Which City is the Most Tiki?

Would it be LA, home of the revered Tiki Ti, but with the granddaddy of them all, Trader Vic's, and with the addition of Purple Orchid, Lucky Tiki, and the 1950s orginial, the Tonga Hut - with Oceanic Arts and various A frame buildings scattered around?

Would it be SF, with the new Trader Vic's, the classic Tonga Room, and the Bamboo Hut and still more tiki just over the bridge in the East Bay, plus with water surrounding the environment?

Would it be South Florida, with the balmy weather, beautiful ocean and the very strong mana of the Mai Kai?

Chicago, too, has tiki, off the Lake.

Would it San Diego, also with both the Bali Hai and the tiki hotel, Humphrey's Half Moon Bay resort, on the Pacific, and Mr. Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge and Hanalei, with the poolside Moai?

My perception - Tiki was born in the tropics, the Mana stronger is stronger by the equator and off the Pacific - it has to be Honolulu, with the classic tiki at La Maranara, and the art gallery tiki bar & grill, Tiki's. Waikiki is graced by nightly tiki torch lightings, conch shell soundings and hula dancing. And then, the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North Shore. Tiki paradise!

Alameda, Ca, 'cause why else would Jab move there from San Diego?

It sure is not Cincinnati!

No tiki, nowhere!

San Francisco not only because of the Tonga Room and Trader Vic's, but also because it is so beautiful and funky and hard-core and sophisticated and sleazy, all at once.

On 2005-08-26 11:00, Satan's Sin wrote:
San Francisco not only because of the Tonga Room and Trader Vic's, but also because it is so beautiful and funky and hard-core and sophisticated and sleazy, all at once.

Beautiful yes, but funky? I guess you could say it was funky in the late 60s in the Haight (at least it smelled funky).

Hard-core? Do you mean hard-core porn, or hard-core punk?

Sophisticated definitely.

Sleazy, I guess, but it used to be much more so. It has not yet been completely Disneyfied like New York (I have fond memories of walking 42nd. St. and Times Square and the East Village in the 70s as a teen - what happened to NY is a shame). The city is a lot tamer now. I sure isn't what it was in the 70s and 80s before the 90s dot-com destruction of the recent past (just one example: the Rainbow Room - a classic 30s bar becomes a remodeled hip yuppie environment).

I digress from the topic.

How about Barcelona for tiki town? 3 fine tiki bars.

On 2005-08-26 11:36, thejab wrote:

How about Barcelona for tiki town? 3 fine tiki bars.

Excellent! - who knew?

It's fun looking through my postcard and matchbook folders to get an idea of where the tiki hotspots were, as opposed to where they are now.

California was the clear leader in poly-pop tiki culture by volume alone. But Florida wasn't far behind at all. I have literally hundreds of postcards and matchbooks from each of these states.

In California you had the two progenitors of the movement - Don The Beachcomber in Hollywood and Trader Vic in Oakland. It's nice to see that despite these original locations being lost, Los Angeles and the Bay Area are both still tiki power centers. I don't think I can choose one over the other - The SF bay is dense with its larger establishments in a way that only Chicago could top (in Chicago's heyday). Los Angeles has its locations much more spread out, but there is literally tiki to be found everywhere in L.A. (apartments help to make this true). Still, Los Angeles has lost so much. You used to have Hollywood Celebrity Tiki (Don The Beachomber, Trader Vic's, The Luau in Beverly Hills, The Tahitian), then you had Working-class Tiki like Clifton's, plus you had Surf-Tiki, like the Tonga Lei and Beachbum Burt's. I miss it all.

Florida was also spread out - with at least one large tiki restaurant in every major city. I would have loved to have driven through Florida in the 1960s, leapfrogging from tiki locale to tiki locale. These places were often large - almost like mini theme parks. The Mai Kai, Tiki Gardens, The South Pacific, The Luau - These are/were all large, sprawling places.

I don't know quite how to classify Hawaii. In the 1960s, carved tikis existed absolutely everywhere. But frankly, that was because it was Hawaii. Based on my postcards and brochures, every modern hotel, office building, bank, theme park or giftshop seemed to have tikis. If you want to look strictly at Polynesian Pop-themed restaurants and bars that resemble the ones on the mainland (A-frames, tikis, puffer lamps, net floats, bamboo, rum drinks) then I'd say that Hawaii ranked just below California and Florida. But I could be wrong. Hawaii had the Authentic tiki culture first and foremost, which the mainland took and converted to Poly Pop, but it also seemed to embrace the fake culture right back in the 1960s and mix it with the authentic and the tourist. After all, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman were based there and had their regular gigs there. I would definitely class their Exotica music as "Tiki", although Don Ho and Al Harrington - I would probably class them more as "Tourist".

