The Volcano

On 2007-02-12 18:41, Kailuageoff wrote:
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.

Who's this Geoff guy? Nice to see you back... :)

Based on your brother's email, it appears the building we've zeroed in on is very likely the one building he says is still standing and now houses the "rowdy nightclub". It sits between 6th St and Lake Howard Dr., which works out well with your brother's statement that "The property wained down the hill to Lake Howard."

Your brother mentions that the Lakeland Ledger offices are on the site. In the picture below, the Ledger offices are in the white modern building on the right (as confirmed by the Polk County Property Appraiser). So, it appears back in the day, The Volcano had the whole parcel just north of the hotel, from 6th St back to Lake Howard Dr.

How about sending this picture to your brother so he can confirm it for us? And tell him thanks helping out! We all drool over details like a "wall of falling water".

On 2007-02-14 11:35, GatorRob wrote:
....We all drool over details like a wall of falling water...

Well, maybe not THAT much, but we do loose a drop or two.

Aaah, I crack myself up sometimes :lol:

Great urban archeology G.R., I concur.

Great read. Now I'm caught up in this search. Looking forward to more info.

I am just now getting caught up here after being gone for awhile, it never ceases to amaze me how the TC Community can take a simple question and have the detailed, illustrated answer tout suite!

I've been on a quest to piece together a family history on my father's side, I wish it was this easy to get answers!

Hi, to all! I got a few questions answered by my Mom. There's a lot she remembers, and a lot that's rusty. She's going to dig around and see what she can pull out from the attic where she has some of this stuff. I don't know how long it will be to get that accomplished, so we'll just have to be patient. Mom still hasn't seen the photos from these posts, but I will get them to her over the weekend. She doesn't use the computer at all, so it will be Monday evening at the earliest before I get any response. She'll wait until my sister or brother can help her with it.

Gator Rob, we are thinking you are pretty much right about the dilapidated A-frame building. We think it could possibly be the remains of the lounge/nightclub building, which is what you see in the postcard. The restaurant is not visible in that scene, but would be to the left of the volcano and further away, if it were in view. She has little expectation that much of the effects of the place are in existence, but there is the possibility that some of it was recovered by someone, we just don't know any information. She doesn't remember any glasses or mugs, but said her memory is sketchy about that sort of thing. She recommended that I keep talking with my other siblings, especially the older three, who were high school to college age at the time.

Still, she remembered much that may help us track other things down. One was that my grandfather did own all the property that encompassed that block when he had the house built in the early 40's, but began selling off parcels around 1959 or 1960 to some group (she didn't know what group), which eventually turned those things into the "Haven Hotel", Nick Rubas'(?) Greek place (which she said was originally on Park St), the Continental Can Company, possibly a drugstore, as well as someone else who began to turn Dad's former home into a restaurant. Apparently, whoever it was who started with the restaurant theme defaulted on the loan before renovation was completed, and the lot with the restaurant/house on it returned to my grandfather's possession. It was at this point that my father became involved in continuing in the effort to transform his old home into the Volcano (1967?). I don't know how long he spent in the planning stages, but Mom says she thinks they may have officially opened in early 1968, possibly January, but possibly a few months later. She said that the name was Dad's brainchild, because she remembers him thinking a lot about how to market a restaurant when it wasn't his expertise at the time. She does think that he traveled around to some places where there was a Polynesian theme, and she is sure that he had seen the place in Ft. Lauderdale at some point.

The front porch of Dad's home (which faced north) became the bar/lounge/lanai. There were bedrooms on the second floor, she thought maybe there were 4-5 bedrooms on either side of a central hall, and a bathroom on one end. Apparently Chinese Joe (real name of Joe Huey) was the only boarder at the restaurant, the other former bedrooms were used for storage. She reminded me that the women's restroom was spectacular in that it had giant-sized actual clam or oyster shells for the sinks, with pretty pinkish shell insides, and coral-pink cloth hand towels, with some sort of exotic plant as an embellishment. The ladies' room was located directly across from the hostess station which was to the left of the area where the Bora-Bora statue was. The coat room was behind the cashier which was near the hostess station. She said that the far wall of the restaurant (most eastern portion, closest to 6th St) was made completely of dark rocks (maybe even to the ceiling?), and that there was a waterfall feature located there.

