The Polynesian Village, Boston, MA (restaurant)

Name:The Polynesian Village in Boston, MA
Type:restaurant
Street:Somerset Hotel - 400 Commonwealth Ave.
City:Boston
State:MA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
The Polynesian Village was evidently at one time, Boston's main competition for Trader Vic's. It was located off the foyer in the Hotel Somerset. Opened in 1948, it closed in 1968 when it was bought by Bobby Seto, who moved it's furnishings to Cambridge's Fresh Pond area, where it was reincarnated as the Aku Aku. The large entrance-tiki, which resided in both locations was bought by a private party in 1999.

Here is a postcard view of the interior of The Polynesian Village:

And some closeups:


Mmmm. Cigarettes and Rum Drinks in Pineapples.

The back of the postcard reads:
The Polynesian Village. Somerset Hotel. The most unusual restaurant in New England specializing in exotic Canonese food and tropical drinks. The decor of the village is completely authentic constructed of materials imported from the Pacific and other far off lands.

Here's a nice ashtray from the restaurant as well:

I believe Puamanu will be adding photos of her menus next.

Sabu

[edited by hanford to fix the subject formatting]

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2003-07-25 03:50 ]

That's a great ashtray & postcard !

Here's a cocktail & appetizer menu from the Polynesian Village:

There was also a Polynesian Village at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago (the menu below is from the Edgewater location):

This style of die cut menu was also used by The Polynesian Village in Boston, and one just sold on ebay a few days ago :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=850&item=3618429866
It looks identical, with same illustrations, type style, etc. Inside the above menu, it states that both the Somerset Hotel
in Boston & Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago were owned by the Hotel Corporation of America. Were there more
Polynesian Village locations owned by this hotel chain, or was this just a borrowed idea for menu graphics?

[ Edited by: puamana on 2003-07-24 12:33 ]

I recently picked up one of these matchbooks from the Polynesian Village.

Here is another cool postcard from the Polynesian Village on Mimi's website.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/497a73a5.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=2a0723565b60391edab520639782ff54

And here is a postcard from the Polynesian Bar in the Somerset Hotel.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/497a7aea.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=900741e28417f22f2ea59deeb8e8de75

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2009-01-23 18:20 ]

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2009-01-23 18:21 ]

Here is another old postcard from the Polynesian Village at the Somerset.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/49813e3d.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=75204e98c9290876698c0d29d300b138

DC

On 2003-07-24 12:26, puamana wrote:

There was also a Polynesian Village at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago

Here is the same matchbook from the Edgewater location that was used at the Somerset. Wish we could still see that menu.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/498104fe.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=96e8a8beb5191c5c9a9f0108ac720df9
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/498104f6.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=2b992fb4e57b287fe56e9297e28f09ac

DC

Interesting that their matchbook and ash tray logo Tiki was manufactured as a swizzle stick until recently:

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/35/4981e37f.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=dbd1f10883af1ac8cd22a3fb89cb5437

and also resembles this Kahiki mug and its later incarnations:

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/35/4981e364.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=82475bd631adeff5e7a42c5afe2969e3

One of those "Which came first-the chicken or the egg?" type of Tiki mysteries.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/35/4981e3a5.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=dc4fba47159f6d29fc0f801b276787be

The mug, the swizzle, or the rendering?

Bigbro,

Very nice matchbook from the Tiki Club in Thibodaux, LA. You need to add that to the Cajun Tiki thread I started a while back. Is that Huki-Lau swizzle also from the Huki-Lau in Metarie, LA?

I'm thinking the graphics came first then the swizzle. I need to start getting more swizzles.

DC

I don't own that matchbook, DC, I borrowed it for the BOT --from which I got this scan. :)
And no clue as to the swizzle's exact origin. The hyphened spelling seems to be unique, no?

