The Volcano

Not too long ago I spotted this item on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3922002293&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

As you can see, it's a postcard for a restaurant in Winter Haven Florida called "The Volcano." Since this link will eventually die, here's the text and photo:

"Here's a vintage original chrome post card from the long-gone Polynesian paradise THE VOLCANO which was located in Winter Haven, FL. "A million dollar Polynesian showplace with restaurant and lounge in downtown Winter Haven, Fla. on Highway 17, only 4 miles from Cypress Gardens." This place was similar to Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber. Postally unused card is in good condition (slight dulling from age). Winning bidder pays $1.00 first class postage. NO RESERVE!"

Winter Haven is close to Orlando and so a while back I decided to drive over and do a little investigating and hopefully find some items from this restaurant in the local antique stores and thrift stores and even more hopefully, find the original building.

Winter Haven is somewhat out in the sticks, halfway between Tampa and Orlando, several miles off of I-4. As sleepy as the town is now, Winter Haven was really out in the middle of nowhere back in the 1960s, prior to Disney World and prior to I-4 being built. The only thing of consequence to tourists that was even remotely close was Cypress Gardens. The Volcano had to have been geared to the tourists visiting Cypress Gardens. A small rural town 40+ miles from Tampa is an odd place to build a "million dollar Polynesian showplace."

So...I hit all the antique stores and though most people had never heard of The Volcano, I was lucky to get some tidbits of info from a few shop owners and fellow shoppers. I was told that it was a beautiful large building surrounded by a moat (which you can see in the pic) and that "flames shot into the air from the water." It was said to have been a very upscale kind of place with wonderful food (no mention of the drinks) and that it had exotic decor including a large waterfall inside that was behind glass. It was associated with the motel that was next to it. The Volcano was owned by an Italian family who's family name began with an "F." In the early 70s it was converted into a nightclub and eventually at some point during the 1970s the building was completely torn down. There was some confusion as to what stands there now, one lady told me that a McDonalds is there. Since the building is gone I didn't bother to go and look.

In the postcard pic you can see palm trees (no great shakes for Florida) and polynesian style decor including a large marquesan style tiki, a fire spewing volcano, the fire that shoots from the water and another tiki out front.

As far as mugs and such, the only info that I got was that there used to be "mugs" and "Tom Collins glasses" marked The Volcano that were floating around. The antique store owner said that he hasn't seen any, however, in many, many years. I scoured the thrifts and the only thing I found was a nice copy of Claudine Longet's debut album. :) People who remembered The Volcano seemed pleased to be reminded of the long forgotten place and were very curious as to why someone from Orlando was interested in a restaurant that disappeared over 30 years ago.

It's not much, but that's all that I could dig up so far. Anyone out in TC land have any info or items from The Volcano that you can share? Maybe someone has picked up one of those mugs or glasses through years of thrifting? ANY info would be appreciated. To me, The Volcano is an especially interesting footnote in PolyPop history because 1) it was located near where I now live, 2) it was located in a very strange location for an upscale tiki lounge/restaurant (alligator and armadillo country) and 3) it just vanished with little evidence that it ever existed.

Winter Haven was hit hard by the hurricane and so I won't be going back for a while. I don't even know if the area has electricity back yet. I will go back every now and then and try and jog people's memories, maybe hit the local library.

Something that struck me as very odd: the Salvation Army in Winter Haven had 3(!) copies of Sylvain Sylvain's debut album. Sure, you see that album pop up now and then but three in one thrift in a small rural town? Like maybe Winter Haven had a large contingent of NY Dolls fans? Not relevant but just kinda weird.

[ Edited by: Kono on 2004-08-18 20:02 ]

...it's gonna blow, a whoa-a-whoa-a-whoa, Volcano!

Splendid urban archeology! I had always wondered what happened to that place (from knowing the postcard). There were a couple of these places in Florida (like The Luau (?)) that were single, one family owned havens of which no trace remains. Too bad that once the owners are gone, any ephemera are almost impossible to come by.

Kono,
The Boston Red Sox held spring training in Winter Haven from 1966-1992. That would also have provided a good source of customers/revenue for a couple of months each year.

JTD

Something that struck me as very odd: the Salvation Army in Winter Haven had 3(!) copies of Sylvain Sylvain's debut album. Sure, you see that album pop up now and then but three in one thrift in a small rural town? Like maybe Winter Haven had a large contingent of NY Dolls fans? Not relevant but just kinda weird.

