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

Post #21066 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Mon, Jan 27, 2003 5:45 PM

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7Tikis and SugarCaddyDaddy - You guys crack me up with all your CSI high-tech sleuthing. I appreciate the help too, honestly. Unfortunately, I don't think I provided you with the best quality scans to begin with. Here are some higher-res photos that I'm afraid make for a less-intriguing story.

First, the telephone. I'm afraid all it says is "Telephone"

Next the back of the chair:

And the shorts. It looks like just patterns of sunlight. No logos.

The shirt seems to be pretty plain too:

The patterns on the ground behind the young man's legs are the shadows from the chains between the pilings.

The patch of light inside the bar itself is the one thing that remains intriguing. I'm voting for a mirror on the wall that's reflecting sunlight, but it's just a guess:

I was able to take my postcard collection, including this photo, to Oceanic Arts in Whittier last Thursday. Bob and Leroy were both intrigued with the picture as well, but had never seen the place either. They told me that this is nothing new, they hear of new places all the time, despite their wide knowledge. They scanned the photo on their computer and printed a large copy to keep up next to the cash register. Hopefully one of their old-time customers will be able to provide a clue. They are pretty sure the Aloha Lounge was in California. Bumatay's tikis pretty much stayed within the state. They also recognized the tiki torches as models they used to sell themselves back in the 1960s:

This was my first trip to Oceanic Arts and I was duly flabbergasted. The amount of history in that warehouse and the sheer mass of tikis and decor is truly amazing. Both Bob and Leroy were really gracious in showing me around. I had no idea they provided the decor for so many of the places pictured in my postcard collection. That and the fact that some of the tikis that you could see in my old postcards had actually migrated back to Oceanic Arts - the two tikis in front of the doors of the old Luau in Beverly Hills, for instance. It was great to see and touch these old historic pieces.

Then they broke out their collection of old photos and menus as well and my "long lunch hour" turned into a three-hour lunch. Luckily I made it back to the office without anyone realizing I had been gone for so long. I promised I would make another visit to Oceanic Arts soon and bring some more of my postcard and matchcover albums.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-10-29 00:09 ]