Post #712650 by kenbo-jitsu on Mon, Mar 31, 2014 1:51 PM

On a recent trip through Bakersfield, I checked in on the Lanai Gardens.

This sad little thing is all that remains of whatever tikis lived here.

I did some newspaper sleuthing and confirmed the Lanai Gardens is about fifty years old.

The Bakersfield Californian - September 6, 1965

I guess fifty years is just too long for wooden tikis to last outdoors -- exposed to the weather, termites, etc.

Care may be another issue. This entire property looks like it has been neglected for some time. The wooden trellis in the front is falling apart. Many of the block walls have toppled. The swimming pool has been long abandoned and is now filled with a foot of green, stagnate water mixed with trash. Even the landscaping maintenance has stopped. The grass out front is dead while the trees have become so overgrown they almost block many of the walkways.

You might think this is a bad part of town, but it's not. The property is in noticeably worse shape than everything else around it.