Well, gee thanks! now I have "14th Street Beat" running through my head. It's been mumblty years since I've heard that album & I can still remember how Sylvain Sylvain's New York Accent sounds...

Hello. I am new to the Tiki Room, but I can probably help you out on info about this restaurant. Please look for a personal message from me, and get in touch via e-mail if you are still interested.

Volcano Girl, we ALL are interested! It has actually happened several times on this board that either family members of the owners, or people who used to work at the restaurants that the posts were about chimed in to the thread and contributed insider info to these long forgotten Tiki temple histories.
Or even just people that were simply regular customers of said establishments, they too can share experiences here that many of this board's members never had.

Kool find and archeaology :)

I love to read these old resurected threads. So good to see pictures sinc most of the links in the old threads are broken. It sure looked like a neat place and the volcano must have been fun.

I got through to Kono and I thought it might be helpful if I tried to answer questions on the forum side of things instead of personal msg, so that others who are interested can follow along. I will answer as best as I can, however, I was a kid during the time that we lived in WH and had the restaurant, between the ages of say, 7 or 8 till I was 10.

As I said to Kono in the PM, my father was one of the owners of The Volcano, the other business partner was my grandfather. I'm not at all sure what prompted my Dad to choose the Polynesian theme for the restaurant. I do know that he loved food of pretty much any type, and enjoyed eating at the finest restaurants all over the country. The Volcano was very upscale, and very unique. As you have seen on the postcard, there was a volcano that faced Hwy 17 sort of to the NW (*correction, E) side of the restaurant. There were sweet walkways that wound around to the entrance on the west (*N) side of the bldg. I remember it was all very Tahitian feeling, like a mini paradise, lots of bamboo and many adornments. There was a big Buddha (?) statue in the foyer. It was huge. There were also little pools every so often, and it's true about the waterfall behind the glass. I also remember those big gongs there somewhere in the restaurant part. If anyone has ever been to the Kahiki here in Columbus before it was razed, the atmosphere was very much like that.

Some of the waitresses wore bikini tops with a sarong-type short skirt, and they may have even been barefoot, with maybe an ankle lei, as well as the lei around the neck. Others were more formally dressed in some type of silk dress with the cute oriental closures, I don't know what they are called.The waiters wore Hawaiian shirts, except I think the maitre'd wore a black suit with white shirt. The Volcano was the most MARVELOUS place, and you definitely felt special when you went there.

It's funny that it was such a place of entertainment for such a little town like Winter Haven, but Florida really has always been about the tourism. Of course, there were visitors who probably were also visiting Cypress Gardens, but you know, this place was really able to draw some pretty cool customers. For instance, I remember that Don Ho had been there, as was Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon - I think that they had even broadcast a special daytime show from there. I also remember that Mike Connors from Mannix fame had been there. So my Dad got to rub elbows with some celebrities from time to time. I'm sure there were more, but for right now, these are the first few off the top of my head, I haven't really thought about the details of the place in such a long time. If I'm not mistaken, I think there was a show at one point during the evening when some of the waitresses would come out and do the hula dance, sort of like what you would see when you go to Hawaii. My Dad had some of the waitresses teach my younger sister and I how to do some of the simpler hula moves, and I still remember them a little bit, but fortunately, he never made us perform! Oh, yes, and when the girls did the hula they wore grass skirts for the performance. It was really awesome!

There were two types of cuisine offered, Polynesian, and for the wimps, American. All the dishes had weird and exotic names. I remember that one of my favorite desserts was a cup of Green Grasshopper ice cream. I honestly don't know if that was just a made up name, but I can't think of any way to describe the flavor. It must have been some sort of mint flavored ice cream. Also I remember that Baked Alaska was one of the special desserts, and to see that thing come out flaming from the kitchen was... impressive to say the least. Speaking of the kitchen, I do know that the head chef was some old guy (maybe 60 or 70 yeas old?) from probably China, but definitely somewhere on the other side of the world from WH. He was a master, and ran a tight ship. He didn't let us little kids get in the way, but we were allowed to sit quietly and watch sometimes if we wanted. His name was Chinese Joe, and he could be stern but also very endearing. I remember one time I had a little blister or burn or something on my hand, and he ran to his bedroom, which was above the restaurant, and brought back "Tiger Balm" and insisted that I put it on and also take some home.

