Post #331481 by Tangaroa-Ru on Sun, Sep 9, 2007 11:00 PM

I grew up in Las Flores Canyon, and my family's home overlooked the Albatross. For decades now, all that remains is the bulldozed lot, surrounded by fence. The palm trees are still there, and the pool has been filled in. My parents said there was quite a bit of low-brow activity that took place there, in its later years (prostitution and that kind of thing) but I was just a kid and didn't know about that. I just liked looking down at the palm trees and the pool. Next door to The Albatross was the Malibu Sea Lion Restaurant, which catered to the Blue-Haired, early-bird meal crowd from nearby Santa Monica. NOW, however, it is the wonderful Duke's Restaurant, which is full of Hawaiiana memorabilia and seriously good seafood. (And a wonderful Sunday Hawaiian-style buffet.) Tiki people will like this place, even if it is mainly Hawaiiana, not Tiki. What I miss is the old Tonga-Lei, which was Malibu's Tiki bar, located next to the Malibu Pier. There's just a parking lot there now. So sad. It was great.

Back to The Albatross: I have no idea who owns that land or why no one has built anything on it for so long. My guess is that someone has deemed the land "unbuildable" since it's near a creek outlet or due to the Coastal Commission building restraints. Or maybe it's some enviromental reasoning.