She remembers some other interesting things that I thought you might enjoy hearing about. One was a story about the bamboo-beaded curtains for the windows in the lanai (as she called it, I think she was talking about the bar part of the restaurant). Shortly before restaurant's official opening, the bamboo curtains that Dad ordered came in, but they were about a foot too short for the big windows. So Dad bought some extra beads and string and he and Mom and two of their friends worked around the clock and through the night adding a foot of bamboo beads to each of the lengths of curtains!

She said that one of the Red Sox players that she remembers coming was Carl Ystremski (sp?), and someone else named Cornell Wilde (I have no idea who that is). She reminded me that Chinese Joe was a really good man, and was more concerned about his nieces and nephews back in China (he was Cantonese) than he was about himself. Almost every penny he made, he sent back to his old home, to help provide for their education. He even would give us children a few coins in a small envelope at the Chinese New Year, which was apparently a tradition of his. She said that she was only in the kitchen a handful of times, but she remembers one time that Joe took her over to where he was preparing food for the evening meals, and showed her a big huge pot filled with boiling water, and said, "Lot-ta duck!" and something about the big crowd they expected that evening.

OK, this is all for now. I will get back as soon as I hear any more from anyone!

So this is who Cornel Wilde was:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0928425/

I still haven't heard any more from my family members. Most likely they are busy with life's little necessities instead of treasure hunting in the attic. I'm still sleuthing for info online from so many different angles. I was able to locate the tiniest bit of info. It looks like the trademark for "The Volcano" was filed in 1968. I don't know if anyone's interested, but we may be able to track down some info through the public library in Polk County or Lakeland. Here's a link if anyone has any ideas on how to get hands on to any of this material. Who knows what wonderful things might lurk in some ole dusty library drawer?

http://www.lakelandgov.net/library/speccoll/manuscripts/ephemera/polk_businesses.html

[ Edited by: Volcano Girl 2007-03-08 13:37 ]

OMG! Look what I stumbled across as I was doing more internet sleuthing. I'm sorry that I don't know how to make links of pics yet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Volcano-Tropical-Polynesian-Matchbook-Winter-Haven-FL_W0QQitemZ260090010229QQihZ016QQcategoryZ477QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/8d/9c/c2a3_1.JPG

http://i20.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/8d/9c/c1fd_1.JPG

On 2007-02-26 14:54, Volcano Girl wrote:
OMG! Look what I stumbled across as I was doing more internet sleuthing. I'm sorry that I don't know how to make links of pics yet.

If your family doesn't already have some Volcano items, you should own this. But it appears kohalacharms has already discovered it. You'll need a fat wallet to compete with him. Good luck.

I love how the matchbook describes the restaurant as a "Million Dollar Showplace". :)

On 2007-02-26 16:09, GatorRob wrote:
If your family doesn't already have some Volcano items, you should own this. But it appears kohalacharms has already discovered it. You'll need a fat wallet to compete with him. Good luck.

I'm taking a guess that Mom actually does have some of these. I hope she finds them soon. I have a feeling that most in my family are staying busy with our upcoming family reunion this summer. I haven't heard a peep from anyone about my Volcano questions, with the exception of my oldest brother and my mom. However, I keep on sleuthing from afar.

On 2007-02-26 16:16, GatorRob wrote:
I love how the matchbook describes the restaurant as a "Million Dollar Showplace". :)

It truly was one!! 8) How I wish you all could have seen it! :( Just as soon as I can get my hands on anything...I'll post it!

OMG!!! I just got a package from my mom!! It has all sorts of pics in it, news articles, the dinner menu, the drink menu, even layouts!! I haven't gone thru it all, but I'm soooo excited that I had to come and tell you all right away!! I'm shaking so much!! Remember to keep an eye out for new posts. There's a lot of stuff for me to show you!

