went away when cheap labor did. I know of only one place I can get a cocktail in an ice shell and that is the venerable Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, FL. If you are lucky, you’ll get your Shark Bite served in one.

I was sure to ask General Manager Kern Mattei just how one made this magical wonder on one of my first trips. Here I am 7 years later actually doing it.

Why did it take me so long? I needed the right glass. And I have not searched for it continually. Today Ms Swanky thought to look while we were at a Goodwill and we lucked upon a few perfect glasses.

The right glass must be round and have a short edge. That is, it can’t come up too far or you can’t make it work.

To make mine I used my go-to fine ice crusher, the Oster Sno-Flake. It makes good fine crushed ice and is detachable from its base so you can put it over an ice bicket and crush up tons at a time. Available for cheap on Ebay and your local antique dealer.

So now you have the proper glass and the fine crushed ice, using the back of a spoon, press the ice into a shallow shell around the inside of the glass. Keep building it up on the edges until the inside of the entire glass is covered. Put the glass in the freezer.

After it has time to freeze solid, take it out and go to the final step. I am not sure how the professionals do it. Maybe you can just let it cool on the counter for a while, but I heated the glass with my hands. You need a little warming to get the ice to seperate from the glass. A little push will tell you when it is ready. Too much and you will destroy your work.

Once the ice shell is loose from the glass, you push down one edge and back fill more ice with the spoon to get the glass covered again. Then put it back in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

After a few, it gets easier and yoru final product better. Back in th eearly days, there were many drinks served with ice sculpture and they had guys back there making the special sculptures all night long. I can count over a dozen with ice sculptures on the vintage Mai-Kai menu.

UPDATE: A small bit of advice to make it all easier. Crush your ice, but let it sit a little while. You want it to be melting a little. “Wet” ice, like wet snow will pack much better and when you freeze it, it will make a stronger block.

I suggest the “Shark Tooth” from Beachbum Berry’s “Grog Log”. It will also likely be in his new book coming out soon, Re-Mixed. Or join me at this little event I started called Hukilau in June and we’ll try one at the Mai-Kai.

If you make one of these, be sure to thank the Mai-Kai for keeping the knowledge alive.

The greatest Tiki Supper Club can use your help. And it only takes a couple of minutes.

In this economy, things are tough for a business that depends on tourists. And the new owner, Dave Levy has also invested a ton of money in renovating the Mai Kai in the last year.

So, spend a couple of minutes adding your glowing reviews to these online travel pages to counter the many stupid reviews of people who are clueless. Help keep the Mai Kai around for your kids and their kids to go and marvel. Hell, do it so you can go and marvel!

Yahoo Travel

Yelp

Trip Advisor

These are the top review sites when searching for the Mai Kai. And while there, be sure to look up your other favorites and give them good reviews too. They need more people who don’t complain about them being too dark or expensive to chime in!

Pia has wanted an updated site since the day I met her in 2003. It’s finally here. It is so nice! I hope it brings even more people into the happiest place on earth! Thanks Bill fo rmaking it happen!

Mai Kai – The Best

We had the pleasure of visiting with the owners of the Robert Daniel house here in Knoxville. The house was designed and built by James Fitzgibbon in 1950. I won’t bore you too much with words. The house is incredible. The owners say they regulalrly find architects at their door dropping by to see Fitzgibbon’s master work. Often they are old friends of his.

The rock is all local from the Candora Marble company, which supplied a lot of what you seein Washington DC.

The lucite triangle coming out of the roof is where a tree used to grow.

Upper deck area that used to be a childrens play area.

Above to the left is where the master bedroom is.

Through the bookcase you can see the step down to a study. Bedroom above.

Looks out to a gardwn and fountain area.

You’d think that after searching for 6 years for all things Mai Kai I would have seen every postcard there was. No. This one appeared on Ebay a few weeks ago. More things to try to find!

I got a request for this, so I am putting it out there again. I have not listened to this in maybe 6 years, so, no guess about the sound quality.

Download here

I don’t often post links to blogs on my blog, but, after this wasn’t posted on any other major blogs, I felt I owed it to all of you to share what may be one of the singularly best posts in all the freaky world. It made me weep.

I have long been a fan of the Secret Fun Spot, but this post alone will make you all bow down in adoration of his mystical powers for fishing out the vintage oddity of our great nation.

 

BEHOLD!

This little station was in a movie filmed in Knoxville. Anyone recall what movie? October Sky or Box of Moonlight? In the movie, I recall there were like 20 Highway direction signs in front of it.

Great vinatge lines.

A phone? I forgot to see if it had a dial tone.

These lights must have shined on a lot of classic cars getting gas…

Looks liek a very Deco design on this sign on Central.

I think this sign is still doing it’s groovy flashing thing at night. I need to go get some movies of the good stuff soon.

Another card to add to the original post and now website of Mai Kai postcards.

This is the famous large Barney West at the south end of the Mai Kai. It stands there to this day. But today the highway has encroached to the point that this guy is right on the edge.

Okay, is it Terminal Garage Inc. or Service Auto Parts, or what? 24 Hour Service and AAA for sure. On Central near the Bell South Building.

Lusk Body Co. refurbished their sign I think. Great sign regardless. Happy Hollow, well, holler, is an infamous area of Knoxville and is rapidly gentrifying. I am trying to document some of it’s “glory” before it is gone.

Star Sales has just all kinds of stuff. But the sign is an icon.

You can see the neon of this sign from all over Knoxville. There are concentric neon stars that make the star “grow”. Love it!

Knox Glass sign on Central. Looks like it could have gas tiki torches.

I’m not sure what this says about me, but a few months ago, this sign was un-retouched and showed it’s 50 plus years of service and I loved it. Now it has been refurbished, and, I’m not so thrilled. Sick?

I’ve had a couple of converible tops replaced by these guys.

Just a great old building and sign.

UPDATE: As luck would have it, I busted the back window out of my convertible top yesterday while unloading wood for bar construction. I called Lonnie’s immediately and the number was disconnected. Drove by to see a closed sign and the place cleaned out…

I spent most of the last week on the couch with a nasty cold. It gave me time to look around You Tube and find some videos I want to share. If you have some time to watch. The first video of Lani McIntyre I think might be shot at the Hawaiian Room in the Hotel Lexington and just maybe the lead dancer is none other than Pualani Avon who danced for us at the Mai Kai for Hukilau 2004. This is a playlist, so you can skip to other videos by mousing over the bottom of the screen.

  

Just when you think you know what’s out there, something else comes along. Until about a month ago, I had never seen this menu. It is the “missing link” in a way. Oddly missing from the Mai Kai drink menu that we all have seen that is dated 1957, is the Mystery Drink. That led to wondering if the Mystery Drink was around in 1956 when they opened. This is perhaps the answer. On this menu, dated 1959, is the Mystery Drink. There was a seperate menu for the Molokai and that’s where the drink was ordered. It is dated 1959 and not 1957. We had this dated menu from 1958, so, this menu doesn’t get us closer to 1957 for the Mystery Drink, just firms up the evidence. One interesting thing from the mini menu is the image of the Mystery Drink. It is the kneeling girl bowl that was common among many bars.

That bowl is seen in this image from the Mai Kai which is surely Annie Campbell:

So, perhaps the Mystery Drink started in 1956 when the Mai Kai opened, and the Mai Kai Mystery Bowl appeared a little later…

There’s always something new out there. This looks like a card that I already have, but it is not. I am anxiously awaiting a card I have never seen, and none of you have ever seen from Annie Campbell. Not sure exactly what it is. You’ll see soon.

 

I previously posted about the Okole Maluna Club at the Mai Kai. At Hukilau, Kern Mattei, GM of the Mai Kai blessed me with this bit of ephemera. The membership card for the Okole Maluna Society. Awesome! I just can’t decide if I should put my name on it and make myself a mixologist! I should have had Kern do it.

A little NSFW image for you. Ukukeles, leis…

More Mai Kai goodness pre-Hukilau

Just got this card to add to the Vintage Server Girls thread on Tiki Central.

 

 

 

 

This gal is clearly none too happy to see her man getting lei’d…

 

 

 

 

In the UK they broke the rules and had blonde servers!

 

 

 

 

And the freaks have tikis with boobs!

I was talking to an old friend today about Hukilau and the Mai Kai and suggested that if he had the chance, he should visit Trader Vic’s Atlanta. His response surprised me. He told me he had been there, with me! We took a road trip to Atlanta in 1996 which I recall. We had a heckuva good time. I recall stumbling upon the Clairmont Lounge, etc. But he tells me our first stop was Trader Vic’s. I have no memory. First I recall being there was around 2001. Weird.

The one great thing I credit myself with in the whole Hukilau event, is being able to promote and in some ways really help make the Mai Kai more well known and popular. We all love the place, but I love the people that run it. They are the best. The staff as well. Mai Kai.

I noticed there was not a good set of images of this magazine article on the web, so I thought I’d scan it and put it out there for everyone.

 

 

 

 

Considering all the images of this Barrel of Rum mug, you’d think they would be around, but I have seen this mug on Ebay once in maybe 5 years.
 

 

 

 

Is that me in that aloha shirt? Maybe at Hukilau?

 

 

 

 

Bob and Jack Thornton

 

Bob pours the Coffee Grog.

  

I have been lusting after wanting this postcard for a long time. It’s finally mine. Why do I want it?

Could be this guy, waiting and watching on the diving board.

Could be these mafia guys, planning something harsh.

Could be this gal, smiling, cocktail in hand with the awesome hairdo.

Could be this red hot mama. But…

Really it’s just the whole damn card!

  

 

A few more of the commercial slides. You can see a big difference in color in some of these as they had become very red with age. Photoshop corrected them a lot, but they are not quite right.

  

 

Okay, a few more. These are from a batch of commercial slides for the tourists.

Thought I’d share some of my vintage slides. Been a while.

 

 

 

 

Sven and Sabu give us a nerdrific lesson in the history of two tikis at the Caliente Tropics.

Da Bum. Great Story. great to have this exposure!

Aloha John has been keeping his eye on the remains of a local San Bernardino Poly Pop establishment, Trader Island for a long time. He made a deal to own this outrigger lamp, and then the place was sold and became a sports bar. Head over to TC and read the full story.

Tuai is Miss December 1973 in the 1974 calendar. A bonus!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!