FWIW, the restaurant had formerly been my father's homestead when he was younger, so some of the restaurant really was part house, not a motel. There was also a separate building (*situated to the N of the main bldg) before you got to the restaurant part, and that's where the nightclub was. So if you didn't want to come for dinner, you could just go to the bar/nightclub. There was usually some aspiring entertainer or group performing there. It attracted all types of performers, singers, comedians, and bands. I remember one that Dad had featured quite often was someone named Judy (*make that Joni) Canova. I don't really remember much else about her, except for the name.

As far as special drink glasses or mugs, I'm pretty sure that there was some sort of special glass that certain drinks were served in. I have no idea if they were available for purchase. I do remember what the menu cover looked like. It was about 12" X 18" and had a bright orange background. A very voluptuous Polynesian woman adorned the cover in a bikini top with sarong skirt, and there was a volcano ready to erupt in the background.

I guess this is about all I can remember off the top of my head for now. If anyone has further questions, I will do what I can to help. I'll try to check in from time to time. ALOHA and MAHALO!

Note Anything that has an asterisk has been edited, as I think I had my directions incorrect when I first posted.

[ Edited by: Volcano Girl 2007-02-09 22:36 ]

[ Edited by: Volcano Girl 2007-02-19 10:19 ]

thank you for sharing your childhood memories with us! it was a fascinating read ~ if you get a chance to go through family photo albums, i'd love to see any pictures you might have!

Thank you so much Volcano Girl for taking the time to reminisce and post what you can remember. It's always so much more interesting when someone has first hand knowledge that they can share. Based on the way you were talking about the menu and mugs/glasses, it sounds like you don't have any surviving items from that time? If you have anything at all such as pictures, postcards, whatever, that you wouldn't mind digging up, we'd love to see them.

Interesting that Johnny Carson visited. We know he visited the Mai-Kai in Ft Lauderdale as well. Sounds like he was making the rounds of the tiki establishments!

Do you recall what years the place was open and why it closed? Did your Dad just retire or did the business fall on hard times?

Thanks again for the wonderful post.

On 2007-02-08 23:16, dogbytes wrote:
thank you for sharing your childhood memories with us! it was a fascinating read ~ if you get a chance to go through family photo albums, i'd love to see any pictures you might have!

It will be difficult for me to get hold of any pictures or memorabilia quickly, but if I come across any, I will try to share them with you all. There could be some things in my Mom's possession still, but I don't know. I will look into that.

If anyone has any specific questions about The Volcano, I will do my best to answer. :)

On 2007-02-09 05:53, GatorRob wrote:
Do you recall what years the place was open and why it closed? Did your Dad just retire or did the business fall on hard times?

Thanks again for the wonderful post.

As best as I can remember, The Volcano opened in perhaps 1967 or 68. We lived in WH until Aug. or Sept. 1970. I don't know if the ownership changed hands after Dad got out, but I suspect not. Leaving WH was sudden from a child's perspective, and it seemed like a touchy subject at the time. It was infrequently brought up in subsequent years, but what I have gathered is that the break-up was not on pleasant terms. So I guess an appropriate way to describe it was that the business did fall on "hard times". Let me just say that I don't think the restaurant wasn't a viable business, but that perhaps some of the business and/or managing partners had some unhealthy connections/habits that forced my Dad to make the decision to leave WH. This is really just a theory on my part; I have no personal knowledge of any of the details of the demise of The Volcano. It is a pity in a way. It was a really cool place. I can imagine that it might have taken off with WDW opening up a few years later.

On 2007-02-08 16:08, bigbrotiki wrote:
....It has actually happened several times on this board that family members of the owners..... chimed in to the thread and contributed insider info to these long forgotten Tiki temple histories....

Cool! So my hunch was right! Thank, you Volcano Girl. We do hope you might dig up more memorabilia. Except for the postcard, I have never even seen a match book of your place. The mother lode would always be the architectural rendering! :)

But as urban archaeologists, we can glean more info out of the remnants at hand, by zooming into the postcard for example:

This must be the "Buddha" you remember, actually a Tiki done in the style of the Marquesas Islands, North of Tahiti. Was that the menu on that stand on the left?

It looks like these gazebos were in the main room under the big A-frame, together with tall palm trees, much like at the Kahiki in Columbus.

