Post #747082 by uncle trav on Tue, Jul 14, 2015 5:47 PM

The Mauna Loa is one of the true legends in the story of the Polynesia restaurant craze that reached it's peak in the early to mid 60s in the U.S. When it opened in 1967 the cost of the construction was rumored to be nearly a million and a half dollars. Today we only have a few grainy images of what parts of the interior looked like and a few descriptions of the same. There are also some renderings and photos of the exterior. Being that the Mauna Loa was only opened for a short time items such as the mugs and menus didn't get defused like other restaurants that were opened much longer. So with limited information about the restaurant and the small amount of mugs and other artifacts make them a rare find. A true legend wrapped in a little bit of mystery makes for a rare and sought after collectible treasure and keeps people like me on the hunt.

Here is a link with some good info on the Mauna Loa

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4786&forum=2