Post #366692 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Mar 13, 2008 11:28 AM

Good points. Like all things, the reality of Tiki devolution was more complex, it was not a "Tiki Fever today- Tiki devolution the next day" situation, but a parallel shifting of tastes and generations, just like today there is a Tiki Revival, while Tiki places keep on shutting down at the same time. I checked, and the (by then Getty owned) Beachcomber chain made one more grand effort just around that time, with opening Corona Del Mar in 1969, Harbor Island San Diego and Marina Del Rey in 1970.
Like then and now, it is a question of different social strata. Like you said, Hollywood as a neighborhood had gotten dingy, and the Island Shack/Hideaway quality of the original Beachcomber locale had become dated, not cool and hip as it had been to the 30s/40s film crowd. But there still was the older generation, the yacht owners and the "Marina Swingers", that lived in places like Marina and Playa del Rey, who were fond of the fully decked out Polynesia Americana/Beachbum Burt style...while their kids laughed at them as "the establishment".