Something very modern looking about Kelli, Miss December 1974.


Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!

Pamela is Miss November 1974. I think this is what is now the gift shop.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!

Karen is Miss October 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!

Liva is shakin it for September 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Patti is Miss August 1974. This is the lovely lady’s room at the Mai Kai. Mmmm. That hair just gets me. That’s not your typical 1974 style.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Susan is Miss July 1974,

“When the gong sounds, the ritual begins. There’s a hush throughout the room. What follows is something very special. Between you, your soul and the Mystery Girl.”

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Diane is Miss June 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Um, Miss May 1974 is Linda, and there appears to be flames coming out of her… Hot!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Kainoa is Miss April 1974. We had the pleasure of Kainoa dancing in the opening ceremony for Hukilau 2004. An incredible lady. She dances with my good friend Talani’s Polynesian Proud Productions in South Florida.

Another drawing of the garden dining area.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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I had come across this cover many years ago, and this week, I finally found the magazine. As best as I can tell, it is from 1966. Maybe a bit racier than Playboy at the time and just full of pictures of girls. The tiki and the bar are apparantly owned by the same photographer who did this spread for Nylon Jungle magazine. The rest of the images in the magazine are NSFW, so, you click on the below links as you wish.

Buff Treasure - on Pleasure Island – Rare, indeed, is the day that a ship calls at the island of Secluda, so this lovely native celebrates the event.

The Phallocrypt

Page 3 - She’s asking the fire god who rules over the island to provide them with rainless weather so that the passengers and crew on board the ship can come ashore to sample the island’s hospitality. The native food is delicious, the dances are delights to behold and the people are friendly children. “Pleasure Island,” it’s been called, and with good reason. With luck, perhaps some day your ship will call at this pearl of the Pacific!

Page 4

Center Fold

It’s probably a good idea that the outrigger isn’t there now. I can definitely see Crazy Al rowing out to the waterfall at Hukilau…
Linda is Miss March 1974.



A drawing of the dining area in the gardens.


Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Candi is Miss February. Now that’s sexy, I don’t care who you are.

A nice drawing of the show at the Mai Kai.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Mireille is Miss January 1974 on stage at the Mai Kai.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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When your 1974 Mai Kai calendar arrived, this was the image that greeted you on the envelope. Nice.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Gail brings up the rear as the last image for 1967.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Liva is Miss December 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Sandra is Miss November 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ellen is Miss October 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Joan is Miss September 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Betty is Miss August 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Deanna is Miss July 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Mireille is Miss June 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Leila is Miss May 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Carol is Miss April 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Andree is Miss March 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Gigi is Miss February 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Patti is Miss January 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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This starts the 1967 Mai Kai calendar. This is a front image:

Lorie is our front girl for 1967

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Charmaine is Miss December 1963.

For the end of this calendar year of 1963, we have this Extra. Were the first letters of that poem meant to mean anything?

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ellen is Miss November 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Many years ago at the World’s Longest Yardsale, an empty bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum turned up. Sven Kirsten said he has a display that held the bottle and was looking for a one to put in it. That put me on a search.

At the Tiki Ti you may have seen this. It’s an “adapted” display. A few years ago I happened upon the display in mint condition. Now I was in the spot Sven was. Until last week…

Behold the Leilani Hawaiian Rum display, with a vintage, unopened bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum!

Yes, that state tax seal is intact. Beach Bum Berry ranks it as one of his favorite white rums. I have tasted it via a few airline sized bottles over the years. I think I will keep this seal unbroken for a long time. I love having this perfect display in the bar!

Jean is Miss October 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Sallye is Miss September 1963. Look at that awesome material her costume is made of!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Diane is Miss August 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Hmmm, there’s just something about Jean, Miss July 1963 that I really love. Not sure what…

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Lita, the Oriental Mystery Girl is Miss June 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Nice Rarotangan tiki there Andre! Miss May 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mimi is Miss April 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Miss March is Mireille, better known these days as Mrs. Thornton, owner of the Mai Kai. I love this image. Very fun, and I love to see the cannibal tiki trio over her shoulder!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ah the Mystery Girl, Dondi. Dig that bowl! Miss February 1963

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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I meant to share these in chronological order, but somehow I messed up. So, now we start the 1963 Mai Kai calendar.

Donna is Miss January 1963. That Old Black Magic has had me in its spell many times…

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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A nice illustration of the Mai Kai in 1964

The legendary Mireille Thornton on the back cover.

This ends the 1964 calendar. These early 60s ones are very rare.
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Barbara is Miss December 1964
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Dee is Miss November 1964
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Sizou is Miss October 1964
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Joann is Miss September 1964

An illustration of the bar in 1964 with the portrait of Bob Thornton drawn in there.

Fixed the images on yesterday’s vintage hula cheesecake post.
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I am proud that I was able to contribute images for the “Sexy Tiki” portion of Sven’s newest book, “Tiki Modern“. I just got a bit of new naughty hula stuff to share.

From the January 1963 we have a surprisingly long pictorial of a Hawaiian festival. We see the fantasy unfold. The images are NSFW: not safe for work.

      
We see the natives get restless, then our blonde “private secretary” cuts loose!

Note the tan line on her that is 6 inches above her belly button.

Idola is Miss August 1964
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Sandi is Miss July 1964
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 I picked up this record on my trip to Tiki Eyeball. I have been dying to hear it since May. The cover is just classic. I am not sure where this Sheraton is in Fort Lauderdale. I thought it was where the Hukilau is hosted, but, that’s definitely a different building. But she does mention the Yankee Clipper on the record. Is this the building across from the ocean?

I have uploaded a nice big image of the back for your reading pleasure. I especially like that it is signed and Chise adds “I’m made in Japan.”

This week, after moving in to the new house a few months ago, I finally got the stereo hooked up and connected to the computer. This record was the first to be ripped.

The record doesn’t blow me away, but I sure wish I could have seen these guys. It really makes me wish for such a show. Arnie plays a mean guitar and Chise squeals with delite all through the show.

I uploaded the file HERE. One side at a time, just as it should be.

p.s. I just noticed a strange hiccup in my rip. Whether its my sound card or a conflict in the computer or what, I have no idea. Gotta get a new computer some day…

Kawana is Miss june 1964. This is one of the large tikis that used to be in front of the restaurant.

Here it is in a postcard. This tiki was stolen in the night long ago…

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Sallye is Miss May 1964 – Shout out to Pablus and the Crazed Mugs who played the Molokai Lounge last night. I wish I could have been there. Can’t wait to see him in the round at the Aku Tiki Room in Kewaunee Illinois at next year’s Tiki Eyeball.

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Yvonne is Miss April 1964

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Ann is Miss March 1964

An illustration of the bar in 1964
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Jean is Miss February 1964, keeping the torches burning.
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This is a filler image used throughout this 1964 calendar. I believe the man in the drawn portrait is Bob Thornton. The Okole Maluna sign is not just an exhortation to “drink up”, but was a “club” that guests could join and work their way through the menu to get special stuff.

Pat is Miss Jauary.

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As a proper build up to the new Tiki Daze calendar I am producing, I am going to be sharing my Mai Kai calendar collection over the next few months. The Mai Kai means a lot to me. It’s the greatest place on Earth as far as I am concerned. They are the anchor of Hukilau and it was the fantastic presence of the Mai Kai and the incredibly welcoming spirit of the owners and staff that keep Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale. I owe a lot to this place. It helped light and continually rekindles my tiki fire. The people who work there are great sources of information and are just the best.

Also, I spent a few hours at the Mai Kai, photographing the place for the calendar. It’s is far more dense with imagery than you realize.

So, it only seems fitting to share images of my Mai Kai calendars to celebrate the new Tiki Daze calendar. Over the coming months, you will see an mage a day. If you think the images should be bigger, let me know. When I can, I will add side information.

Enjoy!

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I picked up this new card of the Sharp’s Motel at the Clinton Antiques Fair today. For the complete story on this Motel, click here. A big postcard dealer. She will be at the postcard show with her complete collection. It was great to see a stack of just Knoxville cards. Other than my own stack, I’d never seen that before. I’ve had this circled on my calendar for months. I can’t wait to flip through all the cards and see what gems I can find!

OCTOBER 19-20, 2007- East Tennessee Postcard Show, Days Inn Convention Center, Central Ave. Pike at Merchants Dr. Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Milt Hinshilwood, 865-247-5767

After a long year of working on this, we are nearly done! The fantastic graphic design artists have taken my thousands of photographs of vintage tiki bar ephemera and turned them into dynamic works of art. These things you have seen in the Book of Tiki, Tiki Quest, The Bum’s books and now the wonderful Tiki Modern. So, to simply photograph some very rare mugs and drop them on a background would be, well, already done and semi-boring. The real tiki geeks would dig it if I had the uber-rare items, but most people would not. So, I challenged my artists to do something fun, and creative with these images, and I think they have. Plus, all calendar images were approved by Ms. Swanky who, though she fully understands the tiki aesthetic, is not enthralled with it like I am. She understands a more broad perception that will make this calendar appeal to us tiki freaks, and the general freaks too.

If you look at the calendars in thte kiosk at the mall, you will find they all fall into a few categories:

1. Images of things, i.e. Dogs, Cats, Babes, Hunks
2. Art, i.e. Ansel Adams photos, Picasso paintings
3. Cartoons, i.e. Dilbert, Farside
4. Still Lifes, i.e. staged kitchen cooking scenes, islands, etc.

What we have done with this calendar is combine several of these styles. We have photographs of things, as in postcards, swizzles, mugs and menus of classic tiki bars. Mixed with images of thatch, tapa, etc., blended with custom artwork, and put together into a new image, which is a sort of “still life” of tiki that is more than a sum of its parts.

Quite simply, it is unlike any calendar I have ever seen, both for its subject matter, and especially for its design.

So, head over to the new website and get the only 2008 calendar that matters!

In a follow up to this popular post on the Hawaiian Village in Myrtle Beach, SC, I add this vintage postcard of the exterior.

 

Great sign, and what looks like a 15 foot tiki out front.

It is good to see more of this place….

Tiki Daze

I came across this site by accident and looked down the list of motels in my area. I realized it was actually a list of vintage motels that are still open. “Reasonable rates” sure. $39 a night or less. Will the room be awful and totally unacceptable, or will it be a blast from the past? I stayed at one not so long ago that had the coin-op vibrating bed with incredible vintage graphics on the box.