I hope to get some digipics put one here VERY soon! I have never posted pictures on a website before, so anyone who can give me advice on what to do, please respond here or by PM. It will get to me the fastest that way.

We are going to meet some people at the Tropical Bistro
on the 6th of march. 7:30 pm.
If you would like to bring some of the stuff there
I could take some photos and post them for you.
Plus it would be nice to meet you.

Great, but I thought it was the 12th? Is my mind just playing with me cuz I have all these old memories coming alive?

OK, I'm going to try to post a few pics that I just took of the menu cover and its contents.

The menu cover:

Quick story Mom told me in her note. Apparently there was a scandalous rumor that was spread around town that The Volcano included a topless bar (because of the girl on the cover)! It's funny to me now, because if you had known my Dad, you'd have known that it was a complete fabrication!

Page 1:

Page 2:

Page 3:

Page 4:

Page 5:

Page 6:

Page 7:

Here's a few more. I think some of the other ones that Mom sent I will need to take somewhere to be scanned or possibly lightened as they are very dark, and didn't come out well when I tried to take a digital of them.

The Bar/Appetizer menu cover:

Page 1:

Page2:

The sign out in front of the restaurant, taken from 6th St and facing north.

A narrow view of some of the seating that closest to the windows on the NW side of the restaurant bdlg. That's water falling through the windows, folks! Anyone who has been to the former Kahiki in Columbus will have an idea of the way it sounded and felt. Mmmm....mai tai, anyone?

Those are fantastic! Thanks for posting them.

..sbim

That's funny. I just realized there's no mai-tai actually on the menu, but there's a recipe for it on one of the other pages that Mom sent. The copy is very poor and I can only make out some of it, but I will try to get these pages redone somehow.

Wow. THIS is what I've been waiting for! Thanks Volcano Girl, I look forward to seeing the rest!

On 2007-03-01 13:07, Suffering Bastard in Maine wrote:
Those are fantastic! Thanks for posting them.

..sbim

There will be more to come! I just need to get some professional advice I think. The photos and news clippings are roughly 40 years old, and while they are intact, some of them are of poor quality. There are several informal shots that were taken on some sort of camera from back then, not necessarily a Polaroid, but not 35 mm either. I forget what kind was commonly used back then.

On 2007-03-01 13:24, Kono wrote:
Wow. THIS is what I've been waiting for! Thanks Volcano Girl, I look forward to seeing the rest!

You will not believe what Mom sent! I daresay it's the motherlode! Ok, maybe not the motherlode, but really a good bit. If I can get some of these others done quickly, you will really enjoy them! There's even a shot of Chinese Joe in the kitchen cooking! Dear sweet man! He looks as old as I remember him to be!

That last pic, can you make out what that is sitting in front of the spoons? There are four of them on each table. Am I missing something obvious?

I'm intrigued by that logo on the big sign. Its got the underbite fangs like the Zombie Village logo guy.

Looking at that menu, I'd be eating there on a regular basis if the place where still around! Frog legs, fried oysters and stone crab claws: it doen't get any better than that. Yum!

On 2007-03-01 13:57, Kono wrote:
That last pic, can you make out what that is sitting in front of the spoons? There are four of them on each table. Am I missing something obvious?

I'm intrigued by that logo on the big sign. Its got the underbite fangs like the Zombie Village logo guy.

Looking at that menu, I'd be eating there on a regular basis if the place where still around! Frog legs, fried oysters and stone crab claws: it doen't get any better than that. Yum!

Those are water glasses turned upside down, just waiting for customers to be seated, so they could be turned over and filled! There's a red glass votive candle holder (with webbing on the outside) in the center of each table, along with a coconut filled with sugar packets, maybe even sweet n lo back then. The little decanter (near the candle and the coconut) probably has soy sauce (just guessing, I'm not sure). How lovely (not!) are those obligatory plastic black ashtrays that are set two to a table. Too bad they couldn't have been more unique. Oh well...I guess Dad had to cut corners somewhere!

