Westside Nautical Bar Crawl - 4/30/2011 (Photos start Pg 5) - California Events

C congawa Member Long Beach, CA Joined: Aug 11, 2008 Posts: 358	C congawa Posted posted on Wed, Apr 13, 2011 10:47 AM As much as I love the Tonga Hut, I too would have loved to experience that previous incarnation. I wish there were more interior shots of the Ship Cafe in its various versions. Fires on the Venice pier (and Ocean Park) were commonplace in those days, usually wiping out a great deal of the pier, buildings and amusement rides (when you think about all the pre-OSHA electrical cables and transformers in an almost all wooden structure, its no surprise). There was one in 1912 that burned everything, which was rebuilt. Then another in 1924. In 1946 the pier (including Ship Cafe) were being dismantled, and there was a mysterious fire in 1947 that finished it all off (usually these fires are caused by one of two things--transients, or insurance arson). I'll try to scan and post some shots from the 1936 Laurel and Hardy film OUR RELATIONS. In that movie, they go to a restaurant obviously inspired by the Ship Cafe (though all created in the movie studio), but it's a lot more like what it SHOULD have looked like inside (with a high ceiling, rope riggings, masts, and waiters dressed as pirates). Caltiki Brent

As much as I love the Tonga Hut, I too would have loved to experience that previous incarnation.

I wish there were more interior shots of the Ship Cafe in its various versions. Fires on the Venice pier (and Ocean Park) were commonplace in those days, usually wiping out a great deal of the pier, buildings and amusement rides (when you think about all the pre-OSHA electrical cables and transformers in an almost all wooden structure, its no surprise). There was one in 1912 that burned everything, which was rebuilt. Then another in 1924. In 1946 the pier (including Ship Cafe) were being dismantled, and there was a mysterious fire in 1947 that finished it all off (usually these fires are caused by one of two things--transients, or insurance arson).

I'll try to scan and post some shots from the 1936 Laurel and Hardy film OUR RELATIONS. In that movie, they go to a restaurant obviously inspired by the Ship Cafe (though all created in the movie studio), but it's a lot more like what it SHOULD have looked like inside (with a high ceiling, rope riggings, masts, and waiters dressed as pirates).

Caltiki Brent

Post #584762 by congawa on Wed, Apr 13, 2011 10:47 AM