The Leilani... Brookfield, WI - General Tiki

G grtlks233 Tiki Centralite Joined: Apr 10, 2013 Posts: 11	G grtlks233 Posted posted on Mon, Apr 22, 2013 3:31 PM Gerhard Kroll carved all 16 original tiki inspired lava sculptures in the summer of 1961 for the owners of the Leilani Supper Club. It was his first gig after graduating from Milwaukee's Layton School of the Arts. The owners provided the stone (shipped from Mexico) and Gerhard was paid $1,500.00 for labor. He and his wife bought a brand new VW Bus with the money and an abandoned WWII era factory that they rehabbed and live in to this day. According to Mr. Kroll the original owners claimed that all of the sculptures were shipped in from "the islands" and denied him credit until confronted by his Mother in Law!! The final "Giles" of Gile's Lelani owns a small restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells area and has "lots of stuff in storage". I will see him this summer.

Gerhard Kroll carved all 16 original tiki inspired lava sculptures in the summer of 1961 for the owners of the Leilani Supper Club. It was his first gig after graduating from Milwaukee's Layton School of the Arts. The owners provided the stone (shipped from Mexico) and Gerhard was paid $1,500.00 for labor. He and his wife bought a brand new VW Bus with the money and an abandoned WWII era factory that they rehabbed and live in to this day. According to Mr. Kroll the original owners claimed that all of the sculptures were shipped in from "the islands" and denied him credit until confronted by his Mother in Law!!
The final "Giles" of Gile's Lelani owns a small restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells area and has "lots of stuff in storage". I will see him this summer.

Post #675149 by grtlks233 on Mon, Apr 22, 2013 3:31 PM