Next in line was definitely Chicago. To quote James Teitelbaum:

Imagine walking around downtown Chicago back in the Tiki Heyday, and having three Pago Pagos, a Kon Tiki Ports, Don the Beachcomber, the Shangri-La, Tommy Wong's, and Trader Vics all within a few blocks. You'd be hard pressed to go for a stroll without stumbling across (or into) a Tiki Bar or four!

I can't imagine what that must have been like! Walking around Shelter Island in San Diego must have been the only experience to compare at the time.

After Chicago, it's hard to pin down the next largest Tiki "Power Places". New York definitely leads the remaining pack. Then I would offer Las Vegas, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, & Wildwood New Jersey as contenders. Even places like Salt Lake City had 4 or more tiki bars and restaurants. Columbus Ohio ranks just for the Kahiki alone. It was a glorious time, my friends!

I think James Teitelbaum, Sven, Humuhumu, and TheJab might be best qualified to tell us where the "Most Tiki" city lies today, since they've done the most travelling to current tiki spots. I eagerly wait to hear their insights.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2005-08-26 12:36 ]

By "funky" I guess I meant that San Fran is a town that doesn't take itself too seriously and in fact you can still catch a faint vibe of gold-rush boominess in the air. By "hard core" yes I meant sex, it seems to be open with its sexual services industry but forefront in mind is that diagonally across the street from City Lights (one of the most famous bookstores in the world) is the Condor Club (one of the most legendary strip joints in the world). And, come to think of it, diagonally across the street from the Condor is yet another tiki bar, I forget its name, great Mai Tais, wonderful interior, awful terrible music.

(and btw, the Rainbow Room no longer attracts sophisticated boho yuppies as they had planned in their redocoration scheme; it is instead a pure tourist trap and clip joint, the drinks are tiny and poorly made and cost at least $25, but the view of lower Manhattan makes it all absolutely worth it.)

And when I die and go to heaven I hope the tiki bar up there is half as nice as SF's Tonga Room.

On 2005-08-26 13:10, Satan's Sin wrote:
By "funky" I guess I meant that San Fran is a town that doesn't take itself too seriously and in fact you can still catch a faint vibe of gold-rush boominess in the air. By "hard core" yes I meant sex, it seems to be open with its sexual services industry but forefront in mind is that diagonally across the street from City Lights (one of the most famous bookstores in the world) is the Condor Club (one of the most legendary strip joints in the world). And, come to think of it, diagonally across the street from the Condor is yet another tiki bar, I forget its name, great Mai Tais, wonderful interior, awful terrible music.

(and btw, the Rainbow Room no longer attracts sophisticated boho yuppies as they had planned in their redocoration scheme; it is instead a pure tourist trap and clip joint, the drinks are tiny and poorly made and cost at least $25, but the view of lower Manhattan makes it all absolutely worth it.)

My mistake. I meant the "Redwood Room" not the Rainbow Room. The Redwood Room is a 1930s Art Deco masterpiece of a bar in the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. About 10 yrs ago Ian Schrager bought the hotel which instigated a "Save the Redwood Room" drive. After the ownership transferred the room was restored (the Klimpt artworks that were added in the 1970s were removed and the 1930s "curly" redwood interior - supposedly from one old-growth tree - and light fixtures were retained), and then the atmosphere was changed for the worse, as they added 4 huge video screens in the room. They now serve overpriced weak drinks like the Lychee-tini (gasp) and DJs play crappy music. But nobody seemed to care anymore because the hotel has been a smashing success especially since it reopened in the peak of the dot-com boom. It has since become a hangout for the rich and famous and wanna-be rich and famous.

The Condor is still there but they made changes to the signage. They also recently removed the classic sign for the Hungry I (the old comedy club had been toen down but a strip club took over the name). I love North Beach but it is changing rapidly, and in the Bay Area we have nothing like the LA Conservancy. Old places disappear all the time with maybe just a brief mention in the newspaper.

Before:

After:

Broadway street used to be all neon signs - now it looks like this:
The Condor Club's sign featuring a topless woman (Carol Doda?) with blinking red nipples was removed in the 90s when the topless dance bar became a sports bar (I think it's now a dance club).

For more Farewell Favorites check out one of the best web sites on San Francisco (www.mistersf.com)

http://www.mistersf.com/farewell

Sabu, your postcard collection is the next best thing to a time machine!

It would be hard for me to pick one place, and I still have not been to some areas (Canada, New England) but I think the greater Los Angeles area (including Orange County) would be at the top of my list (it's no surprise that Humuhumu has relocated there). Not only for quantity of tiki but it's variety (small bars, large restaurants, old bars, new bars, apartments).

On 2005-08-26 11:36, thejab wrote:
How about Barcelona for tiki town? 3 fine tiki bars.

Barcelona's probably got my vote too.

