Post #448715 by Tiki-Kate on Tue, Apr 21, 2009 5:25 PM

I also think that this is a great idea.

I'm the first to admit that I'm an incurable collector, but over the past few years I've developed a deep passion for urban archaeology. I was really inspired by the Savage Renewal project of 2005. It was a great organized way to encourage people to participate in adding actual content to Tiki Central.

I agree with everything that woofmutt said. Don't just keep driving past and wondering about places. They'll all be gone eventually.

My favorite place for research is the public library. A good number of libraries still keep old phone books on hand. I generally start by getting my hands on as many phone books from the 1960's as they have available. I check the listings for Apartments, Motels, Hotels, Bowling Alleys and Restaurants. Depending on what I find in 1960 and 1969, I'll start checking through the late 50's and early 70's and just follow the trail from there. Boris recently discovered that some phone books even have a section of listings titles Hawaiian. I always bring a notebook to jot down addresses and a digital camera to photograph the listing with full ads. I'll mapquest the addresses that I come up with and go back and track down the old sites. I'm constantly amazed at how many are still there.

I know some people may be thinking, "That's all well and good Kate, but you live in the Tiki Mecca that is Southern California." As many of you know, I live in the Inland Empire which is the sweaty armpit of Southern California. And I've been surprised with a few delightful finds in my neck of the woods such as Trader Island and The Del Rosa Palms.

Tiki was so pervasive in the 1960's that no matter where you live, I bet you can find some trace of your area's tiki past if you only look for it.

[ Edited by: Tiki-Kate 2009-04-21 17:26 ]