Hawaiian Gardens, San Jose, CA (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

D Dustycajun Tiki Socialite Santa Barbara, CA Joined: Nov 16, 2007 Posts: 5295	D Dustycajun Posted posted on Tue, May 24, 2011 6:26 PM Name:Hawaiian Gardens Type:restaurant Street: City:San Jose State:CA Zip: country:USA Phone: Status:defunct Description: I came across this postcard of the exterior of the Hawaiian Gardens restaurant in San Jose which is where I lived as a kid. I started doing some research and found quite a bit of information on-line: In 1933, rancher John Lo Curto opened an Italian restaurant in San Jose called Lo Curto Gardens. Around 1938, S. “Baron” Long became the restaurant’s owner/manager and the name was changed to the Hawaiian Gardens. The highly popular Polynesian-themed restaurant/night club was rebranded as the “Show Palace of the West” and featured nightly floor shows, dancing with the Hawaiian Gardens Orchestra, and unique performances by trained bullfrogs… yes, FROGS. Here is a menu from Mimi Payne's website showing the frogs! At some point in the 1950s, the restaurant fell back into the hands of the Lo Curto family and became Lo Curto’s Hawaiian Gardens. Following the restaurant’s unsuccessful reincarnation as a go-go club in the 1960s, the venue was sold, renamed the Italian Gardens, and stayed as such until its closure in the 1990s. Today, what was once the locale of the largest supper club between San Francisco and Los Angeles is now home to what else?... high-density housing. It is said that some of the original landscaping still remains. Here are images of the feature matchbook from the Hawaiian Gardens. The original Hawaiian Gardens building fell victim to a fire in 1952 and had to be rebuilt. The picture below is the rendering of the new modern restaurant, courtesy architect Donnell Jaekle (who, by the way, was quite prolific at the time in the SF Bay Area). The arched porte cochere looks much like the entrance to the old Hyatt House in Burlingame (which also no longer exists). I've yet to figure out if the two buildings were both designed by Jaekle. Some images of the newer building: And a modern menu from Mimi Payne's website. I also saw this matchbook on-line which featured the Hawaiiann Gardens AND the Club Royal Hawaiian located in San Francisco. Obviously sister restaurant. Interesting... DC

Name:Hawaiian Gardens
Type:restaurant
Street:
City:San Jose
State:CA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:

I came across this postcard of the exterior of the Hawaiian Gardens restaurant in San Jose which is where I lived as a kid.

I started doing some research and found quite a bit of information on-line:

In 1933, rancher John Lo Curto opened an Italian restaurant in San Jose called Lo Curto Gardens. Around 1938, S. “Baron” Long became the restaurant’s owner/manager and the name was changed to the Hawaiian Gardens. The highly popular Polynesian-themed restaurant/night club was rebranded as the “Show Palace of the West” and featured nightly floor shows, dancing with the Hawaiian Gardens Orchestra, and unique performances by trained bullfrogs… yes, FROGS.

Here is a menu from Mimi Payne's website showing the frogs!

At some point in the 1950s, the restaurant fell back into the hands of the Lo Curto family and became Lo Curto’s Hawaiian Gardens. Following the restaurant’s unsuccessful reincarnation as a go-go club in the 1960s, the venue was sold, renamed the Italian Gardens, and stayed as such until its closure in the 1990s. Today, what was once the locale of the largest supper club between San Francisco and Los Angeles is now home to what else?... high-density housing. It is said that some of the original landscaping still remains.

Here are images of the feature matchbook from the Hawaiian Gardens.

The original Hawaiian Gardens building fell victim to a fire in 1952 and had to be rebuilt. The picture below is the rendering of the new modern restaurant, courtesy architect Donnell Jaekle (who, by the way, was quite prolific at the time in the SF Bay Area). The arched porte cochere looks much like the entrance to the old Hyatt House in Burlingame (which also no longer exists). I've yet to figure out if the two buildings were both designed by Jaekle.

Some images of the newer building:

And a modern menu from Mimi Payne's website.

I also saw this matchbook on-line which featured the Hawaiiann Gardens AND the Club Royal Hawaiian located in San Francisco. Obviously sister restaurant.

Interesting...

Post #590615 by Dustycajun on Tue, May 24, 2011 6:26 PM