Wow! This soooo thrilling! For so many years, the Volcano post card was sitting in my folders and each time I came upon it, I said to myself "Wonder if we ever find out ANYTHING about that place..."

...and now this! That SIGN has got to go in one of my next books! And that cocktail menu cover...
Thank You, oh daughter of the Volcano! This thread truly is on FIRE!

Here's more! I decided to try to get as good a snapshot of these photos as I could. They are from 8 X 10 B/W glossies. I'm sorry that the quality is not that great (yet!), and there are lots of shadows and reflections that get in the way of seeing what's really there. Hopefully, some good professional will help me get these in better form.

This first one is taken in the Lava Club. I remember that stage. It was on the farthest end of the room in the nightclub building. I'm pretty sure that these were some of our regular performers. I remember the girl closest to the camera. She may have been one of the ones who gave me hula lessons.

Here is another group that performed often, I think in the Tiki Lounge that was attached to the restaurant. (I think that's the part my mom has called the lanai, but I thought the lanai was something different).

This group was called "The Regal Tahitians" and they were probably a troupe that was not local but made special appearances. Look at the different tikis they had!

Keep checking back for more of the shots that I'm still uploading!

On 2007-03-01 15:07, bigbrotiki wrote:
Wow! This soooo thrilling! For so many years, the Volcano post card was sitting in my folders and each time I came upon it, I said to myself "Wonder if we ever find out ANYTHING about that place..."

...and now this! That SIGN has got to go in one of my next books! And that cocktail menu cover...
Thank You, oh daughter of the Volcano! This thread truly is on FIRE!

It's funny, the past few days I was lamenting that maybe my Mom had better things to do with her time than to go through the attic looking for this stuff. You just wait! This is just the beginning! If I can get some of these more informal shots to come out, you'll like them just as much. I only wish the camera quality for those were better. Any idea how to get the most out of them?

If I can get some of these more informal shots to come out, you'll like them just as much. I only wish the camera quality for those were better. Any idea how to get the most out of them?

To shoot material with your camera is the quickest, but works with objects and large reproductions best, and not so well with smaller photos. As regular visiting TCers might have noticed lately, I got myself a scanner for X-mas, and had a ball posting stuff from my archives ever since.
Scanners are almost as cheap as DVD players nowadays, and for 170.- bucks I got one that can scan slides and Negatives really well, too. Plus, I never read the manual: Just plugged it in and tried out different buttons, and, (for example) figured out how to crop the different Volcano postcard parts, and then enlarge them by scanning them in higher resolution than the whole, and Voila: We had the zoom in effect.

You can enhance old photos by scanning them, then dragging them into your photo program, and there, try to enhance the focus, saturation, color and contrast, it makes quite a difference. Just go by trial and error, you can't mess up the original.

A scanner will do your material the greatest justice, but if you have no other need for it after, it might be a little luxurious.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-03-01 16:50 ]

All of these photos and menus, this whole thread makes me smile ear to ear. It's like opening a vault and discovering the treasure! Thanks to you and your Mom, for all your efforts. I can wait to see whats next! I can't believe how many times I keep saying Wow!

Same caveat as before. This first one needs to be lightened up. It's a view looking toward 6th St., probably from the walkway that led to the Lava Club (which you can see just a bit of the overhang on the left side of the pic. There was a covered bamboo walkway that intersected with this one towards the right that led to the restaurant (building on the right side). There was a bridge to cross over the lagoon which you see in the pic, and the lagoon went to the other (western) side of the restaurant property. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a view of the actual entrance to the restaurant building in any of these shots that have been sent.

This must be one of the private rooms that was available. I don't think I was in it very often. I barely remember it.

This is taken from 6th St. looking south. The Lava Club is on the right in the foreground and the restaurant is behind the volcano in the background. In between the volcano and the nightclub is one of the many geysers shooting off. I don't have any idea of how frequently they shot up like that, but it was periodically. If you look closely at the base of the volcano there is a rectangular shape. This was an access panel of sorts to the inner mechanics of the volcano. IIRC you could (ok, we little kids could) actually get into the inside of the volcano through that little door. I think I've only been in it a time or two. My brother who is just a little older than I probably was in it more times. I was a scaredy cat. I was always afraid that the volcano would erupt at any minute!