I love the use of fire erupting out of the water, an effect that Tiki temples utilized way before Las Vegas did. The Tiki statue at the entrance looks like it was based on the Pele image below:

(...which, interestingly so, must have been collected in the 1800s by Mormon missionairies in Hawaii, because the original can be found at the Temple Square Museum in Salt Lake City)

All in all, you grew up in quite a place:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-02-09 10:42 ]

On 2004-08-19 06:12, JTD wrote:
Kono,
The Boston Red Sox held spring training in Winter Haven from 1966-1992. That would also have provided a good source of customers/revenue for a couple of months each year.

JTD

Sorry, it's a bit off-topic, but yes, you are right about the spring training. I remember that we'd have some kids who would be at school each year for only that part of the year, year in and out, and the dad was a baseball player. I thought we had a big family with six kids, but that family had probably 8-11 kids. What I mostly remember about them is that their station wagon had a third set of doors, sort of like a stretch limousine, only not a limo! Can you imagine our eyes pop open when that family arrived to drop off the kids at school, and all those doors popped open?

Should I post this sort of thing in a PM in the future?

Volcano Girl;
Thank you for posting! Its wonderful to hear first-hand stories!!!

On 2007-02-09 10:38, Volcano Girl wrote:
....Should I post this sort of thing in a PM in the future?

No no, all these details are of interest here. Check out my post on the bottom of the previous page to jog your memory some more. :)

Excellent post, bigbrotiki!

There were matchbooks aplenty, probably one of the only vestiges of the place that I actually have in my possession here in OH. Alas, I do not have a scanner, but if I can find one in my stash of matchbooks (that's what I used to collect from each place I or my parents visited, at least for many years), I will take a digital shot and someone can show me how to post it once I get that done.

Now that I am dusting off some of my memories, I remember that the statue was actually called a Bora-Bora statue, not a Buddha. The item on the stand at the left of the Bora-Bora statue was NOT the menu, but as I recall, some sort of explanation of the origin of the statue. It would be cool if Mom still had any of these items tucked away. She might, but I don't really want to get anyone's hopes up...I just don't know what became of all that "stuff". I remember at Dad's passing that a few things were pulled out of hiding, like the menu, maybe a couple of pictures of the place.

The Tiki statue was similar to the Pele one you posted, except that I think the arms sort of went up to merge with the top part (a little bit like Atlas holding the world above him).

The last item you posted was about the size of a business card. Mom probably has some of that, too. The font used for the name was probably used on the menu cover as well. It was for sure the font used on the matchbooks which were bright orange like the menu.

Can you even believe the prices in those days?

On 2007-02-09 10:48, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2007-02-09 10:38, Volcano Girl wrote:
....Should I post this sort of thing in a PM in the future?

No no, all these details are of interest here. Check out my post on the bottom of the previous page to jog your memory some more. :)

Glad to hear that the off-topic details are okay as well. You have jogged my memory some by enlarging those pics. It WAS quite a showplace, especially for it's time. There was nothing like it around for probably even hundreds of miles. Remember, this was still pre-WDW, although construction for that had begun.

I remember that there used to be billboards posted on the highway (I-75) announcing it's approach probably even in to Georgia (ok, it seemed like that as a kid). I'm guessing the billboards were also posted along the southern route heading towards Miami. The billboards featured the same dark-haired, dark-skinned, voluptuous Polynesian woman that the menu boasted.

Oh man, a BILLBOARD sized ad for it, that would be a winner! Off course, these are the kind of road side ephemera that nobody ever photographed, and that are lost in the winds of time...

Looking forward to viewing your finds, picture posting has actually gotten quite easy here on TC now.

Rats! I just went to look for the matches, and found that there aren't any Volcano ones in the stash that I have on hand. That means one of two things: either they are in a box in a storage unit, or they were among belongings I had that were ruined by a flood a few years ago. (I lost a lot of photos and sentimental items.)

Well, I'll just keep my chin up and hope that Mom has some stuff she's willing to "share".

A few more memories, have come back. I remember there was also some sort of flyer about a half sheet of paper that had details like the one posted on the business card. It was in black and white. I know that I used to have that pasted in my scrapbook from when I was a kid, but I'm not sure where that scrapbook is right now. I thought I had it in my living room with other photo books, but I guess not, as I'm not seeing it there. I'm sure I will stumble upon it at some point.

