Post #104520 by tikijackalope on Tue, Jul 27, 2004 3:42 PM

This is the sign along Broadway. They just painted the lines to make it look like bamboo within the past few months:

The main sign, right outside the business. The manager told me they might get the gas torches going again; apparently because they never disconnected the gas, they'd be permitted to do so. I think the sign might be based on The Islander in Los Angeles, which existed at least four years before Kon Tiki (Book of Tiki, page 12). Is that the case or did both signs have an earlier ancestor?:

This tiki by Milan Guanko is stationed on a sidewalk to the left of the building. It is pictured in the Book of Tiki on page 248 back when it was for sale at Gray's Nursery in South Los Angeles as was discussed previously in TC ( http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6768&forum=6&vpost=79594 )

The approach from the parking lot; its actually a pretty small patch of land but gives a good feeling of transition from the asphalt.

I don't know if there was ever water in this pond, but it looks rather nice without it:

The tiki at the other end is pretty big, but most of its detail is from paint rather than contour. It looks best at night:

They have two of these small tikis; one is to the right of the door and the other i at the edge of the tile pond. I think they are made of stone:

This tiki is on your right as you enter the foyer, I'm betting it's another Milan Guanko. That hanging lamp was probably made by Orchids of Hawaii; I don't know who made the wall-mounted one:

And this one is on your left as you enter; its pictured in Tiki Road Trip and was discussed previously in TC as being by Milan Guanko. ( http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6768&forum=6&vpost=79687 ):

This one is stylistically different than all the rest. Its left eye has broken off and they keep it behind the nearby host/hostess station. If I imagine it w/o the paint it looks like it could be from Oceanic Arts(?):

This guy is obviously along the bar:

This one inhabits the right-hand seating area along the wall:

This one faces the doorway and is placed in about the middle of the building:

Behind the one above, these two smaller pieces flank a fountain:

These are stylistically different than the rest. They've got three of them, one behind the bar near a TV and two facing each other in the entrance to the back left dining room. I think I've seen these in pictures of other places but I don't know who made them. Early Orchids of Hawaii, maybe? Would anyone care to volunteer their knowledge?:

This flat painted image of a tiki is inside the huge terrarium behind the bar. It used to hold birds, now a Nile monitor lives in there though it is seldom seen. I love the clam shells:

This is my favorite atmosphere shot of the place:

Detail from a back-lit panel in the back right dining area:

View of the back left dining area, nice Orchids of Hawaii dodecahedron lamp, but I don't know who made the one on the left:

Back wall of the back left room:

The ceiling in the middle of the bar:

Various walls:

A really huge scallop lamp; it must weigh a ton:

This next group of photos represents tikis that were placed, most in pairs, flanking entrances to seating areas:

I love this place. It has many of the flaws listed in Tiki Road Trip, especially during evenings the latter part of the week when its anything but a quiet village. One should remember though, the cash register at Kon Tiki is quite active in a time when other tiki bars struggle so I'd be disinclined to advise them to change their stratogy.

And in the early part of the week, especially during the day, it is rather placid and one can roam among the tikis, the flotsam and the jetsam unmolested by TVs, discordant music, and the latest lingo shouted at the top of drunken lungs. Its a museum to me, a 41 year-old nicotine stained poly-pop decor museum where they coincidentally serve food and drink.

(edited to replace former Shutterfly photos)

[ Edited by: tikijackalope 2007-02-11 09:04 ]