Post #233316 by tikijackalope on Mon, May 22, 2006 10:20 AM

While all of Sam's artifacts are still in one place, while it's employees can be reached (and if its owner can be reached), it might be a good idea (and fun!) for someone to seek out the the most knowledgeable people there and take a little walk around while asking questions.

Who started the business and did they have connections to other restaurants?

Who owned it at the time the tiki decor was brought in? Did they own other restaurants and were they tiki?

Where did the tikis come from?

...one source or several?

...made to order or from a catalog?

Is the name of the carver(s) known? Some look like the work of Milan Guanko, others look Guanko-esque but less complex than many of the ones at Tucson's Kon Tiki.

Why does one of them have what looks like a neck tie painted on?

And what about the other decor...any good anecdotes behind particular pieces?

I was told on the phone that there had been a fire in the early 60's (1960?) and that the reconstruction resulted in the current building. Is that when tikification occurred? The gentleman I spoke with also told me it had tikis since its founding, but that's not likely.

Are there any photos in the office of the place in
earlier days that can be copied now, while they are easy to get to?

Think like the place is already gone, its people lost to the vast LA employment pool and its artifacts displaced and/or scattered. Here's your chance to earn the gratitude of future urban archaeologists.

I tried lots of these questions on the phone when I was researching to write text to go with photos I took last year for a blog entry - I got practically nowhere. Good luck, have fun and remind many crustaceans of the food chain.