Post #813355 by rum on the rideau on Tue, Jul 16, 2024 6:48 PM

The Beachcomber Room: Interior design by Mary Orenstein of Toronto in a “Tahitian Style” featuring statues of Polynesian Warriors, a war canoe over the bar and South Pacific weapons. The band rested on “tons” of lava rock imported from California. It also included a 90ft. Polynesian mural

Beachcomber Mural Painting - Alexander Von Svodoba: Austrian painter and mosaic artist Alexander Von Svodoba was commissioned to create ninety-foot mural in “rich tropical colours depicting a South Seas theme”. The mural was apparently removed and most of it destroyed when the Beachcomber was relocated. For those in Toronto, his mosaic work can be seen at the Connaught Medical Bldg., for those in Portland the Perpetuity sculpture currently at the World Forestry Center. See link below: http://www.healthheritageresearch.com/alexvonsvoboda/Connaught/AvS-SPCmosaic.html

Beachcomber circa 1985. After confirming with Robert Van Oosting of Oceanic Arts, the Tapa is from the Vatulele area of Fiji and the carved posts are #153 and carved in either Alderwood or Redwood. The palmwood tikis in the pics above were not carved or supplied by OA

Garden Design: David H. Engel, an American landscape architect is credited with the Japanese-inspired design concept for the Talisman Motor Inn courtyard. In the 1950s, Engel studied in Japan under master landscape architect Tansai (Taichiro) Sano of Kyoto. Engel is best known through his numerous publications, rather than his landscape work, although he has designed several hotel gardens, contemporary and Japanese-inspired, notably Engel’s restoration of the 19th century Japanese garden, Kykuit, at the Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown, New York.

Photo of David Engel (with Canadian high school student, N. Fudemoto) at the newly opened Talisman in the Ottawa Citizen on 27 June 1963 in article, ‘Man needs to be close to nature says U.S. landscape architect’.