Also, sometimes my three oldest siblings worked at the restaurant if they were short-handed. I can only imagine that each of them have very different perspectives about the restaurant from my own. We younger kids (my older brother, younger sister, and myself) only had to do odd jobs, like folding stacks and stacks of cloth napkins into those cute shapes that stand up by themselves, or running to give someone a message from the office when whoever was being sought wouldn't answer the phone extension (like in the nightclub building, since it was louder than in the other buildings). Most of the time, being there was cool for the three of us younger kids. Sometimes it was really boring, and although there was a small TV in the back office space, wrestling was the only thing my brother would turn it to.

One of the traditions that we observed on a weekly basis was that on Sundays after Mass, we went there as a family for the best roast beef buffet in town (apparently, carving it fresh for each customer as they watched was a big deal back then). The guys carving the roast wore those big poofy chef hats and white aprons. I'm thinking that maybe the Green Grasshopper ice cream was maybe vanilla with creme-de-menthe mixed in. Something like that anyway.

There was a McDonald's just a block or so away on the same side of the street, which I think was the west side of hwy-17. I remember a hotel chain also being nearby, like maybe a Holiday Inn or something like that. I don't know if any of that is still there, but probably not. It has been nearly 40 years since The Volcano was around.

I found this while looking around. It explains some of what Kono found out about the Volcano originally. I guess that's where the mistaken last name of F came into play, and also the part about the Italian family.

http://www.dizzyrambler.com/scrapbook/seventies/matanzas/matanzas.html

****In late 1970 Ron Whitney decided to start playing the Rustic Lounge in Winter Haven and after about a year or so he was offered the opportunity by Ric Furnari to move the band to "Dante's Blue Room", an upscale Italian restaurant and lounge in southeast Winter Haven. Ron cut the act down to a trio and along with Ronnie Skinner on guitar and Allen Keefer on Drums the band, then using the name Ron and Matanzas, started packing the crowds in.

After Raintree County broke up, Jesse and I didn't play for several months, but eventually (probably early 1973) we had started going over to the Blue Room and jammin' with the guys on Saturday nights. After a few weeks Furnari liked what he was hearing and the place was packing out on the week-ends, so we were hired to play Friday and Saturday nights with the band. Business was so good, Furnari soon moved the club into a vacated Polynesian restaurant in downtown Winter Haven that had large twin Tiki-hut style buildings separated by a garden area complete with rattan bridges and fountains. He dubbed his new venture, Dante's Roma and Inferno Lounge. In the beginning, the restaurant was in one building and the lounge was in the other and the band played five nights (Jesse and I worked 3 nights, I think!) a week. It was also during this time that I made my ill fated attempt to play the banjo (?) as part of the "showtime" portion of the week-end shows. ****

I remember hearing the name Ric Furnari floating around after we had moved from WH, but I had no idea of the context of it till now. I have no idea if he was involved with the restaurant at the time my father owned it, or if he was just someone who bought the property after we left.

On 2007-02-09 14:03, Volcano Girl wrote:
I found this while looking around. It explains some of what Kono found out about the Volcano originally. I guess that's where the mistaken last name of F came into play, and also the part about the Italian family.

http://www.dizzyrambler.com/scrapbook/seventies/matanzas/matanzas.html

****In late 1970 Ron Whitney decided to start playing the Rustic Lounge in Winter Haven and after about a year or so he was offered the opportunity by Ric Furnari to move the band to "Dante's Blue Room", an upscale Italian restaurant and lounge in southeast Winter Haven. Ron cut the act down to a trio and along with Ronnie Skinner on guitar and Allen Keefer on Drums the band, then using the name Ron and Matanzas, started packing the crowds in.

After Raintree County broke up, Jesse and I didn't play for several months, but eventually (probably early 1973) we had started going over to the Blue Room and jammin' with the guys on Saturday nights. After a few weeks Furnari liked what he was hearing and the place was packing out on the week-ends, so we were hired to play Friday and Saturday nights with the band. Business was so good, Furnari soon moved the club into a vacated Polynesian restaurant in downtown Winter Haven that had large twin Tiki-hut style buildings separated by a garden area complete with rattan bridges and fountains. He dubbed his new venture, Dante's Roma and Inferno Lounge. In the beginning, the restaurant was in one building and the lounge was in the other and the band played five nights (Jesse and I worked 3 nights, I think!) a week. It was also during this time that I made my ill fated attempt to play the banjo (?) as part of the "showtime" portion of the week-end shows. ****

I remember hearing the name Ric Furnari floating around after we had moved from WH, but I had no idea of the context of it till now. I have no idea if he was involved with the restaurant at the time my father owned it, or if he was just someone who bought the property after we left.