So, next time you are planning a road trip down memory lane, or, well, trying to relive a past you may never have had the chance to experience, this site will steer you in the direction of the survivors.

Motel Guide.com

   

Check out the Sputnik mailbox!

On Wednesday I happened to be in the hospital emergency room and browsed the local Knoxville Magazine and they had this article on a great house in town. It was a teaser and did not give the address.

Saturday, we were out hitting some garage sales and turned down the street and I immediately spotted a thick growth of bamboo. We slowed. Then I saw more house and we were both oohing. Then I saw the modern beams on the side of the house from the pictures and I knew I’d stumbled upon the house!

It was an original Lustron home from 1948. There are 3 of these in Knoxville that I know of today. This one I did not know about. The problem today with these homes is that they are just too small by our standards. Gary solved this by very artfully adding on to his Lustron. The whole property is incredible and he carried the atomic theme even to his mailbox, which is a stainless steel Sputnik design

It is such a pleasure to just know this place is here in town. There are some drop dead gorgeaous modern homes near there. They are in a very upscale neighborhood and are classic and will remain for ages. This one is just over the top Mod.

You know I will be slipping an invitation in his mailbox to my next luau!

 

 

 

 

 

This is the parking area behind the house. Love the gates!

 

This is an addition behind the house. Perfectly matching!

 

The metal wings on the side are a great touch and mimic the vintage building that is now Belleza Salon.

 

From the front you see the original small Lustron home.

 

At least I think that’s where these were taken.

I have a lot of pictures like this.

And this. I assume you got a picture taken with a kane or wahine with your ticket.

This was Mr. and Mrs. James Barry

Good times.

This is a place I have seen a lot of ephemera from over the year, but not the actual place until now. The lettering on the trash can is a clue. It’s the Queen’s Surf. 

I love these old pictures. The guy to the left in the black suit and skinny tie and a lei. They are so well dressed. Below we see a little of the interior roof. Very nice.

Mimi has some vintage items on Arkiva Tropika.

Warning, NSFW. 

The 1966 issue of Nylon Jungle.

I have been looking for this for years. Nice tiki, nice, um, gal.

This carving must be in the photographer’s home. This is all we get to see. A random prop. If this was a recent picture, I’d be inclided to say those are too perfect. They must be fake. I know they had boob jobs in the 60s. Regardless, that’s a pleasing set.

The magazine is full of that odd fetish for shockings, feet and rather oddly, girls in dirty white sneakers and stockings.

Previously on Swank Blather:

Tiki Lingerie Lunch Hour

Route 66 Tiki Lingerie Show

Tim Hollis has created several great books of vintage Americana, concentrating on the South. His latest offering is about the good old Smokie Mountains and the many vacation destinations in the time of automobile travel on highways. It should jog many memories.

He will be here in town at Carpe Librum book store on Wednesday, June 27th. I have added his books to my store here on Swank Pad.

Also appearing at:

MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 25 – Joseph Beth book store, Charlotte, NC
THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE 28 – Joseph Beth store, Lexington, KY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 30 – Joseph Beth store, Cincinnati, OH

I got this little menu on Ebay a while ago. I thought it was maybe just a mini ordering menu, perhaps for a luau or small event. This weekend at Hukilau, I found out what it was.

The “Big Bamboo” is of interest to this story.

Having the “Cobra’s Kiss” and “Deep Sea Diver” marked out I thought meant it was just not available at the time the menu was passed out. Not so.

The real answer came during Beachbum Berry’s talk. He had introduced Mai Kai original mixologist, Mariano Licudine’s son to the crowd and had him come up to answer questions. He had been around the Mai Kai since it was being built when he was a lad of twelve. His Dad had supervised every minute detail of the building of the bar.

He told about one of the recipes on the menu today which was a weakened version of the “Big Bamboo” recipe. The “Big Bamboo” was a drink you only got after you had worked your way through the “Okole Maluna Club”. This little menu was for that club. You got a drink marked off as you tried it and when you had tried all the drinks, you got a big bamboo mug of your own and got the “Big Bamboo” drink as a member of that club. That is why there is a “Cobra’s Kiss” marked off on this menu! That is what it is for and the drink is right there on the back! The only way to get the “Big Bamboo” was to try all these drinks.

So many great things come from Hukilau. I want to know more and more! He also said the origianl doors to the Mai Kai looked like this and the original drink menu with the tikis on one door and “Mai Kai ” on the other, carved in Mohogany. Where are those doors now Kern?

A rather dull slide, but for the tiki freaks, I pulled out a couple of details.

As I gear up for the annual trek to Fort Liquordale and Hukilau, I start thinking about old friends I will see. One of them is Cybertiki. Dave and his wife are great folks and incredibly generous. His wife makes the lucious costumes the bar gals wear in the Molokai Lounge. She’ll make one for you too if you want. Look for them in the vendor area. He has a great collection of Mai Kai ephemera. He had started sharing some things a long time ago and I know most people who have not been around as lone as I have don’t know about it. So, I searched his site out and wanted to shine a spotlight on it. Especailly this 1966 Mai Kai calendar. Here is an image from it:

They had the remaining fabric that was used to make the aloha shirt Elvis wore in Blue Hawaii. Some lucky soul is wearing the last dress made of that fabric…

This post is very cool and I envy the guy. A great set of coincidences that just make your vintage heart melt.

Read the story. Keep vintage hope alive! Way cool!

Here we see Mr. and Mrs. James V. Barry on vacation in Hawaii in 1964.

Fun was had. In about 150 slides from their trip, this may be the only one where she is smiling…

To rev up to Hukilau coming in less than two weeks, I am sharing some Mai Kai schwag…

Mrs. Thornton, the choreographer for the Mai Kai dinner show and owner of the Mai Kai. She is the spirit of the place and an incredible lady.

Day-am! LOVE THE HAIR! and the other stuff is nice. Like a little dish laid out on the leaves. Is this her on this postcard?

What a drum! And the hair is rockin too!
Can’t wait to see the sites in the Molokai again…

It’s just a couple of weeks away. Last year was a crazy weekend. I hardly slept! It was the first year I have actually gotten to enjoy the weekend and talk to so many people. I think I talked more in a few days than the entire year. The hot tub made for memories we’ll all keep forever. Once again, thanks to Crazy Al. He has a way of inventing fun.

This year I am endeavoring to spend more time at the Mai Kai. It is my favorite place on Earth. I want to be there for Happy Hour a couple of times.

Beachbum Berry’s talk last year and then sipping with him at the Mai Kai was fantastic, and getting an all new book will be a huge plus. This book has more history rather than being just a recipe book. Lots of new recipes in it too though. Pre-Order it now and have it for him to sign at the event.

After years of anticipation, we are getting a little peak at The DVD of Tiki and a showing of footage from the Hukilau Hurricane of 2004. Many I talk to say that year was the best in many ways. For a lot of Floridians, it was the worst. Very much the worst for me. I never recovered really. But it is a powerful memory and I love to hear Pablus sing “Hukilau Hurricane.”

 I look forward to seeing the Crazed Mugs perform at the Mai Kai again. When they took the stage last year, it all just stopped and we were transfixed. Otto was standing next to me and he whispered, “he’s our Bruddah Iz.” So right.

The Hukilau mug has some of my favorite imagery in Polynesian Pop this year, the cannibal trio. I have discussed them with Sven and Bob at Oceanic Arts. I think the concensus is that it started with Donn Beach, which is precisely why those tikis are so special.

The new version of Tiki Road Trip will be making its debut at Hukilau and we get to see all the places we never knew existed.

Robert Drasnin will perform his new work which was recorded earlier this year for a new release. Basement Kahuna says his record “Voodoo” is near perfection for the tiki bar soundtrack and now we’ll have a great follow up.

It’s always great to see my many friends I see only this one weekend a year in person. It’s great to be around so many people who are passionate about the same things I am. And this year my lovely fiance will join me, although she plans to spend more time tanning and exploring the area than doing the tiki-nerd stuff.

This event is central for us non-Californians. California may have an abundance of tiki locales, but we still have the best one of all by a mile down in Fort Lauderdale. We all come together to worship in a rum dazed fog for the weekend. We get to visit the Mother Ship of Tiki and be transported to that special place. That place that is slowly slipping away more and more. No other place holds that mystery better than the Mai Kai. And we right coasters are darned proud. Inside the Mai Kai, it is like stepping back in time. As close as any of us will get anyway…

Two weeks and I’ll be there, at the bar, soaking it all in for my yearly ration… It’s never enough…

This year was the first annual Tiki Eyeball. It was an event by Wizzard Road Shows, which does a number of car events over the summer. I was contacted to put together a tiki carving demonstration and then helped get ideas together and promote the event.

For Basement Kahuna, it meant driving 4 hours up to Knoxville from Athens. We then set out on another 9+ hour drive to central Illinois. With a late start and lots of stopping to search antique malls, plus an hour where we put it in park and stood in the interstate, it turned into about a 14 hour drive.

Basement Kahuna and I are always on the prowl for rare liquors and this old sign we thought pointed the way. Screw gin and vodka! We sell Whiskey! Well, on opening the door, a few haggard locals swung around on their stools at 2PM on a Thursday. We were not finding anything there.

So we were a little loopy come Friday. Noa Noa’s in our room before the trip to the Aku Tiki Room. Lake Surfer and his wife, Tipsy McStagger, Kevin and Hadley Moore, and others came by. And then we found out the bus had broken down. In the middle of an intersection…

The sunken bar at the Aku Tiki Room. The design of the bar was fantastic. I wish there was a bar this cool around here, tiki or no tiki.

This painting once had no lei. It still has some nipple. Cool.

Great shell lamps. These are over 3 feet across.

Tipsy and others at dinner.

The Tiki Twins! These gals started serving there, along with their Mom, when they were 13. They continued to work there for decades. I spent most of the night talking to them and hearing their story. In fact, I spent so much time taking pictures and talking I forgot to eat dinner! Luckily I it also kept me drinking slowly.

Great Oceanic Arts rail posts and mask with shell sconces.

Next day was kar time with Kay Ohara signing prints.

Tonga Trader and his wife drove their 1961 Chyrsler 300 to the event. This is one of my favorite cars. You gotta love a cross ram V8 luxury car.

