Giant Tiki Head in Tucson?

I stumbled across this "Best Make Out Spot"

"The Top Of The Tiki Head At Magic Carpet Golf

6125 E. Speedway Blvd.

STAFF PICK: It's SOOOOOOO romantic! First, sit in the cozy bench for two. Picture yourself in the south seas, say, up at the top of a giant tiki head. Then enjoy the romantic view of the lights of Speedway and the miniature golf course below. Smooch and pet to your heart's content. Then go play the back nine. "

If an uncomfortable concrete perch and a bird's-eye view of a strip mall is your idea of romance...
It IS a great place for thunderstorm viewing in the summer, though. That, and it's just about the coolest piece of public art in town.

Sounds like the type of place Homer would take Marge....

Trader Woody

Here's a photo collage of the Magic Carpet Tiki. You decide if it looks romantic.

Smooch and pet to your heart's content. Then go play the back nine. "

'Play the back nine' - is that what you kids are calling it these days?

Sweet mother of tiki! I'd swing my putter at that course anytime! Moai Gooooooood!

When I was there in Oct, 2003, the woman at the counter wanted to charge me the cost of a game to go out and photograph the tiki and sternly reminded me that their sculptures were copyrighted. I wonder if the folks on Easter Island know that?

I forked over a free game card and happily ascended my goal. Its a bland suburban view from the top, but how many times do you get to climb a giant tiki, much less, look out the nose and eyes of it on the way up?

They sell t-shirts, but oddly the art does not picture the tiki even though its the dominant element of the place. Its a great course, but the better-maintained side is not the one with the tiki.

Tucson gives good tiki head.

On 2003-01-16 15:38, cheeky half wrote:
Here's a photo collage of the Magic Carpet Tiki. . . .

Cheeky Half,

Good photo collage. I understand that's how David Hockney got his start.

David Hockney is a two bit hack that has exploited the same technique for years, and is about as fresh as The Bangles. You'll have to excuse me, I'm a frustrated photographer. =)

On 2005-01-19 21:34, christiki295 wrote:
Hockney

Hackney, more like it.

This golf place is on Speedway (for those of you interested). If you get off the I-10 and take Speedway east quite a ways, there it is. Its not too incredibly far from the Kon Tiki

I really like Cheeky Half's montage, but here are some views I shot last year. The view looking North from the top; mountains and a t-rex seen from the top of a tiki...I can ignore the buidings:

More visual fun with the moai; in case you couldn't tell, I kinda worshipped it with film:




I do so love Tucson...this place, the Kon Tiki and the Tiki Motel. I'm planning a trip back in March; don't let them tear anything down.

On 2003-01-16 16:42, Tiki_Bong wrote:

On 2002-10-11 06:15, Swanky wrote:
Smooch and pet to your heart's content. Then go play the back nine.

'Play the back nine' - is that what you kids are calling it these days?

Bong Quote Noted. :)

Yep... when I was 16 I "made out" with my girlfriend on top of the tiki. This was back in 1987... the view from the top didn't look much better then either!

In addition to the Makeout Moai, this golf course is also home to the infamous Poo Monkey. No, that's not a tail.

As the bearer of bad news, I hate to have to update this thread... Magic Carpet Golf has closed it's doors. The fate of the moai and the other statuary is still being determined. We will update this thread as more information becomes available.

Cheeky Half

The "cozy bench" should probably be donated to science.

Sigh....LONG LIVE Magic Carpet Mini Golf ! LONG LIVE the Magic Carpet Moai !

He will live on in the pages of Tiki Modern! (p. 322)

What they need to do... see... is turn it into an ultra-lounge!

Photos shot in March, 2007:

According to Kelly, who has worked there for several years, the railing at top was installed after a 1968 suicide. She says a man jumped after his girlfriend broke up with him.

Approach from the back (north) side of the Moai

Going up

Looking out the nose

At the top

Looking north from top, toward the T-rex and Kachina in the NE corner.

Let's all call that phone number! :)

I heard here:
http://tikitalk.astropad.com/
That the Moai and other items are up for grabs if someone can haul them away.
Can someone give him a good new home?

Here's a link to the newspaper article. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/75471.php

Too bad Kon Tiki doesn't have a backyard.

I'm really kind of saddned by this, as I've literally driven past Magic Carpet golf thousands of times, yet i've never stopped and played the course, nor did i ever go as a kid, despite living less than two miles away.

Just about a month ago I was saying to my fiancé that I really wanted to go before someone decided to tear it down. Guess I'm too late :(

Chris

I blame video games.

