Lea Lea Room, Mission Inn, Riverside, CA (bar) - Locating Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Mon, Feb 1, 2010 6:24 PM And then there was the Yee Mee Loo, offering cocktails in the Kwan Yin temple! http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22181&forum=2 On 2010-02-01 09:35, JOHN-O wrote: Huh? What does Buddha have to do with Polynesian-Pop? I must say I find the use of Buddha as a kitsch decorative item in very bad taste. Until we start seeing "Jesus Bars", I'm gonna cry religious double standard. You are kidding, right? And Polynesian gods are not religious icons? Also, last time I looked, Buddhas and Buddha heads were THE current garden decor craze. Irreverence is the earmark of pop culture, and Tiki in particular. I am not saying that it is APPROPRIATE example for Polynesian pop, but as the Riverside Inn used it (because they couldn't afford anything else and it was handy, as I mentioned above) and called it a Polynesian restaurant (which most likely served Chinese"Polynesian" dishes), it is an interesting facet of Tiki history now. And I'll be damned, it WAS the same room, I shot it (again, unknowingly) from almost the same angle!: I was fooled by the alcove not being in the corner anymore, and thought the Lea Lea had been somewhere else. I also shot it from the gallery above, and you can see the lamp in your postcard: They rehung and switched those two big lamps! Again, I am not saying this IS Polynesian decor, just that they used it, just like many Chines restaurants switched to Polynesian cocktails and decor to benefit from the trend. Great story about the OLD, moldy Mission Inn in the 80s,Tiki G, now that's when I would have loved to explore it! Sad sad about all the stuff they sold.

And then there was the Yee Mee Loo, offering cocktails in the Kwan Yin temple!
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22181&forum=2

On 2010-02-01 09:35, JOHN-O wrote:
Huh? What does Buddha have to do with Polynesian-Pop? I must say I find the use of Buddha as a kitsch decorative item in very bad taste. Until we start seeing "Jesus Bars", I'm gonna cry religious double standard.

You are kidding, right? And Polynesian gods are not religious icons? Also, last time I looked, Buddhas and Buddha heads were THE current garden decor craze. Irreverence is the earmark of pop culture, and Tiki in particular.

I am not saying that it is APPROPRIATE example for Polynesian pop, but as the Riverside Inn used it (because they couldn't afford anything else and it was handy, as I mentioned above) and called it a Polynesian restaurant (which most likely served Chinese"Polynesian" dishes), it is an interesting facet of Tiki history now.

And I'll be damned, it WAS the same room, I shot it (again, unknowingly) from almost the same angle!:

I was fooled by the alcove not being in the corner anymore, and thought the Lea Lea had been somewhere else. I also shot it from the gallery above, and you can see the lamp in your postcard:

They rehung and switched those two big lamps!

Again, I am not saying this IS Polynesian decor, just that they used it, just like many Chines restaurants switched to Polynesian cocktails and decor to benefit from the trend.

Great story about the OLD, moldy Mission Inn in the 80s,Tiki G, now that's when I would have loved to explore it! Sad sad about all the stuff they sold.

Post #508402 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Feb 1, 2010 6:24 PM