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Tiki Central / General Tiki / Tiki Archeology - The Aloha Lounge

Post #19537 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Tue, Jan 14, 2003 5:55 PM

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Fellow Brethren,

Last week I made one of those finds that as a postcard collector, is as sweet to me as those Steve Crane mugs are to you mug collectors - An actual family photo that someone took in front of an old Tiki Bar back in the day. And better yet, it's a place I've never heard of before - the ALOHA LOUNGE. It's a small black & white kodak photo, but I've enlarged it here.

Unfortunately, there are absolutely no identifying marks on this picture. No writing on the back, no date-stamp, no address or street names in the photo itself. A complete mystery to me.

Based on the shorts and the haircut, I would guess this dates from the 1970s or slightly earlier. Would you agree? Also, it has the feel of a California or Florida location to me. The pilings might indicate a bar that takes it's decor from a nearby ocean. That's just my feeling though. It just doesn't look Hawaii to me, but I could be wrong.

Big-bro, is this another Andres Bumatay tiki?

If it is, then what states did he sell his tikis in? The tiki looks so sharp and freshly-carved. It might give a clue as to when the photo was taken.

There's another tiki panel on the door to the right of the young man:

Does anybody recognize it, or know the maker?

I searched the internet a bit and came up with a couple "Aloha Lounges", but none of them look likely to me. Still, I haven't seen them mentioned here on Tiki Central, so here are the links. Maybe some of you can check them out:

First, THE ALOHA LOUNGE - "New York City's original gay lounge. Often imitated, never duplicated":
http://www.glounge.com/feature/events/pride/alohaLounge.html
http://www.glounge.com/feature/events/pride/luau.html

Then there's the stunning ALOHA LOUNGE at the Camelot Resort hotel in North Bay, Ontario. Have any of you Canadians visited this place yet?
http://www.camelotresort.ca/pool.htm

And finally, the ALOHA LOUNGE at the Outrigger Reef hotel in Waikiki. (Have you ever been here, Gecko?):
http://www.restaurantswaikiki.com/Aloha_Lounge.htm

But I'm going to hazard a wild guess that none of these places are the ALOHA LOUNGE pictured in my photo.

The photo looks great in my postcard album nonetheless, and I'm ecstatic to own it, but if any of you can help me identify it exactly, then I'd be even happier. Thanks for the help.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-10-29 00:02 ]