On 2008-02-04 22:02, cheeky half wrote:
As the bearer of bad news, I hate to have to update this thread... Magic Carpet Golf has closed it's doors. The fate of the moai and the other statuary is still being determined. We will update this thread as more information becomes available.

Cheeky Half

Horrors!
When I went to see the Tucson Ohana and the Kon Tiki some years ago, I did a specific trek just to see the giant Moai, and I was not disappointed.

Is there a public park where it can be placed, just like the Aku Aku at Sunset Park in Las Vegas?

Drove by at dusk today and took some photos. Very sad to see the Moai like this.
At least its only paint right now, but the vandalism will probably continue until it's eventually torn down.
Its all steel and concrete so I doubt it can be moved, but i would love to see it saved. Somehow.
Still, its awesome to see in the fading light.
It brings to mind what I can only imagine is the majestic wonder of Easter Island.
:(

Wow! How heart wrenching: The Moai is crying blood, the Moai is dying...

WOW, I'm floored! That photo is really creepy. Creepy in that it does look like the moai is all beat up and bleeding.

OK all you artists, if this is not a perfect subject for an art piece, I don't know what is--A bloody, beat up Moai at an abandoned miniature golf park! I smell limited edition print.

Would it be prohibitively expensive to be moved to another golf course or park?

Good timing! Yesterdays paper had an article that addresses that question.
Heres a link to the article. (Once there, you can click on the b/w thumbnail of the "tiki head" for a larger image)
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/224862.php

Oops! sorry if it makes you have to register first. it didn't the first time I went there, but now it does for me.
Oh well, some quotes from the story: "the figures are either too heavy or too unstable to survive a haul" "Not one of these pieces is going to come out the same" "The landmark has also been targeted by vandalism. Sometime this week, the course's multistory Tiki head was defaced by vandals, and its inside had a spray-painted message that read: "DONT RIP ME DOWN!" "We're going to have to lose a couple of them," he said of the creatures. "My hope is that some companies would like to move them for the challenge and fun of it."

DON'T RIP ME DOWN!

[ Edited by: EdsGoneTiki 2008-02-14 20:29 ]

[ Edited by: EdsGoneTiki 2008-02-15 01:19 ]

TikiMoFo, can you use your clout to get federal funding for the U of A to move it in front of their archeology building?

Good news......From today's Tucson Citizen...

Magic Carpet Golf's tiki head finds a home on Fourth Avenue

Fourth Avenue will soon be getting a new skyline, one that includes a giant tiki head.
The gargantuan sculpture, which graced Magic Carpet Golf for the past three decades, will be getting a new home at the Hut, a nightclub at 305 N. Fourth Ave.
"We are all very excited," said the Hut's operator Douglas "Fini" Finical. "We are keeping it in town and keeping it intact. It's a really good fit. We have the place and the zoning."
The Hut also has a collection of about 200 tiki mugs from the Polynesian Pop era and its stage features local bands that would appreciate the tiki's significance, Finical said.

Rest of the story here...

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/frontpage/79934.php

We'll raise a mug to Finie of The Hut.

CH

Excellent!! :D

Excellent tiki preservation!

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

I love a good tiki story with ahappy ending!
Cheers to Mr. "Fini"! I hope someone takes pictures of the move.

Excellent news. A Tiki preserved is a Tiki spreading Tiki mana! Fini, you should make a P.R. spectacular for your bar out of it. I think that this is an act of ancestor worship, honoring our pop culture hero Thor Heyerdahl and his book Aku Aku, And just like Thor, you are hoping to solve the riddle of HOW the Easter Island heads were moved from one place to another! And when he gets there after a long and arduous journey, have a giant cocktail with a giant straw waiting for him, for a P.R photo! Oh, and mention that there is a photo of him in the fabulous book "Tiki Modern".

This coming Saturday (the 26th) is the last day for the Magic Carpet golf course. We will be playing a final round and shedding a tear for the loss of a true treasure. If any local Tucson TC'ers are interested I believe you need to reserve a tee time through the Valley Of The Moon web site here...

http://www.valleymoon.info/index.cfm

I think we have a reservation, along with some fellow enthusiasts, at 6 pm.

Just found out that Kon Tiki's resident spinner of tunes exotic, DJ Diabolik, will be playing 'mini-golf-appropriate' (whatever that means) music from atop the Moai from 6-ish on into the night. Sounds like a fun night.

http://www.velvetglass.com

[ Edited by: cheeky half 2008-04-22 15:39 ]

Sounds like you all are going to send the golf Moai off well!!!