Kevin Moore shows a novel way to torch a tiki carving, using a 1959 Cadillac… Video is on its way…

BK and I went back to the Aku Tiki Room that night and stopped by the Kewaunee Moose Lodge.

This is the Church of the Future! On the road to the ATR.

BK enjoys a lobster tail dinner. The drinks here are fantastic. Demerara Dry Float, Beachcomber Punch and Rum Barrels I recommend. El Dorado 12 Year. The bartender Tom works hard to keep the ingredients in stock.

On the return trip, we stopped at our Papua New Guinea collector’s house to see the new shipment. Here are a few shields.

Left side…

Right side.

We’ll have a few pieces for sale at Hukilau.

The event was poorly attended for reasons we don’t know, but we’ll correct some problems and do it again next year. I already have a verbal agreement from Pablus to perform in the round in the ATR. Basement Kahuna puts the ATR right behind the Atlanta Trader Vic’s. He now has one of his carvings there and is designing their signature mug we hope will be available when we return next year.

Classic Poly Pop architecture. What’s the place to the right? Tahitian what?

Update: Of course Mimi has cool pics of the Waikikian and the Tahitian Lania on her site. Thanks to Dusty Cajun for this image and the tip.

Just your typical scene of Hawai in 1964. Men in suits and skinny ties and ladies in dresses. Waiting for dinner outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village Luau. But…
(more…)

Basement Kahuna arrives here today and we depart for Tiki Eyeball in the morning.

I am in my office today, listening to my Exotica and islands music playlist and I am excited. It’s like when I was a kid and we were going to Disneyworld in the morning. I hear the music and I’m there, at the Aku Tiki Room, Navy Grog in hand. Dim lights, fish floats, Orchids of Hawaii and Witco decor… I just can’t wait! Giddy. Even though its a 9 hour drive for me. I am excited to get to go to that magic place again.

My attitude is a little different these days. I go there as a fan, but also as a researcher and a documenter too. I take my photography equipment to get the best pictures possible and plan to talk to anyone I can about the history and write it down. I want to share it as well as experience it.

I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new people. I am really looking forward to the rare treat of having someone else mix my tropical concoction, and it be really good. I’ll savor it.

This is the lot of most of us tikiphiles. The only tiki bar near us is our own. We get to visit the real deal just a few times a year, if at all. I ache for it.

I may not be able to sleep tonight!

UCLA has made a library of LA photos from 1920-1990 available and searchable online. I tried the names of some Polynesian Pop locales to see if I got a hit on the Luau or Tropic’s or Latitude or Tiki or Trader, etc. Nothing. This was the only teaser. A 1946 picture of Hilo Hattie (center) hamming it up at a Polynesian Society luau.

 

And who wouldn’t love to go to this 1949 Swimming Club Luau? I just noticed the lady second to left has a flower that appears to be taped to her chest. No straps on that dress…

Via BoingBoing

Via vintage Hawaii Kai Menu:

Hmmm. Now I want to go to Trinidad and Haiti!

I bought mine a long time ago, before the prices went crazy. The one that just sold on Ebay has much better paint than mine. They were lazy and left off her lei and flower and the black outline on the fish. But mine is made better in terms of the seam.

No, I am not talking about Dick Cheney’s philosophy, but a great website. Retro Views has many original photographs of motels used for postcards back in the day. You can buy pristine copies from them for outrageous prices! This is some serious eye candy, but the Flash site sucks. Some samples:

Via the PCL

Humu Humu has posted her feelings about the closing of Trader Vic’s Beverly Hills. I commented on that and wanted to bring it here and share my thoughts.

There is a thread on Tiki Central to send messages to try to save Trader Vic’s. You’ll notice I never posted. It was never going to get anywhere towards saving the place, and, it probably led to what happened, a very quick, quiet closing that did not allow a bunch of weirdos to make a scene.

What seems to be lost on everyone is that these places are businesses. When your business is losing money, you close it, no matter if that is painful or very painful. And often, before they close the business, they try a lot of things to fix it. Tiki bars are not an exception.

The forces at work that have closed 90+% of the vintage tiki places in the last 30 years, are still closing them today.

Getting conservancy groups involved is also a sure way to piss off the owners and get them to close a place sooner. They want to avoid government regulators from preventing them from doing as they please with their property. 

Writing letters and even going there yourself on a regular basis is not the answer, though your business helps. What can you do that will help your local or even, not so local tiki bar survive? Promote it.

You may be the most vocal and inspired advocate they have. I think the third Thursday get together at the new Hula Hula in Seattle is great. And their great reviews of the place and obviously their enthusiasm for it locally, are contagious. Such gatherings are happening all over. We need to spread a very positive message about tiki in general, and we need to put out positive things about locations specifically.

We in the Tiki community are, unfortunately, perhaps helping destroy a lot of places. If we venture to a classic bar, and then come to Tiki Central or our blogs and complain about the drinks and the beer signs, that may be the only description on the web for that place. And the young folks just discovering it search the Net first and see your negative comments. Though you may wrap it up with how great it is to go there, even though the drinks weren’t in tiki mugs, you leave an impression that no outsider is going to bother with, and is less likely to enjoy.

What we can’t do is make a bad place good, bad drinks good, or bad food good. You can’t save a sinking ship with good wishes. And when we are honest with ourselves, we will likely find we are only sad to see the facade go, and not the place where we complained about quality and quantity through our teeth.

Sucks doesn’t it?

The best tiki bars in the country are still A) Tiki Central member’s home bars, B) Trader Vic’s, C) a few old guard like the Mai Kai and Hala Kahiki, and D) the new generation like Forbidden Island. The ghosts are still growing in number as they have for the last 30 years. We are just painfully aware of them now and imagine that times have changed. All that has changed is the number of mourners and the depth of their sorrow.

p.s. To help out, go to this page, the second link when you search Google for the Mai Kai, and add a good review.

NSFW vintage 60s cartoon from Playboy. There were a lot of really crude girlie mag cartoons at the time with the beachcomber/tropical island theme. I wanted to share this one because it’s not crude.

You can see much more here via PCL

A postcard of dinner at the Kahiki. Are you sure it’s the Kahiki? Why, yes, it says so right on the pig!

But to a collector, this is a laundry list of things to strive for.

Penang #1 Drink mug – Paul Marshal “Peanut” mug. Unmarked, these are very common.

Starboard Light glass by Imperial Glass Company, used by many Polynesian places.

Native Nectar – Coconut mug – Marked on the bottom

Salt and Pepper shakers – there were at least 5 types used at the Kahiki  – usually marked and not too hard to find

Necklace? Often hard to find, they are being seen more often. Marked.

Silverware, marked Kahiki

 

Mystery Blossom drink glass – The “Martiki” in saucer form by Morgantown – unmarked

Malayan Mist drink glass – unmarked

Chairs -generally found in Columbus, but likely all long gone

Tables – many in use at the Tropical Bistro

Ashtrays – sometimes marked

Sauce jar, lidded and marked

Menus – there are at least 3 types of drink menus out there. This looks like the 1961 version in the postcard. Later version above.

Idol’s Cast bowl by Hoffman Pottery – two varieties (or more)

Lamps – by HiTiki? – several types

Zombie glass holder – extremely rare

 What do you collect? Me, I have a postcard or two, and a menu or two, and a mug or two…

Every piece brings more clues.

NSFW set of vintage Polynesian Maidens. The mailing address on the pack is in Hawaii, so it has some credibility, and the gals do look like islanders. A little Eye Candy to go with today’s Ear Candy.

Nude with Tiki Torch and Conch

Nude with waterfall

Nude in water

Nude with Pineapple

Nude with Lei

I have had requests to re-upload a couple of records. So, I have put Henri Rene’s Compulsion to Swing and Bob Thompson’s Mmmmm Nice back up. get ‘em while they’re there!

If you have listened to my Live 365 radio station, you probably have heard some of these. In the days of the radio jingle, CRC was king. Their intros and lead ins were just fantastic and they covered a couple of decades with their chorus singing “It’s Friday!” or whatever. I picked this record up on Ebay ages ago. The original tracks had an opening and closing with a 30 second or so blank space for the announcer in the middle. My download has the two pieces broken apart. This site gives some history and some great free downloads. I love this stuff. I have kept it to myself for years, but am sharing it now since my radio station is pay to listen only now.

Download here

These images come from Tahiti. They are from the grounds of the Beachcomber Hotel, which is apparently still there, but is now the Beachcomber Intercontinental.

Yeah, that’s some tikis.

 Detail of a Kahiki postcard. Man, that’s the life.

Here are a couple of other pictures of my parents I came upon lately.

First this picture of my Dad, who appears to have a cast on his arm, in front of the convertible he drove when he met my Mom. I think my oldest sister said she used to sleep in the top boot on trips when she was little.

And this image of Mom and Dad, that is indeed color, but I could not get Photoshop to make it look any better than this. Early days of color. I know my Mom’s lipstick was bright bright red. But, you can’t tell here.

I was reminded of this picture of my Dad as a friend is off to Alaska with the military. He served in Adak, Alaska in the Navy. They promised him a “girl behind every tree.” There just were no trees! Here he is as bartender.

A few images from another fantastic meal at the Omni Hut, established in 1960.

Weapons are a great classic tiki bar theme.

Club

Tiki

This soda shop is not a place made to look like an old soda shop. It is an old soda shop, vintage 1934. I have been here before, but never got pictures of the awesome interior until this trip.

A wurlitzer juke box has a box at every booth. And they work. The music is a weird mix from about 1978. Disco Duck and country you never heard of.

Juke box detail

Wurlitzer

Stools

Doors

These doors have seen a lot of use!

Froot Loops…

I visited the Omni Hut doing a shoot with Turner South for a “Tiki Blue Ribbon” show. I was very much looking forward to it so I could talk with Jim Walls, the man who created the Omni Hut. I wanted to see what he knew of the other places in Nashville, the Surf Rider in the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the Mahi Mahi of which I have seen a postcard and a mug, and the Blue Hawaii from which I have a matchbook and a mug. I knew where the Blue Hawaii was from the matchbook. I also wanted to know all about his inspirations, etc.