Now that's some sleuthing!

TC member Bre-elle believes that she has seen the original building recently. Given that some of the other info I found was incorrect, maybe the building(s) still stand? Do you have a pretty good idea of where it was located (cross streets)? I'll go and try and snap some pics of the buildings if they are still there.

I've scanned Google Earth along Hwy 17 approx 4 driving miles from Cypress Gardens and I don't see anything that would indicate an A-frame roof with perhaps a small pond next to it (of course, that could have changed over the years... and at this altitude, all the roofs looks A-frame!). Volcano Girl, do you recall if it was located next to a large lake, which might be Howard Lake?

Yes, it was located near Lake Howard. I started writing a great post, but accidentally closed out the tab, so I'm gonna have to start from scratch. (Please bear with me, I'm a little frustrated right now.)

I was able to find out that there's a Budget Inn on 6th St and Ave D which is, coincidentally, 4 mi from Cypress Gardens (I got that from the website info). - see http://www.budgetinnwinterhaven.com/aboutus/

Here's the address of the Budget Inn there:
401 6th St NW, Winter Haven, FL 33881

and the Google Maps link:
http://maps.google.com/

I'm trying to get the whole link in, but if it doesn't work, you may have to cut and paste the rest of the address.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=401+6th+St+NW ,+Winter+Haven,+FL+33881+&ie=UTF8&z=16&t=h&om=1&iwloc=addr

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=401+6th+St+NW,+Winter+Haven,+FL+33881+&ie=UTF8&z=16&t=h&om=1&iwloc=addr

Anyway, once you get there, if you zoom in a couple of clicks, and use the hybrid view, you can see the rooftops of the buildings and some of the nearby topography. I think to me it looks like the Budget Inn is on the NW corner of 6th and Ave D. The Volcano (in my humble estimation) was either north of the BI adjacent to Ave F, or it could be across Ave D from the Budget Inn. Can you see the pink/reddish colored bldg on the zoomed in view? Is it possible that that is the same bldg as the young man was standing in front of in my previous post where Ric Furnari's name was mentioned? I can't really tell for sure, but since it's been 40 years for me, I guess it could be. However, the bldg layout that is north of the BI looks more like the layout of the Volcano restaurant and lounge that I remember. I hope my descriptions aren't confusing. To break it down, I'm thinking that it was in the block between Ave F and D on the west side of 6th St (hwy 17). If anyone was able to go there and take some shots of those buildings, I might be able to tell you if it's the same thing, but then again, if someone had an architect redesign it, it could look completely different. Heck, the restaurant was a far cry from the pictures of my Dad's home when he was growing up. You'd never know that it was the same place from the outside. (But on the inside, some of the old house remained intact, and it still somewhat resembled a home - like the part where Chinese Joe used to live was up some stairs and there were doors all down a hallway as though they had been bedrooms in the past). I hope any of this is helpful.

Very interesting. So if the Volcano was already an empty building by 1973, it existed for only 5 years or so, which explains why there are so few ephemera in circulation.
Considering the timeline, the million Dollar investment might have been too hard to recouperate, since the late 60s were already the tail end of the Polynesian craze. The same thing happend to the Mauna Loa, a lavish Detroit Tiki Temple that only lasted a few years.

On 2007-02-10 12:20, bigbrotiki wrote:
Very interesting. So if the Volcano was already an empty building by 1973, it existed for only 5 years or so, which explains why there are so few ephemera in circulation.
Considering the timeline, the million Dollar investment might have been too hard to recouperate, since the late 60s were already the tail end of the Polynesian craze. The same thing happend to the Mauna Loa, a lavish Detroit Tiki Temple that only lasted a few years.

Yes, it is a shame that it was so short-lived. I think 5 years would have been about the max. It was definitely empty by 73, maybe even summer of 72. My older brother got married one of those years (heck if I remember which, but I'm thinking 72), and I remember that the building was vacant when we returned for his wedding whichever summer it was.

WOW!!!! Thanks for all the stories Volcano Girl. The pictures are great Bigbro!! Thanks for posting these great Tiki memories.

This is why I love TC.............research!!!!!

Below is a menu of The Volcano restaurant that was located in South Bend, Indiana. No relationship to the one in Winter Haven though but interesting nonetheless.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

I think this may be the address of The Volcano:
THE VOLCANO
445 6TH STREET N W
WINTER HAVEN, FL 33881
Sorry if its already been posted.