Saw this ashtray on ebay and thought I would add the images since Sabu's have succumbed to the dreaded Red X.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d44424a.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=ec8e7d140349108678c511c8dafe9bcd

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d444243.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=90e89f28ec557596778914c0fa0cc894

Also the postcard that started this thread.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d444251.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=c623306e2c4dce523bfa3f866f4f1b90

DC

Some images of the drink and appetizer menu from the Polynesian Village. Several references to Skipper Kent (who started the restaurant).

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4dd71ba3.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=db92100715ebcf9eb37a62e779eef69f

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4dd71b96.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=313a4efbe9c7dcc43747f16d4ce49999

Including a drink named after his boat the White Cloud.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4dd71c38.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=b8e952a200fcf7c0e51a7529e7ed12a2

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/66198/4dcc4661.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=e64b554c26476c6dd20c70424e184ff6

DC

I found this info re: White Cloud:

Frank "Skipper" Kent earned his nickname as a yachtsman in the 1930s and 1940s. Skipper owned two yachts, "Magic Carpet" and "White Cloud". Known for rubbing elbows with California's rich and famous, Skipper sailed with actors Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart. Together they visiting exotic ports throughout the world, sailing to remote ports in the Caribbean, Australia, Indonesia, and the Phillippines. Skipper competed in yacht racing events throughout the 1940s, winning second place in the famed Transpacific Yacht Race in 1941 and 1947.

Trad'r Bill,

The White Cloud legacy in the Tiki history is pretty cool. As reported by Bifcozz, Skipper Kent gave the Sheraton hotel chain of Poly Pop restaurants to Steven Crane when he decided to move to Hawaii. So that is how we got...

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d31046e.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=993782c9171bd3af6472380964fc2028

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d310469.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=8a953f176476fbe738c13c00f5106093

Photos of the White Cloud build with Steven Crane.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d310520.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=5b68ef7721993aa419161aaded1df4e1

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d310516.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=1f36b312379e5e9a401b2d1a6d23ceb9

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/4d31053f.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=c1a3a43e9f3512aa582bd04e5bdc8593

I have to assume that this was part of the original Skipper Kent design that Crane implemented when he got the Sheraton gig.

DC

Very cool DC! That's a great connection between SK and Steve Crane re: the Sheraton deal.

I scored one of the drink menu table toppers that I had posted images of before. There was one more side of the menu that shows the Skipper Kent connection, his own drinks!

Skipper Kent's Grog and Skipper's Gold

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/501585aa.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=3cce04ba23cd724dd0cba531870f5b85

And while we're on the subject of the Polynesian Village, how about this photo of Ramine, the dancing star form the Cinermera South Seas Adventure film with the head chef at the Polynesian Village.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/5015863a.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=27afe4f7a69241e055c1be3d5f328a6a

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/5015862f.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=585eeb192e7cbc3b77f1bf9065124c6a

How timely with the approaching showing of the movie in Hollywood.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=43422&forum=17&hilite=south seas adventure

And lastly, one more little piece of history I found in my research. Skipper Kent's wife helped paint the walls at both the Boston and Chicago Polynesian Village establishments.

" Lucille Kent, wife of noted restaurateur Frank Skipper Kent, was an accomplished California painter, well known on the West Coast and in Hawaii. Her studies took her from San Francisco and Berkeley as far afield as Chicago, the Instituto at San Miguel Allende, and the Bellas Artes in Taxco Mexico. Kent studied under such noted artists as Thomas Leighton, Arthur Palmer, Peter Blos, Marques Reitzel, Joseph Bennet, Senor Pinto, Don James Oats, and Senor Fidel Figueroa.

In addition to many solo exhibitions, Mrs. Kent designed and helped to paint the Polynesian Village dining room and the banquet area of the Edgewater Hotel in Chicago, and a similar Polynesian Village in the Somerset Hotel in Boston. "

It boggles the mind to consider how different the Tiki scene would have been if the Kent's had not opted out for Hawaii.

DC

Found this photo on-line of a splendid Barney West Tiki at the Polynesian Village, Somerset Hotel, Boston.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/8169/52b388dd.jpg?w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=ea03d45b7a01d318292d327016a610b5

DC