He told me he was a pilot in the Air Force and was stationed in Honolulu around 1938-1940ish. He only worked 4 hours a day, so in his spare time, he was interested in food. He found things he liked and would go back again and again until he could find out the recipes and secrets of the dishes. He worked at one of the luaus on Waikiki Beach until the airplanes put the steam ships out of business and this luau. He worked at some Asian restaurant that was famous. Joe Young’s? I am not sure. All these places he was gathering recipes as well as all over the world. He was in Panama and all over. He just liked it and had no plans of opening a restaurant.

He decided to retire and his choices were in Savannah and Smyrna which was home of Ft. Stuart. For technical reasons he chose Smyrna. So, he started his restaurant of “Chinese Cuisine.” He showed me the first sign there for that. But with the decor, everyone said “you can’t fool us, this is the best Polynesian food we ever ate!” So, 6 months later he renamed it the Omni Hut, because it was a nice short name. Open since 1960, he was the first Asian restauant in the area and is the oldest in the state now.

He brought a box of stuff with him. There were clippings and menus. They had nothing from the old days. The clippings were all from 2000, after they re-opened from the fire. The menus were all there from the beginning. They have not changed except the prices and colors occasionally. There was a red one he didn’t bring:

Then I saw something black at the bottom of the box that looked older. I dug it out quick and nearly lost my breath:

A Mahi Mahi menu! With the tiki from the mug on it!

I opened the menu and inside was the postcard:


I’d seen this in BK’s collection. Awesome! Wait!

Next I see 5 X 7 black and white photos!

The interior of the Mahi Mahi!

The architectural drawing of it! Looks exactly like the postcard image!

So I had to ask him what he knew about the Mahi Mahi. “I owned it!” Wow! And I looked at the postcard again:

95 White Bridge Rd. Same as the Blue Hawaii!

It turns out, he did not build the Mahi Mahi. He bought it either in the late 60′s or early 70′s (his sons gave different years) and got a lot of debt when he did. He hoped his good food would make it profitable. It did not. A year later is was foreclosed on and the bank took all property and auctioned it off for pennies on the dollar! All they had was this stuff in the menu. Sort of…

After that it was bought again and it became the Blue Hawaii and had new big tikis erected out front. Last anyone knew it was the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant.

The things they did manage to sneak out the back door before the bank came in were these two Maori panels that hang in the entry of the Omni Hut today:

I realized 95 White Bridge Road was 2 miles from my sisters house in Nashville, so we went there. I was so excited. I wanted to scour the grounds for tiki stumps or whatever. Here is what I found:

Too late! It was demolished months ago. My sister says I had asked her about the building before. I must have passed it dozens of times over the years. CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!

Part of the puzzle is solved. I am sending pictures of my Milan Guanko carved tiki for the family to look at and see if it jogs their memory.

Here is Jim.

I hate that my picture is blurry. I met most of the family and they inspired me. I am going to let you all know what that means later. I wanna help these guys make Omni Hut all it can be!

Here are more images of the menu:

Just a few drinks

I was under the impression that the Mahi Mahi was all done by Oceanic Arts. Bamboo Ben told me it was actually by his grandfather Eli Hedley.

“Eli did the Mahi Mahi. It was an unlimited budget, dream job.”

More on that in May…

Also see my half finished Tennessee Tiki History page.

See also Basement Kahuna’s collection for better scans of the Mahi Mahi card.

The “Blue Ribbon” shows seems to be defunct now. I have a good digital DVD of the show which featured the Mai Kai, The Omni Hut, Trader Vic’s Atlanta and the now gone Hale Tiki in Augusta. If anyone is interested in a copy, drop me an email.

This is why I encourage everyone to start an entry on Tiki Central for every known Polynesian Paradise that ever existed. In August, back in 2004, Kono posted about the Volcano in Winter Haven Florida and a few people added to it. Recently, the daughter of the owner of the Volcano started looking around for information and came across the post. She began finding out more and sharing the family stories, articles and pictures. A wonderful wealth of tiki goodness came out that would likely have dissappeared otherwise.

Enjoy the thread here and add to the Tiki Central database so more kids and grand kids share their findings with us!

My definition of “collecting” has changed over the years. I have been humbled by the vast and cumpulsive collections by people I have met or seen online. I do have a few “collections,” but, nothing that is going to blow anyone away. I suppose I collect vintage lamps, radios, and stuff. But mostly I don’t “collect” those things, I just buy them when I find stuff I like at a price I like. I only really collect Mai Kai and Aku Aku Las Vegas stuff, and a little Don the Beachcomber. Otherwise, it’s just decor. It is not a “collection” and my home is not a museum.

Experiment 33 has posted his collection of vintage barware and started a Flickr group for more to add theirs. I do love the remnants of a lost culture of good drink making. And I have a few of the things pictured myself.

I have had many ice crushers. Hand crank types and motorized ones. These days I enjoy the luxury of crushed ice by way of the fridge door. But, the best other ice crusher is the Oster Snoflake. Not only does it do the job well, but, you can put the crusher over an ice bucket instead of the tray it comes with and make mountains of crushed ice for your party. It does throw out eye piercing shards of ice, like many, but, it’s not too scary. Get one cheap on Ebay.

Oh if we could only travel like this now! I’d be the most popular person on the plane!

On Thursday, the father of Tiki, Donn Beach would have been 100. He created many of the great drink recipes that we all know now as “Tropical Drinks” or “Tiki Drinks.” He created what we call the tiki bar. Victor Bergeron copied him. They all copied him.

The motto for “Don the Beachcombers” is a good one: “Where good rum is immortalized and drinking is an art.”

I urge you all to toast your father on his birthday with one of the drinks he created. I will be saluting with a Navy Grog. Pablus says he’ll make a Demerara Dry Float. More recipes here.

Special night at Forbidden Island of course. Special drinks on the menu for one night only so you can toast Dad with a few of his inventions.

Thanks for the tiki! Thanks for the drinks!

UPDATE: I have been so freakin busy I didn’t get around to it unitl today, Saturday. My honey syrup was bad, so it limited my choices. I went for a Pablus favorite and made the Test Pilot. YUM! Two batches. Yes! Donnn will forgive the Trader Vic’s glass I hope…

This is the brain-child of Ms Swanky. I have been working on the idea for some time and teamed up with Tiki Farm to produce a Calendar of Tiki, inspired by classic tiki bars and “The Book of Tiki” of course.

I hope to have sample images ready by Hukilau and the actual calendar printed and ready to go in time for 2008 buying. We think it will be a very unique and interesting calendar. Much more than just eye candy, since we will update the website each month so you can get more information about the images you see.

Tiki Calendar

Kick off the summer right with Kustom Kars and Tiki Bars!

This is the first event of the season for  Wizzard Road Shows and the first Tiki Eyeball event. It promises to be a great weekender in the heartland of America. Great bands, vendors, rods and fun. I am bringing a motley crew of carvers together to show their skilz and spread the gospel of tiki to the masses. Expect a great room party with me and Basement Kahuna mixing up the cocktails. Lake Surfer is haulin his big and lovely sculptures in and throwin it down artic north style.
More details to come. I can’t wait to explore this very out of the way, vintage tiki establishment, AND the Tiki Truck Stop!

“An authentic Polynesian setting houses seven different dining areas surrounded by magnificent gardens, Orchids and exotic foods are flown in daily from the South Pacific. Bob and Jack Thornton are your hosts…” They shared their recipe for Chicken Coriander for this magazine put out by the Ford Motor Company. This painting shows the show we know and love, with the Mystery Drink Lady we know and love…

I am guessing a lot of you are into the same sort of weird music I am. Lounge, but not really the normal sort of lounge. Stuff that strays just enough to give you a sly little smile. So I wanted to share with you perhaps my all time favorite CD. I have owned and listened to about every lounge CD out there and tons of records. This particualr CD I keep going back to. I put it in the player and I worry. “Will this be the day? Will this be the playing that I can no longer tolerate this CD?” No. That has yet to happen. Every time I play it, I just flat enjoy it. I think you will too.

So, ignore the many other CDs out there and buy this one. I have waded through them for you. And if you enjoy it like I think you will, let me know. Maybe I have a few other suggestions for you in the future.

Click the cover to get your very own copy.

This is also a mailer menu. My first thought looking at this menu cover is, it’s kinda creepy. But then I think, “Zombie Village”, hello! Creepy indeed!

A little watercolor of the joint is nice on the back. From the Critiki entry it appears this either was or became a Skipper Kent’s place. Once again, there is almost nothing on Tiki central about the place. Makes me wonder. If Zombie Village had been in Tennessee, I would have searched out everything I could about the place and posted it on TC. Just goes to show how jaded Californians are about tiki.

The inside of the menu has that nice line at the bottom that reveals the mug price is included in some of the drink prices.

I would almost say this isn’t quite a tiki bar, but just tropical, but there are all of Don the Beachcomber’s recipes on the menu, so it must be part of the “family”. This site says it opened on November 27th 1935.

 

This is a pretty impressive menu. More of an advertizing mailer really. Sugie really seemed to have a way with the celebrities. Beachbum Berry talks a little about this place in his discussion of Ray Buhen, the famed bartender of the Tiki Ti. Ray worked at the Tropics and probably brought those recipes with him.

I was surprised to find nothing on Tiki Central about the place. Tiki Road Trip says that it later became The Luau, Steven Crane’s first tiki bar.

The menu is impressive when fully folded out. It has “quotes” from various celebrities about the drinks, including: Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Mickey Rooney, Lucille Ball and Bette Davis, among others. 

Apparently many people blatantly ripped off Sugie’s Tropics. There are at least three places who use his images and phrases, in Denver, Dayton and Hollywood.

 

3D breasts on this matchbook too, a Sugie “signature” idea.

Also has raised boobs on the match cover

Dayton Ohio Tropics

United Airlines has a great history with their flights to Hawaii. Not too long ago the flight staff wore aloha shirts and muu muus. Today, they serve Trader Vic’s Mai Tais on the flights. They still get it. This card I found today extolls the Hawaii that is not just a vacation, but “fullfillment of long-held expectations.”

This online article has great quotes from the Mai Kai family and extended family of employees. Great eye candy. Sucky Flash site though. Click on the Mai Kai image.

Via Tiki News

This is from a series of images showing them digging up the pig from the pit, dug next to a half empty swimming pool. I like this one because I can’t tell if the man is studying the process to try it back home or praying over it.

I really love Henri Rene’s music. It rewards the listener. It’s slightly akilter. It’s doing little things that are just wonderful and fun. Not in your face. But for the afficianado, it’s music to love. Deeply.