Thanks, Chef Mike! That looks about right. Where did you find the address?

Hi VG- Ifound it in an unusual place...
http://www.loansenseplus.com/industries/eating_places2.asp?spg=103
scroll down to the V's.

Wow, I am just amazed at the wealth of info you can find on the Internet!

Chef Mike- Can you tell me on that link was the loan date the day someone took out a loan under the Volcano name? That is about to the exact day when we moved from WH to Gainesville. Would someone have possibly bought my Dad's portion of the business out, or what is the significance of that loan date? Any ideas?

**Correction: Ooops, my bad! That was a different year than when we moved. We moved late Aug. of 1970. Still I would love to know what the loan date is referring to, when the loan was taken out, or something else?

[ Edited by: Volcano Girl 2007-02-11 11:01 ]

And speaking of wealth of info from the Internet... how about this? I believe we have located our suspect:

Here is an establishing shot to get you oriented. You're looking north. 6th Street is on your right. Lake Howard and Lake Howard Drive on the left. The Budget Inn is in the lower right corner and, incidentally, was built in 1959. See that A-frame building to the NW of the hotel?

Here's a close-up. Same angle.

Now let's look at it from the east. From that direction, it sure looks like our Volcano!
Then... and now:

The above photo is from the opposite side of the building as the postcard, but it shows us the same roof profile.

Now from the north. This is the front of the building. That fenced in area to the left of the building is where the fire-spewing volcano and pond would have been.

The next thing to do would be to actually drive over there, take some pictures and talk to the current owners of the building and see if they can tell us anything. Kono, if you're planning to head down there soon, let me know. Otherwise, I'll plan a drive over in the next couple of weeks.

I'm not sure about this next bit of info, so take it with a grain of salt. The Polk County property appraiser's web site does not list 445 6th St NW as a valid address. But looking at those arial photos, it looks like access to the building is now from Lake Howard Dr. A parcel search shows a Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church at 700 N Lake Howard Dr. and it was sold to them on Jan 1, 1972! (It shows the original structure was built in 1937.) And it's not a stretch to think of a church in an A-frame building. So maybe that loan that turned up in an earlier post was a loan by the church for renovations and buildout.

I may be connecting some dots that shouldn't be connected, but we'll see.

The plot thickens... I found that the church is actually just about a block north from our Volcano site. It's close enough though that it's still possible the church purchased it as an extension of its campus in 1972. Should be easy to find that out. By the way, the church has been at its present location since 1951.

Awesome work Tiki Detectives!! :)

Cheers,
Jeff

Dang, the missionairies took over the native village..again! No more Pele fireworship on THOSE grounds! :)

Gator Rob, you are doing a really awesome job, this is really cool for me! We are getting REALLY CLOSE, but is there a way you can show me close-ups of the bldgs to the north of the Budget Inn? That A-frame that you've pictured is NOT in the right location. The Volcano as seen from the postcard, I am 99% positive that that view is taken from 6th St. looking west. You could see the erupting volcano as you drove on 6th. It was directly abutting the road. IIRC the ridge of the restaurant roofline was perpendicular to 6th, not parallel like the A-frame you've zoomed in on. Check out the white bldg just N of the Budget Inn. That could be it if it was modified a lot. But for me, if I'm looking at this right, I think the roof with the hips (that's what my husband calls that kind), just N of the white bldg is the most likely prospect from my memory. It is almost obscured from above because of the foliage around it. Any chance you could get zoom-ins on either of those? TY much if you can!

Wow, I sure thought I had our building. Well, here are the buildings to the north of the hotel. This view is looking west. The A-frame building we've been eyeing is at the top center. 6th St is at the bottom. Those other buildings look too new to me. Maybe it's possible either the road was moved over time or (sounds crazy but...) the building was moved? It happens.

By the way, you can explore these images for yourself HERE.

It looks to me as if the road COULD have been moved. It happens alot around here.

I agree that the other buildings look too new, but the locations are about right. Any chance that those are refurbished structures? The one with the brown roof just feels like it's in about the right place. It looks like it's set off of 17 (6th St) about the right amount, but heck, I was just a kid. Also, I think 6th St. was only two lanes back then, maybe three, so some of where the street is now would've been sidewalk. I've looked at it from every angle, and I'm thinking that it was either the now white building or the one N of it. I'm still waiting to hear from some family members about their recollections. Maybe one of them knows definitively if the building was actually torn down or moved.