(Then again, Rotorua has so many frickin' tikis everywhere that I almost suffered whiplash trying to take it all in!)

On 2005-08-26 16:15, thejab wrote:
I think the greater Los Angeles area (including Orange County) would be at the top of my list (it's no surprise that Humuhumu has relocated there).

Very interesting point about the OC, The Jab.

I also was thinking particularly of the Sunset Beach area, where there seems to be a very high TIPSY factor, with Sam's, Taco Surf - with outside tikis visbile from PCH - and that 3rd bar down the street.

Speaking of distinguished TC members, I believe Crazy Al also resides there.

All the cities that have been mentioned are worthy contenders, and have varying states of tikiness in their histories and present-day. Assuming that the use of the word "tiki" in the question relates semantically to what we're all gathered here for (midcentury Polynesian Pop), rather than actual Oceanic art, my vote goes to the greater Los Angeles area.

Sabu made reference to the sheer amount of tiki here, using apartment buildings as an example, and that hints at what I think makes Los Angeles special: it seems that here more than anywhere else Polynesian Pop was embraced in an everyday fashion. In other parts of the country, tiki bars and Polynesian restaurants were popular and active, but here, tiki life was actually happening. Here in southern California, beachcomber living and suburban savagery was in people's homes and people's livelihoods, sometimes cheekily, sometimes seriously.

Additionally, the idea of casual tropical exoticism equalling glamour was really solidified by the earlier Hollywood pre-tiki establishments, like Sugie's Tropics, Bob Brooks' Seven Seas, and Don the Beachcomber. Chicago is definitely a contender on that front as well.

Midcentury Polynesian Pop has many roots in all sorts of places, but for me the most meaningful roots are here in Los Angeles.

Aside from that, I almost want to consider the Mai Kai as a city unto itself. The Mai Kai is the single best tie we have today to the heyday of Polynesian Pop.

And the LA/OC area probably has the highest concentration of folks who contribute to, and take part in, the current tiki culture.

every major st. in Los Angeles had a major tiki site on it at one time.I can probably list a couple dozen at least.Chicago is up there though with the best of them.

I live in Tennessee, so I am definitely out of luck! I am just getting into collecting and reading up on the history of Tiki pop culture in the U.S. I bought the book Tiki Road Trip in the hopes of finding some local places to explore. There are actually a few places in Tennessee and the surrounding states. The closest is the Omni Lounge near Nashville, which he gives good reviews of in his book. There are some states that have absolutely nothing to offer, so I feel lucky that there are a few places within driving distance that I can check out.

There was a witco showroom in memphis ,so, keep checking your local thriftstores.

Modesto gets my vote.

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2012-05-01 20:32 ]

Well if you ask me...(and The Jab did):

I love LA, it is THE terrain for the urban archaeologist of any persuasion. This vast urban jungle (desert?) is inhabited by such a jumble of lost and forgotten styles (hidden under layers of ugliness), where everyone once built their own version of Shangri-La, it never gets boring.

And Tiki began here (with Donn Beach and Stephen Crane) and ended here, then was reborn again:

This is where I met Jeff Berry, Otto, Doug Miller, Josh Agle, Bosko, Mark Ryden, Charles Schneider, and all the other crazies and mod-comers that were into Tiki. It's also where I stumbled into the Sea & Jungle shop, drank my first Zombie at the Tiki Ti, AND discovered Oceanic Arts, the decisive event that made me begin my work on the Book of Tiki. And where it came together when my publisher moved into the Chemosphere. And and and...

So it's clearly Tiki Town USA for me.

I can tell you which city is the LEAST tiki - just look to the left of this post. Yeah, right under my name.

Having grown up in California and having a full understanding of the intricacies of northern, central and southern California I have got to put my vote in for Chicago. It's my kind of town, Chicago is. I find it to be the most tiki. Although my thinking has recently proven flawed, I believe that the true feeling of tiki is escapism. In Cali and Florida, with real palm trees it is easy to believe that say... the Bahooka is where it is. The Tiki Ti belongs there. Trader Vic's, the Tonga room (went there for some prom), the Islander and the what have you all fit in perfectly in my mind. But Chicago... some sort of oasis in the middle of the USA absolutely captured my fancy. Chicago is the raddest tiki city in the WORLD. LA is cool too;)

I have to say it. Chicago is a fantastic city. Very beautiful, and the home of the skyscraper even though imho the Sears Tower is kind of cheap and ugly-looking. Very nice people, won't knock you to the ground in order to cross the street (against the light), like they do in New York. Great food, everywhere. Civic pride busting out at the seams; the city flag is everywhere, all the time (it's the only U.S. city I've been to where the city flag flies outside city hall). And the Chicago Art Institute -- best in the country. Best in the country. Best in the country. Here's to you, Chicago.