Enjoy the download!

Basement Kahuna is a top big game hunter in the tiki world. The collection of artifacts he uncovered in just a few months was astounding. He has sold off his mugs and many other things and these days is only keeping postcards. While he was visiting last weekend, I asked to scan his most rare items, and here they are:

The tikis at Busch Gardens

Witco Fountain in situ at the B-Hive in Sanibel Island, FL.

Akua Motor Hotel, Anaheim.

Bahia Motel Anaheim

Hawaiian Cottage – NJ

Mon Tiki – Quebec Canada

Mon Tiki – Quebec

Palmer House Trader Vic’s – Chicago with a nice big Barney West carving in back on the right.

Tan Tar A Ski Lodge – Osage Beach, MO?

Yes! Tan Tar A!

Quality Inn Bahia Beach – Ruskin, FL with Witco

A great carving at the Sheraton Gibson Hotel – Cinncinati, OH

Tiki Gardens at night.

I had seen on Les Jones’ blog that Kay’s in Maryville had closed. On our way to the mountain cabin on Thanksgiving, we drove by to take a look.

Notice the letters on the front door.

Looks like mint chocolate chip to me. I have searched far and wide for an image of the large Kay’s sign with the ice cream cone and the boy on the ladder with the extra long tongue licking it to no avail. The last one I knew of was on Chapman Highway and it dissappeared around the turn of the century.

It brought out some fans. Here on the door is a long letter telling about this family’s long history with Kay’s. I ate there a few times myself over the years.

Did I say week? I meant that figuratively.

This is one of several images I have from the Ilikai. I have a lot of what appears to be a sort of evening torch lighting ceremony out front, and then a few precious images like this one, of the rooms. One even of the famous clam shell bathroom sink!

After a long day on the islands, you just gotta flop down in purple velvet luxury! Those lamps are over the top! I want one!

I should have known that Basement Kahuna would have in his possession, a Mai Kai postcard I had never seen. Well, that’s half true. I had not seen this postcard, but I owned it’s doppleganger.

You see, this postcard in his collection:

Is a mirror image of this postcard in my collection:

So that’s one more card I need to find…

UPDATE 10-19-07: Thanks to Ms Swanky and the Knoxville postcards show, I would this card!

Previously: Mai Kai: The Postcards

 

When Basement Kahuna visited last weekend, he handed me a postcard for Dobb’s House Luau, with locations in Memphis and Atlanta. I had known there was a Dobb’s House in Memphis at 3135 Poplar (Is the building still there?) and am always on the lookout for items from that long lost tiki place. What was interesting about the card was that it was a Dinkler property. This ties it in with the Dinkler Andrew Jackson Hotel in Nashville, which had in it the “Surf Rider.” I had this card which appears to date from the 1960s.

 The Dinkler in Nashville was a noted flop house for country music stars. It was demolished some time ago.

Which came first, the Memphis Dobb’s House or the Surf Rider? I don’t know. If anyone in either city has any knowledge to share, please do. A visit to the library to peek at phone book listings would likely get us further towards the answers. There is a Dobb’s Management Group in Memphis which is owner of the restaurant chain such as it is. I am inquiring to find out more from them.

Also, anyone with knowledge of the Islander which was in the 5th floor of the Uptain Building in Chattanooga, TN, please speak up! Here are better images of the Mahi Mahi postcard from his collection:

 

 

My research into the Mahi Mahi and Blue Hawaii in Nashville is here on Tiki Central.

A recent find by Ms. Swanky. Well, let’s say this is your living room. You decided to carpet the place with a thick thirsty yellow towel, and you need to plan a party. And the monster that inhabits the yellow pillow on the couch isn’t helping.

Ah, here you are in your humble abode.

You know how to serve up a traditional meal.

Complete with shotglass full of smokes.

And you have a great new room to show off. So the very best thing you can do is invite Victor Bergeron over and throw a luau…

If that’s not ol’ Trader Vic, they sure got a good likeness…

Note on the Polynesian party: “…the exotic decorations are easily obtained and emulated…”

The Tiki Kai in Albuquerque from Modern Man magazine July 1966. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get the customers into your joint.

Uh, yeah, where is his attention… Not on that great tiki lamp!

   

The middle image is the gals “keeping the owner happy.”

Hey, is that a Barney West tiki? It’s definitely an OMC Surfer Girl mug!

UPDATE: I loaned these magazines to Sven Kirsten, author of the Book of Tiki a while back and he has informed me that images from the magazines (another one I have not blogged) will account for two pages in his new book coming out early next year. So, consider this a tantilizing sneak preview! When can I pre-order this new book?

From Rogue Magazine, November 1959 we have these images of a great idea in Tiki History, the lunch hour lingerie show! This was at the San Francisco Tiki Bob’s. This place is now closed, but the Tiki Bob support pole is still there, waiting. And you thought the Mai Kai bar gals were a little risque!

    

Man, dig those skull mugs!

 We hit the antique stores today and Ms. Swanky spotted these out front of one store as we drove by. They turned out to be in perfect condition. I have never seen anything quite like them. Ashtrays built right into the arm rests! I had to have them. We have no place in our home to put them, but, one day, we will…

Did I mention I am a Mai Kai geek? Forget about it being the current best tiki palace, maybe best ever. The owner(s) certainly have been and are mai kai (the best).

When it opened, it was out on its own on Highway 1. They quickly transformed the area around them to match their tropical interior. Very early on they had a few large tikis installed at the road side. Those tiki stand as sentinels to this day, except one.

Here is an image of the area in question.

To the left you see the classic Barney West tiki that was the inspiration for the Hukilau 2006 mug. But what is that one in the center? Artist’s imagination?

Here it is again in one of the more common long postcrads with a man in a suit and a woman in a red dress, lovingly caressing the mystery tiki.

And here we have a group of folks huddled around the spot where he once was, wondering just what happened. Did he ever exist? The answer is yes.

That tiki was part of the decor out front. As they widened US 1 over the years, the Mai Kai had to squeeze itself back a bit to make room for the road. I am told the big tikis were moved a few times. But the tiki in question was stone and huge. It was moved permanently some time in the night in the sixties. Someone came in with a crane and grabbed it and it was never seen again. Here is a photo for identification.

If you have seen this tiki, please call LOgan 6-1513 with any and all leads. Or email me.

Thank you dear for the drinks! Our lovely server who danced in the dinner show later.

This Hukilau was very different to me. I took a friend with me, and what that meant was that I had no obligations and was able to spend lots of time talking to and getting to know the many wonderful people that come to Hukilau. It is these very people that made the event worth doing year after year though I lost money (sometimes lots of it!) on what was essentially a year long job. The stress and work was worth having these great people come together and have such a wonderful time. I met more people by Thursday afternoon than I think I had in the previous 4 years.

It is always a great day when you can spend time in the Mai Kai, but exploring it with Otto Von Stroheim and playing around with Bamboo Ben and Holden Westland and King Kukulele in the Mai Kai is way better. Sharing it with people who love it the way I do is fantastic.

Bre-Elle as the Mermaid was a treasure.

Pablus on stage at the Mai Kai stopping everything with the power of his song and his sweet voice was amazing. I am lucky to have him come around and sing in my Hapa Haole Hideaway regularly, so I know his magic. Everybody tasted it then.

Tiki Diablo and Basement Kahuna carving

Basement Kahuna and I already have plans to make next year even better!

I have wanted to do a site archiving tiki ephemera for a while. I worked with kohalacharms to plan a site to archive his collection and others. Humuhumu said she was working on a similar plan herself. Better to support her than split our resources.

Her latest creation is Arkiva Tropika, and it is the collection of Mimi Payne, and it is exquisite! One look at the front page and I fall in love with Poly Pop all over again!

Thanks Mimi for sharing and thanks Humuhumu for making it a joy!

Via Humu Kon Tiki

If there is a bigger fan of the Kahiki than tiki skip, I don’t know them. There are a couple of collectors I see spending money on Ebay, but skip has a huge advantage because he is in Columbus and has had a good relationship with the owners of the Kahiki and all those surrounding it since forever. His home is absolutely the bees knees of tiki and mid-century collectables and Kahiki stuff beyond everything else. The lamps alone would fill any 5 home tiki bars! So it is perfect and amazing that he got hold of this ultimate Kahiki item. There is no better place for it than skip’s home where so many other Kahiki items now are celebrated. Behold!

And skip will have it restored and it’s flame will once again burn for those who love the Kahiki and all that it stood for!

We will never forget!

The Tiki Central thread on ads for Polynesian Restaurants had me diggin this out to scan the ad for the Mai Kai. I am also preparing to take a lot of my collection to Hukilau. So, I decided to scan some of the images for this guide. 1957 is really a peak year for vintage style and there are some great views of the time here.

I had to start with this killer restaurant. Somebody tell me Doumar’s is still there and looks just the same! Click the image for the mega view.

A color postcard of Doumar’s Drive Inn. Man I want to see this place at night! 

The Bahia Mar, host to Hukilau 2004 and 2005 and where the action will be on Friday night this year.

Yes, you can bank from your car looking just awful like this woman!

Enjoy deep sea fishing!

Or shopping!

Mid-winter ice shows!

Causing a Hush when you enter the room!

Here you are arriving by plane!

And maybe stay or dine, etc. at the Yankee Clipper, which is the host hotel for this year’s Hukilau. They had a Polynesian review on the top floor back then.

Enjoy yourself Two Fathoms Down

And of course, visit the newly opened Mai Kai!

The Fern Grotto – Of all the pictures I have of people’s visits to Hawaii, this is one that shows up in almost all of them. This band. Often the picture is taken from above as the people come down the path behind them and hear the music. It must be a magical place, if it wasn’t for all the damn tourists!

 

Henri Rene is one of my favorites. He has a subtlety that the more popular Space Age artists lack. His music rewards the attentive and perceptive listener. It’s genius.

Henri Rene – Compulsion to Swing Updated 4-29-007

This is a nice LP that takes the Hawaiian music and peps it up a bit. Not the moody Exotica or the slow Hapa Haole. It does indeed swing!

Download it here!

