Post #389236 by Haole Hillbilly on Tue, Jun 24, 2008 3:18 PM

Long-time lurker, first time poster....

As soon as I get my disposable camera developed (left my real camera in TN(oops), I'll try to scan and post some of the pics I shot on Sunday. The auctioneers were very cool about letting people poke around while they set up. It was really a strange feeling to be in the Aku Tiki room and have sunlight streaming in the windows and the place just silent....

Even though I only ended up buying $20 worth of stuff at the auction, The experience was worth the trip. It was an awesome place to people watch. Quite the interesting mix of tikiphiles, former employees and patrons, restaurant and bar owners (I wouldn't be surprised if some of the items from the Tiki hay rack are hanging within earshot of Jimmy Buffet or Kenny Chesney music as I type), and farmers just waiting for the auctioneers to get to the danged tractor already. I didn't really talk to any of you TC'rs in depth but I got the impression that most of the pieces went to really good homes....unless someone is planning a full restoration of the Witco fountain's day-glo paint scheme :)

While I didn't get any of the OA stuff I was there to bid on, I submit what could be the Aku Tiki Room-related steal of the auction:

This Leslie 122 Organ Speaker was with the restaurant stuff, lined up between some beer kegs and a box of Christmas decorations. After I bought the Leslie($10), I was talking to Carol and she said the organ from the Aku Tiki room was still under the building and showed me where to look. With visions of a $25 Hammond B3, I ran and got a flashlight out of the car and headed into the crawlspace/basement to take a look.
Alas, it was a Lowery.

I ended up leaving at 2:00. Did anybody stay late enough to see the organ sell?

Here is a question for the lounge/organ music aficionados out there:
From what I've been reading today on the internet, the Model 122 Leslie was a Hammond-specific model. Could it have been adapted to the Lowrey organ?

If not, I've tried to come up with a couple of possible explanations:

1. There used to be a Hammond in the Aku Tiki Room.
2. There used to be a Hammond somewhere else in the restaurant....although I have a hard time seeing it in the medieval room in the basement or the wild west area around the main bar.

All that to say, with no provenance, I may or may not have the Aku Tiki room Leslie.

Even though I don't even know how to play the organ, to me this is cooler than any mug I could have purchased for the same price.
I remember going to the Aku Tiki Room for the first time with my grandparents sometime between 1984 and 1990 (the place was already renovated and Grandpa was still alive) and there being organ music (e.g. "Alley Cat","Girl from Ipanema"). The little dance floor between the hanging canoe and the bar was packed with old people and I had jello with carrots in it from the salad bar. I've loved that place ever since.