Post #528506 by Bali O Hai O on Thu, May 6, 2010 8:39 PM

WOW! I got goose bumps when I visited the old Bali Hai. I forgot just how huge the place really was. All the original 1959 stone work was still intact, I could just imagine Emil overseeing the masons and supplying all the P.O.C. beer as they built his masterpiece. The original shake siding can still be seen at the peak of the roof, the original entrance area is unchanged and some of the tropical plants still grow. The Welcome/Aloha sign is long gone but the old light box that housed it near the entrance still hangs empty overhead. I peeked inside the big porthole window and was amazed at all the old office equipment and even the old steel desk that was there when I worked there. I can't believe there is not a box somewhere in a closet or storage room filled with mugs, menus or more, there has to be something still in there, it was calling out to me. Oh my god how this would be so easy to convert back to it's original splendor, unfortunately I am too old and too poor to take on that venture, maybe the Tiki gods will bring a young fellow with a dream like Emil had and a gleam in his eye to breathe life back into it. I wish there was a way to preserve these places or turn it into a Tiki Museum and hold Tiki Conventions. The history is there the Lincoln Highway is outside the front door, please god please don't let this become another casualty like the structures on Rt.66 If someone from the Lincoln Highway Preservation Society reads this please please add this building to your list, they knocked down the Lincoln Motel, the Lincoln Diner and the Casablanca, lets save this one for future generations!