Post #459455 by Mo-Eye on Fri, Jun 5, 2009 8:40 PM

While playing on the google timeline and finding all these unknown Polynesian themed businesses, I am amazed at how many were located in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. If you include nearby Tampa and Clearwater, I have found at least 20 different places in this small 30 mile radius.

Hawaiian Inn / Kon Tiki Supper Club / Aloha Lounge
Hilton Inn / Luau Room / Bali Hi Lounge
Outrigger Inn
Voodoo Room / Aquabar
Tahitian Imperial Motel
Coral Reef
Trader Vic’s
Black Pearl
Headhunter’s Lounge
Bali Hai
Tiki Gardens / Trader Franks
Tahitian Inn
Heilman’s Beachcomber
Hawaiian Village
Tahitian Gardens
Around the World in 18 Holes Miniature Golf
Happy Island Inn
Bamboo Gardens
Tanga Lounge
HMS Bounty from "Mutiny on the Bounty" movie

Who knows how many more we don't know about yet? I did read one article from St. Petersburg that shed some light on the subject, but for the life of me I can't find it again. Anyway it dated to the early 1960s and explained that there were a few St. Petersburg city council men who were urging the city and other businesses to follow the Polynesian theme and that it was the key to driving tourism there. They seemed to use the huge success of Tiki Gardens as an example, so I think that place had a much larger impact than anyone really knows.

Were there areas in LA that were this packed with Polynesia?