 

Easily one of the most common Knoxville postcards, and the only card I have found for the Highland’s. I had no clue about it until some fellow Knoxvillians clued me in. The place is still there:

It is now Andrew Morton’s Fine Gifts. There is a strange twist to this place. Today it is a block or so off Kingston Pike or 11-70. In the old days, it was on 11-70. 11-70 went in front of it and next to Long’s and took a hard turn to cross the railroad bridge. It then went across and took another hard turn to follow Newcom back to what is now Kingston Pike.

There is also evidence that this was a change as 11-70, way way back, went straight through, down what is now Old Kingston Pike, across the railroad tracks to what is now Homberg.

Click here for the Google satellite shot to see how Kingston Pike runs to Old Kingston Pike and clearly used to not curve around as it does today.

Hawaiian Village Restaurant and Hotel

When I came across this card I had to get it because of its proximity to me. I have not been to Myrtle Beach. It is considered to be a very tacky and redneck place, but more and more I want to go to see what remnants are left there from the mid-century. It’s counterpart is near me in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, and there is a lot of vintage still there. So I have some hope this place stands in some form.

Being that it was “new” in 1965, this card is post-1965.

 

This set of carvings is intriguing. Is it Witco? The times are right, but these don’t look quite right. It is at least Witco inspired.

If anyone knows of the fate of this place, let me know. If anyone wants to sell me this giant carving that is junking up their garage, let me know.

 

UPDATE: A postcard view of the exterior.

UPDATE: Check out all the images and notes here on Tiki Central!

The Watauga Building – which at one time was a hotel, at the corner of Gay and Park Avenue.
Finding this place took some detective work and help from the community. First was Park Avenue. The answer to that came on the forums: 

In the late 1850s-1880s, this street was called Craig Street in the town of Shieldstown, east of First Creek, and was called Park Street in the city of Knoxville, west of First Creek. The streets were in separate towns, neither was a main thoroughfare, there was no bridge over the creek, and the streets did not meet. The main streets out to Chilhowee Park were East Fifth and Linden, and the early streetcars, horse-drawn, took these routes in the 1870s and 1880s.In the 1880s or 1890s, Brian Branner, mayor of Knoxville, who lived on Craig Street in Shieldstown, renamed Craig Street after his mother Magnolia Branner. At some point Park Street in Knoxville was renamed Magnolia, probably to match the rest of the street. This would most likely have been after the bridge was built over First Creek connecting the streets, after trolleys were running out Magnolia Avenue, or after Shieldstown and its subdivisions, known as Park City, were incorporated by Knoxville.

Margery Bensey
Park City

That placed the Watauga at the corner where Regas is today, but across from the Regas is Whist Court, which is not at all right and the other two corners were leveled for the Interstate. Being that the Regas is only two stories, the Watauga must have been destroyed right? Take a look at the picture:

Photo courtesy Wes Morgan 

Notice a remarkable resemblance? Were there two buildings built with the same plans, one 2 stories and one 5? The answer came from Jack Neely:

As weird as it seems, the current Regas building in fact does comprise the first two stories of the old Watauga Hotel, one of several hotels that used to be clustered near the Southern station. The three upper floors were razed in the early ’60s because they were empty and considered a fire and crumbling hazard. In those days, there wasn’t much motive to fix them up. Regas wasn’t always there–it started as the ‘Ocean Cafe,’ on Gay near old Commerce. But it has been there since the early-to-mid 1920s. It was originally in a much smaller luncheonette-sized space of the Watauga, but radically remodelled in the ’50s, I assume about the time the Watauga closed, taking up most of the floor.

Thanks for your interest,

Jack Neely

The Watauga lives! The whole thread is HERE 

 

This little EP was produced by Enogh Light. I had hopes… The first thing that should have dashed those hopes was the name of the orchestra leader: Whiteman. The second was the “Accent on Strings.” Yawn fest. Yet I hoped. Hopes dashed. I recorded it anyway. If you need some soft strings with a Hawaiian bent, download it. Forgive the dirt as this EP had no sleeve and the record just got dirty in all those unprotected years… Nice cover though.

Download here

This is the oldest card. Check out the phone number!

The postcards say it is 3 miles north of Knoxville on Highways 33 and 71. That’s all. So I really had no idea where this was. Then one day as I was driving over Black Oar Ridge on North Broadway, it hit me. That old motel I had taken pictures of before there was the Black Oak Court! How had I been so dense?

This old linen card shows the same place, for sure.

Another older linen card of the same place.

 

This chrome card looks like a different place, but maybe it’s a remodel. The classic stone facade of the 50s.

 

This most clear card shows the glass brick, blueish front to the rooms.

 

Here is is today. The buildings are still there, but overgrown. The beautiful glass brick fronts are still there on the cabin/rooms.

 

This view shows the cabins back there, but there is too much growth to see the fronts. I will try to get back and hike back there for more pictures.

This is an awesome thing. Over on PCL Linkdump, they have compiled all the shared rips of classic lounge records into one big ol’ post, plus links to articles on the artists. This is a real treasure. If you were debating paying for a Rapidshare account, this ought to push you over the edge, at least for a month or so…

My 1976 receiver had a problem. Noise. Just plain garbley noise when I tried to run the sound out to the computer to record LPs to digital. It’s not that much money to get it fixed, but somehow I never got it fixed. I spent the better part of a year without being able to record LPs. That meant no new Exotica CDs for sale on my site and no new music period to listen to and share.

But this week, I am back in business. I have everything repaired and can start back on this long term project. I have continued to buy records of course. And there is now an even bigger pile to be converted. I had plenty already.

It’s a pretty time consuming job. The first step is the hardest. You have to match your stereo output to the computer input to get the levels nice and hot, but not too hot. Once that is dialed in, you can then record the record. Once the record is recorded, you need to edit each side into tracks. And usually there are pops and noise to edit out of those songs. I do it manually. None of the automatic filters works well to me. They mess with the whole sound. I just smooth out the bad pops. And then you type in the info and save the tracks. One album likely takes 2 1/2 hours to finish. Part of that is just starting the record and letting it record. Much of it is tedious work.

There is a clipping problem I still need to work out.

So, in celebration of my return to recording I am sharing this first LP. It’s a recent find that I have been playing a lot. I just love this old Hawaiian music.

Music of Old Hawaii by The Sons of Hawaii featuring Gabby Pahinui – London International – SW-99396

I only have side one recorded. It’s a busy weekend. I’ll get the rest to you sometime this weekend.

UPDATE: This weekend has turned out to be more hectic than I imagined. I woke up Sunday morning with a hang-over and strep. I also have a rush order on a puffer fish lamp. So, rather than wait to put this out until I can edit all the pops out of the songs, I am just putting the tracks out there. Forgive the noise. The link below has all the tracks in it.

Download it here

UPDATE: There is something funky about the recording. Maybe some skipping problem. I have been listening to the download here at work. I will have to investigate. The oddity of the way they play and sing on some songs just makes it sound crazy!

The Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale is my favorite place on Earth. It’s far beyond words. Knowing the owners only makes me love it more. If you don’t know about the Mai Kai, look at my page HERE for a little information.

As part of my love for the place I started work on a Mai Kai fan site a while back. If I had more time, it would be done by now, but, you know how that goes. I have managed to get images of every vintage postcard the Mai Kai produced (as far as anyone can tell me.) So, here is that sampling of the Mai Kai ephemera catalog.

Early card showing the cannibal trio of tikis on the sign.

 

 

Perhaps the earliest photo card. The coverig for the valet area is not there yet. Look how few trees are around. It really was out in the middle of nowhere. 
 

A slightly later image, now showing the covered valet area. These two are some of the most common pastcards.
 

Another early photo card.
 

Early interior shot.
 

This was the bar before the renovation in the 1970s that created the Molokai Lounge. I am told it was really an incredible room and this single image does it no justice. There was some sort of mural that I am told was incredible.
 

I assume this is an early card just because it is linen. Linen postcards went out of style a long time ago in favor of chrome. I think this is likely where the garden area is now.

 
 

This is perhaps the oldest card. It seems to be an architectural drawing of the Mai Kai, done perhaps before they opened in 1956.
 

The famous iconic Mystery Drink Lady. This piece of Polynesian Pop was invented by the Mai Kai.
 

A classic luau scene at the Mai Kai.
 

The friendly wait staff of the Mai Kai.
 

The pouring of the Flaming Coffee Grog.
 

This is a little later than the second card above. The covered valet area is there now.

 

 

This is also perhaps a very early card from before they opened showing an architectural rendering of the Mai Kai.
 

The coasters on the bar and the style of the Rum Barrel tell that this is a very early image. Likely 1950s, maybe early 1960s.
 

Here is his counterpart. I think this card is dated 1963. I know that’s got to be a wig, but, wow, what hair! The picture is taken in exactly the same spot as the one above. It could be the same photo shoot which would make the above image not 1950s.
 

An exterior shot from the road. This tiki is still there in front of Bora Bora. My guess is that this is from the mid 1970s, but I am not sure.
 

A wider shot of the with the same tiki. You can see the city now coming to meet the Mai Kai. The car is early 70s. I think this is an image after the remodel that added to the Mai Kai in the 1970s.
 

The first of a trio of paintings of the Mai Kai that were made into postcards.

 


 

A long picture card.
A linen card of the Molokai Lounge.  That means it came out in the 1970s, but the style is old. Maybe this is also an architectural image of an uncompleted lounge, before it was opened.
 

The performers of the Mai Kai. I think this is from the 1970s as well.
 

I think these are interior images from before the renovations.
 

I think this is a later shot. Maybe 1970s.
 

 

This shows the room that would become the gift shop after the remodel. I think it is from the early 1970s.

 

 

A recent postcard. 
I think it is all of them. If you have any not here, please send me images of them.

If you have not been to the Mai Kai, you need to put it on the top of your to-do list and think about coming down in a month to Hukilau when it will be filled with enthusiasts from around the world. It is truly greater than any description can give.

UPDATE: Another new one found.

I think this is the most common record Bob put out, but it is a good one!

Download here Updated 4-29-007

I have been sharing a few of the images from my slide collection here on the Blather for a bit. I am going to take the set of the best slides with me to Hukilau and have a showing of them over the weekend. It will probably occur late at night, in the room in which everyone is congregating. So just look for Pablus or the giant batch of rum cocktail mixed by Basement Kahuna after the main event somewhere in the Bahia Cabana. I’ll be there with the vacation slides of a few dozen trips to the islands taken 40 years ago…

Ah, calling me back to old Hawaii, 1969. How old do you think she is? The style of the times means she may be 16 or 30, it’s just hard to tell.