So glad I got to see him & play a round of golf under the eyes of the Moai :)

These photos put me in a philosophical mood:

Sigh...we are but just a booger in the great Tiki's nostril! :D

I'm planning on being there Saturday too. I've lived in Tucson for 30 years, driven past Magic Carpet at least 10,000 times and yet never have actually played a round there. I'm looking forward to it!

Chris

The following is an article for the Arizona Star
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/236081

'Community Rallies to Save Giant Tiki Head'

Sometimes it takes an endangered giant tiki head to bring a community together.

That's what has happened after the announcement that Magic Carpet Golf, 6125 E. Speedway, had been sold to a local car dealership for $1.8 million in January and the aging putt-putt golf course was closing. Suddenly the notion that the statues that made Magic Carpet so groovy — the humongous monkey, the weird green alien thing, the iconic tiki head — could bite the dust was too much to take.

"So many dedicated people and such a diverse group are passionate in working together to save these statues," he said. "People have put all their love and community-building into it."

Local artists have made paintings of the course, which will be auctioned at the fund-raiser today. There will also be music, performance art and raffles.
"We've had 110 to 120 inquiries from companies and individuals, so I'm pretty confident we'll be able to place all of them," said Valley of the Moon spokesman Charlie Spillar.

Farley said a committee will look at the requests and decide which sculpture should go where, with preference going to new homes that will allow the public to continue to enjoy the statues. A prime piece has already been spoken for: The Hut, a tiki-themed bar on North Fourth Avenue, is making room for the mondo tiki head and is raising money to pay moving expenses.

We like Farley's vision of the Magic Carpet sculptures dotting the Tucson landscape in front of businesses, nonprofit agencies, museums or maybe even parks.

"It becomes a great city-wide treasure hunt," he said.

just come to have a look

What a great night, but sad too. Magic Carpet was one of those wonderful places where time had stood still. It wasn't just the massive Moai, the whole place was wonderful and quirky and eccentric and falling apart at the seams. Not a flat green anywhere, most of the mechanics in the structures were broken, the paint was peeling and the whole place had been very neglected over the years. The owner, Mel, who was a regular at the Kon Tiki always dreamed of fixing the place up. Sadly he passed away before he could accomplish his dream.

Thanks to a gang of truly amazing volunteers, the place looked fantastic last night. A lot of the mechanics had been fixed, trash picked up, all the light bulbs were replaced and fresh paint applied (even got rid of most of the red paint that was thrown at the Moai). Mel would have been proud.

Here are some pix of the Final Round.....

1 Last Round

Entrance

Papa Moai

Mr. CH & DJ Diabolik atop Papa Moai

Kona Chris in the Eye

Mrs. CH in the Eye

The Fish

The Ghosties

The Octopus

The Monkey & The Mrs.

The Dinosaur

The Alien

The Steer

One More Moai

Cheers Magic Carpet.....We'll miss you.

ch

James Teitelbaum's article in the new Tiki Magazine reminded me: Was the Tiki transfer successful? Did it find a new home at the Hut? Or did it break...like many of our ....dreams.

On 2008-03-19 15:55, bigbrotiki wrote:
Excellent news. A Tiki preserved is a Tiki spreading Tiki mana! Fini, you should make a P.R. spectacular for your bar out of it. I think that this is an act of ancestor worship, honoring our pop culture hero Thor Heyerdahl and his book Aku Aku, And just like Thor, you are hoping to solve the riddle of HOW the Easter Island heads were moved from one place to another! And when he gets there after a long and arduous journey, have a giant cocktail with a giant straw waiting for him, for a P.R photo! Oh, and mention that there is a photo of him in the fabulous book "Tiki Modern".

PS: GREAT pictures, cheekyhalf, what a surreal statue-scape, and what a loss... :cry:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-06-22 03:15 ]

The Hut held a fundraiser last night. They need $$ to help pay for the moving costs of the Big Guy. Rumor has it the City may chip in something but it is still a very expensive, not to mention difficult, proposition to move him across town. Unfortunately me and the Missus couldn't make it but I know they are doing everything in their power to save him.

The City of Tucson is keen for local business to save the other pieces too, so they can remain on display. Kinda like those cow sculptures that were all the rage in NYC several years ago, but way cooler. The Powers That Be here seem to be a bit more broad-minded when it comes to concepts of public art, and the value of these urban artifacts. There is a public auction on June 28th for the remaining pieces, with preferential treatment going to people who wish to put their prizes on public display.

I'll keep you updated on any Moai Movements.

Fingers still heavily crossed....

CH