Post #817803 by SBJiminyC on Mon, Jan 26, 2026 11:00 AM

Glad a few others are also enjoying these old Newspaper clippings.

Here's some more...

Rebuilding from the Fire

In the rebuilding efforts after the fire, this article from March 3, 1964 seems to indicate that they opened the Gardens area first. Tampa Bay Times March 13, 1964

As they neared completion of the shops, Tiki Gardens was preparing to host the “Queen of the Holiday Isles” Pageant. This article has a photo of the contestants surrounding Lono. The Tampa Tribune May 4, 1964

May 9th, 1964 was the big day for the reopening. What an event to attend! 
 Tampa Bay Times May 8, 1964

Shopping, Garden Tours, a Polynesian Revue and the Pageant..

The winner of the Holiday Isles pageant was Pam Brown. Here’s a snippet showing her being ‘crowned’ with flowers. To my modern eyes, she seems older than 17! The Tampa Tribune May 11, 1964

This article recounts some of the difficulties during Pam’s first official duty. Apparently, the rules for who was qualified to enter the raffle were not presented clearly. Tampa Bay Times May 15, 1964

On June 7th, 1964, the Byers took out a glorious full page ad in the Orlando Sentinel; to beckon visitors from other parts of Florida to the Tiki Gardens and Signal House.

Things seemed to be going well again for Tiki Gardens.