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Tiki Central / General Tiki / The Leilani... Brookfield, WI

Post #767831 by Ragbag Comics on Wed, Aug 24, 2016 4:09 PM

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It's time for a round of "I wonder if..."

Just today, a friend of ours stumbled on this wonderful abstract nearly 7ft tall Tiki, just about 20 minutes directly east of where the mighty Leilani once stood in Brookfield...
Unfortunately there wasn't any other information on it.

Needless to say, a deal was struck, and now he's standing in our garage.

It's far from the most "professional" job in the world, so it's entirely possible this was someone's "practice Tiki" they made for their home. From the linear, very minimal MCM-abstract design of it, I suspect it's older (new hobbyist Tikis seem to tend more towards the grinning pineapple-head style), but there's pretty light wear so he's spent his life indoors. It's lightweight and the wood kind of sheds and is splinter-y, so I think it's probably pine or was some kind of fir tree.

So now I wonder IF maybe, just maybe... he started his life at the Leilani?

Another distinct (and perhaps more likely) possibility is the also-lost Mai Khi in West Allis which was also pretty close from where this guy turned up (and that building still stands at 5630 W Lincoln, and was still a bar - albeit a crappy one - up until a couple years ago)

A mystery, regardless, as I've yet to see any photos of the inside of either the Leilani or the Mai Khi when it was still a Tiki bar (or Judges Beyond the Reef... or the Bali Hai, both also in Brookfield many moons ago)

But we certainly couldn't leave him at the price they were asking ... just look at that face!