Anyway, y'all are great for helping with this! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

Print that picture of the buildings.
Then mail it to your mom she will know.
Plus it will jog her memory.

Well, if that A-frame building I located isn't the Volcano, I'm amazed at how closely it resembles the postcard. From those shots, the roof looks practically identical to me. What are the chances two different buildings in the same block would have the same roof profile? Anyway, the search continues...

The little buliding to the left of the swimming pool
dose have an a frame roof.
You need to look at the map to see it.
Plus the other building is huge.
Looks bigger than the postcard one.

They may have added the newer hotel
wings later.

Very cool tiki detective thread here. Keep up the good work. I was in Winter Haven two weeks ago. I thought about the Volcano, but of course had no idea where to look for it. GatorRob's image looks about right to me. Sure would love to see that menu - or the billboards.

To all...I just received this reply from my oldest brother:

The Volcano.... was located in Winter Haven, Florida on 6th street NW and N. Lake Howard Drive, between the Tropic Motel and an old Greek family run restaurant (the name I've forgotten= may be the Park Cafe). Dad had used some of their foods when we ran out. He also used chefs from other restaurants when he needed help and vice versa. It was a good way of running the business. The main statue in the lanai was hollow - I remember thumping its belly several times - and was made on site by a local craftsman. The lanai walkway was above flowing water and rocks on the sides and the statue room. Turn left and you'd go into the restaurant. Turn right you'd go to the small lounge. Beyond the lounge were the offices. The property wained down the hill to Lake Howard. It was wonderful to see the sun set as the tiki torches were lit. I sometimes lit the torches. The volcano spewed real fire. It was set to erupt about every 35 minutes. It was a spectacle to see as well as the winding walkways over the water. The volcano and the fire coming from under the water itself was fueled by propane gas. I lit the volcano probably only twice. The Tiki Lounge was next to the main restaurant. Inside the main restaurant was a wall of falling water. Several personalities came to the restaurant. I remember Willie Mays, many Boston Red Sox Baseball players and coaches, The Dick Pope family and all of the Polk County and State Government officials.

The Volcano was pretty close to a real Polynesian Isle setting. It was truly romantic in the evening - something about those tiki torches at night. Some of the foods I remember were dollar lobster tail (that's what it cost the restaurant back then * 1968- 1970's *). They charged more for it and it really was regular size Maine Lobster. I remember Rumaki, lychee nuts, a table-sized volcano of ice with skewered pieces of lychees, fresh pineapple, strawberries, coconut chunks, etc. and his famous prime rib and real hand-made egg rolls and a wonderful salad bar featuring a heart of lettuce salad. I also remember having pink champagne ice cream as well as grasshopper ice cream [flavored special for the Volcano in the flavors of the alcoholic beverages].

Today, all of the canal waterways are filled over and all but one building was razed. The one building is a rowdy night club having a hard time with the city police and keeping an owner. The Lakeland Ledger Winter Haven Offices are on the site.

The waitress staff in the evening wore Polynesian style clothing, the lounge staff wore more risque -shorter clothing. The Tiki Lounge hosted entertainment for parties and weekends of local talent - Joni and Buddy Canova (who still perform in other venues) and of course -Dad also sang with them. Chef "Joe" was courted from some restaurant out of Tampa- I thought(?) it was the Kapok Tree Restaurant.

Story: One day I was wandering (it was my turn to work) in the kitchen where a chef was preparing a lemon bread coating for small potatoes. I asked if I could have one. He said yes. So I popped one in my mouth. The chef started laughing. I said, "What?". He told me that I just ate a raw Tampa Bay scallop. Today, I will not eat scallops.

Also, I believe the Bora Bora Statue had a nickname - anyone remember?

FWIW, I, Volcano Girl, have no idea of the Bora Bora statue's nickname, this is the first I've even heard about it! Hopefully, I will get more info from my family members in the days ahead. I will post them as I receive them.

Hey, did anyone notice that this thread has made it to the sidebar on the Tiki Central sidebar under "Cool & Current"?!! Awesome!!

I am still waiting to hear from any more family members about their recollections of the Volcano, and have been trying to do more sleuthing on my own. I am hoping also to hear from one of the Canovas, who appeared frequently at the Tiki Lounge. Keep your fingers crossed that someone will respond soon! One of my ideas is to get in touch with the local Winter Haven historical group, or maybe the Chamber of Commerce. Surely someone at one of these places can help us dig up info.