Post #453818 by Mo-Eye on Wed, May 13, 2009 10:23 PM

I just found this little piece of paradise:

From the March 13, 1964 (Friday the 13th) issue of the Winter Haven Daily News Chief:

“Exotic Kahiki in Final Stage”

“Winter Haven’s Polynesian Motor Lodge - The Kahiki - on Sixth St. NW, was ready to go into final stages of construction today with a building permit for the last two structures and a special approval from the Board of Adjustment for bar and cocktail lounge. The Construction permit, obtained yesterday, carried an estimated $95,000 cost for building alone. The permit is for the dining room facilities and the bar and lounge. They are separate structures connected with walkways surrounded by reflecting pools and a lagoon. Both front on Sixth St. and are adjacent to the north of the present motel facilities.

Several other buildings in the Kahiki complex are already completed or in the process of construction. The ‘Polynesian Garden of Eden,’ as it has been called by its developers, will cover four and a half acres and will have, throughout, a South Seas atmosphere, both in its architectural features and in its furnishings, as far as is possible. Thomas Kincaid is the architect.

The board of adjustment held the hearing on the Kahiki request for a special approval yesterday. No one objected and the board ruled in favor of the company. A sideline variance of seven feet asked by Velda Dairy for some construction on the property on Sixth St. SW, was also granted by the board.”

And from the April 16th, 1964 issue of the same:

“Kahiki Lodge Opens Tiki Lounge Today”

“The new Tiki Lounge officially opened today. This is the first phase of a massive undertaking at the Kahiki Motor Lodge on Sixth St. NW. The Six and a half acre Polynesian Lodge will include three lounges, a 700 seat dining room, a lagoon with natural rock stage in its center and a “volcano” at one end, a hundred motel rooms, beer gardens, and a beach and marina on Lake Howard. Foundations for the dining room and other lounge have already been laid, the lagoon is ready for water, and the completed lodge is scheduled to be opened this fall. The Tiki, which seats nearly 100 people, has been done in a modern Hawaiian motif and will feature a band and singer and Oriental waitresses.

Ed Krochman’s Showman Orchestra will play nightly, and Mary Lou Gonzales, a local girl, will sing. There is a dancing area under a thatched roof near the band. There will be a waterfall tumbling down the front of the building, and another at the back which can also be seen from the lounge. A moat with fish and tropical plants surround the entire lounge.

The house next to the present motel will be used as a casual lounge, for swimmers, fishermen and the like. The new lounge will be built on the north side of the lagoon extending out over the water, and will be 17th century Polynesian. A tunnel lined with fluorescent rock will lead to the dining room, past a seven foot Polynesian god. The dining room itself will be built like a native village and will be designed so that diners can see different scenery each time they visit . The dining room, which also will extend out over the lagoon, and the lounge and the house will all face the natural rock stage in the middle of the lagoon. This is the only outdoor stage in the state, according to the developer.

An ‘active volcano’ will be built at the end of the lagoon near the street. It will ‘erupt’ every half hour or so, according to present plans. There will be a rathskeller in the house, and beer gardens behind it. Eventually, several additional motel units will be built overlooking Lake Howard, and a beach and marina will be constructed on the lake. Among the many unique features of the complex will be a teen center so the young people can have a place to go while the parents relax in the lounge.

Roy Beasley, the man behind the operation, say ‘We plan to start where others leave off. No details have been overlooked, no expense spared to make this the best of its kind anywhere.’ It will be a ‘vacationers’ paradise,’ he said. The management will arrange trips to Cypress Gardens, the Bok Tower and other attractions in the area. Beasley started dreaming about this many years ago and has taken pictures and looked at plans of similar places throughout the country. He has used the best ideas of all he has seen and added a few of his own to this project. C. A. (Gus) Hydron, one of the eight local businessmen who own the complex, will manage the operation. He, too, has spent many years on the project and is very pleased with the outcome.”

Here are some ads for the place too :down:

So from the descriptions in the articles, it looks like the "The Volcano" in this thread:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10483&forum=1

was actually part of this complex originally. The Tiki Lounge was just opening here in April 1964, but it sounds like the motel part was already open for a little bit. From reading The Volcano thread, it seems like the Tiki Lounge and Kahiki Motel had already gone under by the time The Volcano opened in 1968. The Kahiki must have been the ones who defaulted on their loan. It looks like you may be doomed to fail if your announcement in the paper runs on Friday the 13th. This would explain why The Volcano seemed to have prime time, early 1960s Poly Pop style happening in the late 60s.

All of the buildings are still there as a Budget Inn. I think someone really needs to go down and snoop around all of the surrounding properties.