Post #301628 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Apr 24, 2007 11:07 PM

Aaaah, it was a gorgeous day for urban archeology today, and so I went into the deep valley to find the mythical site of the POLYNESIA APARTMENTS. Because of the recent fieldwork of previous TC archaeologists, the gods smiled on me today, and here are the results:

Once the first building on the block, it must have been a grandiose sight in its heyday (could not find out date of inception). The friendly manager told me the same old story of the Poly pop generation gap: After the original owners died, the children were disinterested in the building and gradually all features like tropical plantings and the waterfall were taken out. I do not know if there ever were any Tikis. There is a small swimming pool, and two sawed off poles in the courtyard, but no sight of any other Poly pop decor. I wish I would have found this place when I began my expeditions in the early 90s, the owners were still living on the premises then.

It nevertheless is a real find, here are the photos:

The name is great, the barbed wire and security gate are a symbol of Paradise Lost

My colleague Naomi Alper suggested that there might have been an A-frame above the entrance on the right side of the building (off frame)

The mural's signature

The most impressive and unique feature is the enormous size of the Tami Mask mural!

Here is why I feel so certain that the book "Arts of the South Seas" is the source for all the mid-century reproductions of this mask:

The book's photo was in stark B&W, and all subsequent reproductions of the mask I have found have been in Black and White, or monochrome, or it's color scheme has been misrepresented:

A Spanish mug from my Kon-Id edition

...while in this contemporary postcard from the mask's home the true color scheme is revealed.

Thanks to everyone for their efforts, another Tiki temple has been recorded for posterity. :)