Post #553274 by johnotak on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 7:05 AM

I was born in Detroit and grew up in the suburb of Livonia. My father was an exec at Chrysler in the late 60's, and I remember that when the Mauna Loa opened up it made quite an impact. I remember my dad really talking the place up, and my being intrigued by what he said greeted patrons when they got inside. Well, My father finally decided that he would take me there for dinner. This was about 1968 (when I was around 9 years old). This was not long after the riots of 1967, and I remember my father telling me to keep the doors of the car locked on our way there. It was very unusual for us to go downtown at that time. We traveled about 15 miles to get to there from Livonia. When we arrived it was dark out, and I remember driving past the front of it before we parked, and being awed by the multi colored lights on the waterfall, and the flames of the tiki torches lighting up the night.

It wasn't often I went to a place that I had to dress up for. But this sure was one of them. We checked out the exterior for a minute before going in. It seemed like the ultimate playground for adults, very suit and tie. On the inside it was ultra plush Polynesian, foliage, bamboo, tikis and cool lights hanging from the ceiling - almost mysterious - but very cool. I remember there were many streams and interlocking pools of water. There were numerous multi level waterfalls, some big and some small. And they were all lit with subtle colored lights. I remember that the bar was amazing as it had a wide and beautiful waterfall behind it too. We were taken to our table, and we had to walk across a couple of wooden bridges over deep pools of blue colored water to get there. I remember thinking the pools were big enough to swim in.

The inside of the Mauna Loa was like a man made lagoon with all the interconnecting pools - just amazing. The lighting was subtle and really set the mood, not too bright. It made the lighted pools, waterfalls and the bar really stand out. I don't remember what I ate, but I do remember I was the only kid in the entire place. I recall asking if I could have some coconut milk, it wasn't on the menu but the waiter came up with some anyways, and boy was it good. I remember that the bill came out to $35 for the both of us, an amount that I gasped at. As I only got about 50 cents a week allowance. Well, that's my story about the only time I had the pleasure of dining at the Mauna Loa restaurant in downtown Detroit. Good memories. The place made quite an impression on me.

I have my parents swizzle stick collection, so now I have to check it again to see if there are any Mauna Loa stirrers. I know I have some from Trader Vics, so hopefully?

To everyone, thanks for posting the photos and memories. I appreciate it.

John Brain

[ Edited by: johnotak 2010-09-12 07:08 ]