On 2005-08-30 09:17, Satan's Sin wrote:
Very nice people, won't knock you to the ground in order to cross the street (against the light), like they do in New York.

???

I've lived in New York in the past & I'm still in the general NYC area and am in the city on a fairly regular basis.

I've never been knocked down for any reason. However, I did once see an elderly man fall down only to be immediately surrounded by dozens of people concerned that he might be hurt (he was okay).

Also, I once saw a young boy have all his collectable cards (Pokemon? Magic? I dunno) get blown away in a gust of wind. This broke the boy's heart ... and apparently everyone else around him. EVERYONE that saw what happened stopped what they were doing to pick up the cards which had scattered almost to the next block (traffic actually stopped on the street) and, I'm happy to report, the boy got all his cards back. Lovely New York Moment!

Coming to NYC from the rural south, I brought w/ me a lot of preconceived notions about the Big Apple. I'm happy to say that some of the most thoughtful, earnest, and considerate people I've met come from this great city - and that most of my negative precepts have long been proven wrong.

Anyway, the topic of this thread is "which city is most tiki". I'm glad you love chicago, it is a great city. but how is it tiki and why do you have to put down new york to compliment chicago?

take care,
tiki chris

[ Edited by: Tiki Chris 2005-08-30 09:45 ]

[ Edited by: Swanky 2005-09-02 21:02 ]

Tiki Chris,

Okay, okay, all right already. I wasn't literally knocked down in New York. That was my Mad Magazine take. But in New York if there is not a vehicle at an intersection people plow right in, regardless of whether they have the light, and if you're standing there you're going to get pushed along. And in Chicago people actually wait for the light. That's all I'm saying. I love New York. I'd live there in a heartbeat, if I could figure out how.

I spent a small portion of last Sunday driving through the streets of Wildwood, New Jersey. If tiki is measured by the density of neon signs and vintage hotel architecture per square mile, then Wildwood definitely has to be considered. I saw several Hawaiian themed hotels, a cool Moai neon sign, and a few signs for tiki bars, but was running late already and didn't have time to stop and take pictures.

Vern

Los Angeles is ground zero for modernism ,and, tiki.It aint Modesto,chicago,ft lauderdale or even hawaii,let me tell you.I would have to say that I prefer the folks outside of ground zero any day of the week....(o.k. let me have it!)

[ Edited by: valcano 2005-08-30 18:18 ]

On 2005-08-30 17:10, ikitnrev wrote:
I spent a small portion of last Sunday driving through the streets of Wildwood, New Jersey. If tiki is measured by the density of neon signs and vintage hotel architecture per square mile, then Wildwood definitely has to be considered. I saw several Hawaiian themed hotels, a cool Moai neon sign, and a few signs for tiki bars, but was running late already and didn't have time to stop and take pictures.

Vern

Vern,
Good point about Wildwood - it definitely takes you back a few decades. I was recently down there for a day and tooka few photos. They're on the same roll as some from our party. They being developed now. I'll try to post 'em as soon as I get 'em back.

Also, check this thread for excellent Wildwood photos:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5442&forum=1&hilite=wildwood

Cheers,
Tiki Chris

Outside of the U.S.A. Madrid is the Tikiest city in the world. Way more Tiki than Barcelona. There was a time when more than 10 Tiki bars where open at the same time. it's also the first city in Europe to open an original European Tiki Bar, The House of Ming.

I love Wildwood, NJ
Someone on TC had a plan to have a tiki event there some day
Many of the classic motels are gone. Everyone should pay a
visit here soon. Stay at the STRARLUX or CARIBBEAN motels
Have dinner at the MAD BATTER down the road in Cape May NJ

On 2005-08-26 06:33, freddiefreelance wrote:
Alameda, Ca, 'cause why else would Jab move there from San Diego?

Dunno the answer to the above question, but the fair Pacific island of Alameda has a few other reasons to be a contenduh in this debate:

[1] It is in fact a Pacific island, something which very few other contending cities can claim.

[2] Forbidden Island.

[3] Firetiki. Does your candidate for tikiest city have as classic a place to outfit a tiki bar and clothe its patrons?

[4] Of all the places thus far mentioned, it's the closest to the co-birthplace of tiki, Hinky Dinks/Trader Vic's.

[5] If you leaven your tikiphilia with a love of the cuisine, and especially the Rum Drinks, of other tropical isle environments, Havana is the best Caribbean restaurant, and bar, in the bay area.

[6] Forbidden Island again, and again, and again.

[7] The short drive to Conga Lounge, Trader Vic's, and Kona Club, and a shorter walk to, or stumble home from, as I did tonite, Tiki Tom's.

chiwito

Goin' where the weather suits my clothes.

[ Edited by: chiwito 2009-01-29 03:03 ]

[ Edited by: chiwito 2009-01-31 14:58 ]