The songs off this record I put on a mix CD I gave to Pablus have been some of his favorites, so I thought I’d spread this recording around.

Click here to download.

Here is our ecstatic vacationing couple having the time of their lives. He is letting his hair down and wearing that crazy shirt neatly tucked  in his  pants. I’ve seen a lot of these types of pictures and they never cease to amuse me. This is part of a set of maybe 75 slides. Lots of scenery and a good number of old people having fun like this one above. But, there in the middle of the set is a slide that is completely out of place. It just caught me off guard. This image below was likely Grandpa’s highlight of the 1974 trip to Hawaii…

Go Grandpa! Love the tan lines! Makes me wonder. Did he dare to snap this and deal with it when they got home and she saw it? That pose! Just what are the circumstances that led to this single picture of the hot young gal???

I love Mel Henke! And who doesn’t? He is quirky and full of stereo action, plus he has an out front sense of humor in his music without being cliched. Great stuff. Most have heard “La Dolce Henke,” but maybe this LP is new to you. Warner Brothers BS 1447. It’s along the lines of Equivel’s sound scapes.

Mel Henke – Dynamic Adventures in Sound

I posted this topic earlier and it turns out I was wrong. Mark said he thought the Dwarf was at the corner of Merchants and Clinton Highway. That seemed wrong to me because that building looks nothing like the postcard. A reader on the Swank Forums did the research and it turns out that is one of the locations. It has been very heavily renovated!

Before

Here is the building now. 

The poster also gave me an address for the other Dwarf Restaurant on Clinton Highway and a look at Google maps and I knew it was correct. I also recalled the buildings, as I pass the daily and it was all coming together. The address I had on the postcard was just plain wrong and sent me on a wild goose chase.

Here you see on the left, the Dwarf building and right of center, the Tate Motel office building and the cleared lot where the motel rooms were. Luckily, Google maps uses older images so this is pre-junk yard.

Here is the best image showing the two buildings in their prime. This is in the mid-1950s and it appears the Tate did not have the office building yet. You gotta love the sign!

Why a dwarf? It predates that Travelocity thing by a few decades. 

Here is a later image of the Tate Motel and it looks like the restaurant is no longer the Dwarf. Also note the office building is there.


And here is a postcard of just the Tate Motel with no office. Look at the size of the trees to see this is an early image.

Here is a very early linen card. The roof sign attracted barn-stormers.

“Chicken in the basket” is a take off of the popular “Chicken in the Rough.”

Here it is today. The Dwarf and the Tate. I didn’t bother (or dare) poke around for remnants of the past. Not much to find I am sure and they would not welcome me.

Peggy is pretty hot on this cover for sure. And she is such a cutie-pie on the album for sure. This is a very peppy and fun record and you just have to love Peggy for it. Not much more to say than that! Download it and enjoy!

I think the Mai Kai stopped making these calendars in the early 1990s. I have never asked why. Maybe because times changed and people didn’t buy them any more. Maybe they were mostly given to members and they just decided to cut costs. Maybe it just didn’t seem politically correct. I doubt the last one. The Mai Kai has always done things their way and made it work and not bowed to a few people’s opinions. These calendars are certainly not racy.

I came across this article about the Mai Kai today that’s a very interesting read for fans.

This first sampling is Kainoa. She retired from the difficult schedule of dancing for the Mai Kai a while ago due to a knee injury. She dances with Polynesian Proud now, at least sometimes. She danced for the opening of Hukilau 2004 and it was a highlight for me. She is an un-aging island beauty like Mrs. Thornton, who is as beautiful today as ever. And I had the pleasure to meet Kainoa’s mother and, well, they could be sisters, and they could be 20!

This picture has it all! Just look at those drinks! Just look at those lamps! Just look at those heads!
Ah, the shrunken heads of the Mai Kai…

A man I would like to meet (have met?) The head mixologist at the Mai Kai, Mariano Licudine. HERE is a nice article on him. He started out at Don the Beachcomber’s before coming to the Mai Kai. He is best known as the inventor of the “Derby Daiquiri,” one of my favorite drinks. I was given the back rooms tour of the Mai Kai by General Manager Kern Mattie and this area is what you don’t see in the Molokai Lounge.
What this picture says is still true today. There are many people at the Mai Kai who have been there for decades. The owners treat their staff well because they know that a good staff is important to making the Mai Kai great.

For a perfect way to experience the Mai Kai and it’s magic, (okay I am a bit biased about the event I started and brought there in 2003) come to Hukilau in October when the Mai Kai will be filled to capacity with fans.

1963, at the Polynesian Cultural Center – I think it says “Ceremony of the Longlances.”

With Ms. Swanky in realty, we get the occasional opportunity to see some fantastic homes we can only dream about. Last weekend, the company had a get together at just such a house.

It was built in 1965-66 by a doctor. The property is a bit out of the way, but the land was chosen for the incredible view. It sits on 33 acres, so, you won’t have to worry about neighbors crowding you ever.

From the outside it has a certain modern look, but also a mountain lodge feeling. Inside there are a good many remaining touches of 1966 that just made me swoon. The porcelain and tile in the bathrooms was still mostly original and just fantastic. This, by the way, is how you date it rather exactly. Under the toilet lid of older homes is the exact date of manufacture.

There was a vintage intercom system through out the house, as well as speakers that ran to a central location to attach to a stereo.
One bedroom had a pristine drop down ironing board. And there were these small “shelf” pieces around the fireplace.
A simply lovely house with incredible potential. Built to high standards in 1966. Available with 10 acres for $890,000, or all 33 acres for $1,200,000. If you are interested in buying, email me and I can get you a tour of the place.

In 2003, 2004 and 2005, we rented about 35 rooms at the Bahia Cabana to Hukilau guests. This year it’s filled with Hukilau guests for the first time. That should make for a very great weekend.

The Bahia Caban sits on the spot of the hanging of a pirate in Fort Lauderdale.

The Mai Kai is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year, and is still run and owned by the same family. It remains the number one “must see in my lifetime” destination for many. This is the best time to see it too. Filled with several hundred people who all walk in the place and never want to leave. People who relish the mood that takes them so very far away from normal life, to an oasis.

Knowing that nearly every person you pass at the Bahia Cabana is a Hukilau attendee should insure meeting lots of new and old friends and a great time. Someone once said you could hold Tiki Oasis at a Motel 6 and it would still be an incredible time because of the people. This will be one of the best times, with some of the best people.

This postcard eluded me for a while because I had no information on it’s location. But a reader of my forums knew it and pointed me to the right place. I drove past there daily for a months now and didn’t recognize it.

It is pretty run down. But there are people there doing something. Likely not making it a motel. Now we know the location.

I bought this menu for obvious reasons. The drink prices tell me it’s pretty old. I love the graphics and I love the imagery of the Tonga Room.
When the menu arrived I was in for a surprise. I looked at the little description next to the drink, and it was the recipe. They were all the recipes! Indeed, as I actually looked at what was in my hands it does say “Tonga Room Tropical Drink Recipes.”

Straight from the Grog Log, these were the recipes I had made before, handed to me by Beachbum Berry. Here is the “Tonga Room Zombie” I had made not too long ago. I recall it’s stiff punch. I had 3 or 4 and was well lit.

The Tonga Room is still in San Fransico and everyone says it is worth seeing, but not so well worth staying, even for a drink.

Here it is in its Technicolor hayday, and in its 1940s glory.

Give it a visit when in the area. 

And what’s “Pinky” in the Honolulu Cocktail?

UPDATE 7-12: I just noticed in the illustrations they use the cherry as a sort of anchor for the garnish. They are wedging the the rim of the glass between the cherry and orange slice to keep it in place. The cherry also seems to be speared a little off-center to give more meat to hold it in place. I’ll have to remember that. 

 This is a picture of the sign at the Sands on the day Dean Martin opened for the first time on the main stage. I had a little fun with it and added myself. I love that Martin Denny is in the second room that night. Classic crooner and the king of exotica on the same bill. Awesome! I make note of this for one simple reason. The Sands is destined for the wrecking ball. This home of the Rat Pack and of course the Aku Aku restaurant, which Bamboo Ben’s grandfather helped create, is being torn down so that it can be made ginormous. Go visit while you can.

 No, not the Quinten Tarantino movie, the all nighter at the Drive-In movie! A real treat from the past that is much as I recall it from my own childhood. We in East Tennessee are fortunate to have a few active Drive Ins.

The Parkway is where we are headed this weekend for chilli dogs and watching on lawn chairs under blankets and maybe sneaking in a little rum to mix with the coke to knock off any chill in the air. More about this after the fact.

Update: This was not as fun as it was before. It seems that a number of people decided that the times between flicks were when you crank up your own tunes for everyone to enjoy. Loud metal and hip-hop are A) not what I want to hear and 2) not fun played loudly simultaneously.

The highlight of the adventure was the guys in the car to our left. They had fired up a little wacky weed at some point and they cranked up some Metalica too. It’s funny how the loud music makes you talk really loud to hear each other, but those nearby hear every word you say very clearly. So, we’re in the middle of the movie and the guy says “that’s straight out of the book!” And, “if they show the part where he gets arrested, that’s from the book.” “That’s in the book!” Not an uncommon thing to hear in movies based on books. But, this was “Curious George.” 

And I was really looking forward to the chilli dogs, but what I got was a big fat hot dog with meaty chilli that had beans in it. I wanted the little skinny dog and the chilli “sauce” I had come to expect from a concession stand. I didn’t want quality!

I recall when I first came across Lileks’ site. I loved it. And then I wondered if people thought I was copying him. Well, I started my site completely independantly. Great minds…

He has posted Tennessee postcards now and has highlighted some places I have researched myself. Check out his images of TN HERE. Those cards of the Monteagle are awesome. Here are my pictures of it now. And the Admiral Benbow research is on my forums HERE. Sadly gone.

I had these two images of the enigmatic “Dwarf Restaurant” in Knoxville.

 

It’s clear now there either were two of them or two locations. The first is clearly related to the Tate Motel which I located a while ago. Recently on the Swank Pad forums, a local pointed me to what I now beleive is the location in the second postcard. I took these pictures this morning.

Looks very close.