This is a view from 6th St. looking north and west. The restaurant is on the left in the foreground, with the volcano and the nightclub in the background. There is a water fountain shooting. That may have been constantly running, unlike the geysers which would spout off every so often.

This is my Dad and two women. (I have no idea who they are.) I also have no idea where this would have been taken. It doesn't look like it was near the Bora Bora statue, which was a favorite place for snapshots to be taken. I wish I knew more about this shot.

Great photos. I know the quality of these old 8x10 B&W glossies must be excellent, real crisp.

Reagrding the performance troupe photos on the previous page, I just noticed that the photo in the middle (at the Tiki Lounge?) shows two Witco masks on the wall. Masks of this style also hung at the Chicago Playboy pool (see BOT p.43 + 253), and nowadays, Ken Pleasant does an expert job of reproducing them.

This is a shot of setting up for a luau that was being hosted at Cypress Gardens for the Press Association, but catered and entertained by the Volcano. You can see the tiki mugs on the tables, and the china is the kind that was used at the restaurant.

This is a closer up view of guests at the event. A bit better view of the mugs, too. Notice the interesting tiki drink thing that the woman in the front is drinking from with the straw. It looks like there are four figures attached around a bowl. Did anyone see the volcanoes of ice with the different bits of fruit stuck in with toothpicks?

I'll be posting more soon. My son needs to use the computer for homework, and I've been hogging it all day! I'll be back as soon as it's feasible!

Those are Tiki Leilani mugs, still relatively easy to find in the field today....but, but,...right in the foreground there....on the left..that's...that's an original Mai Kai bowl!
How ironic (perhaps only to the mug collecting community :) ): The rarest and one of the most common Tiki ceramics, right next to each other!

Wow!!! That's amazing bigbro!!

OK, so here's more of the luau. These were some of the regular dancers that performed the nightly shows.

Here's one of the flame twirling guys!

Here are a couple of the waitresses who would serve your drinks! Now who wouldn't want to be served by these lovely ladies? The place wasn't topless, but the guests sure had a chance to kick back, relax, and enjoy a great meal! Sometimes I can't believe this place was in Winter Haven, and that I was lucky enough to experience it so closely!

This is an ad that Mom saved. I don't know when the Golden Spoon award was given, but apparently it was not long after Dad opened for business.

Here is a pic from a news article. Looks to me like it was taken off the walkway that led to the nightclub.

Here's an ad that was placed next to the same article as the pic above. The huge billboard ads that I mentioned earlier in the thread would have been similar to this only stretched out (like billboards are) and maybe only a few of the bullet points listed here. The colors were about the same as those used in the dinner menu.

I'll try to get a clear copy of the article tomorrow. It's pretty interesting. There's some good information that I hadn't known before, and that Mom has probably long-forgotten. So gang, this is all for tonight, but I promise you...THERE IS MORE! I'll try to post a little every day until I can get it all done, although it may take me a while to get some of the lesser quality pics to show anything that you can see clearly. I'm really wishing that you all could have seen this fabulous place in person!

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga 2007-03-01 22:47 ]

On 2007-03-01 21:30, Volcano Girl wrote:
I'm really wishing that you all could have seen this fabulous place in person!

You have no idea...

So glad to see that you're in possession of all these wonderful artifacts. I can only imagine how thrilled you were to open that package. With so much time passed since its closing and practically nothing about this place turning up in all these years, your finding Tiki Central and then coming up with all this is a rare pleasure for all of us. Mahalo Volcano Girl!!

You know, with the Mai-Kai only a couple of hours away from the Volcano, your menus and pictures would make a wonderful exhibit at a future Hukilau. Tiki Kiliki, are you listening? :)

This is my first attempt at using the scanner. I am a complete novice at scanning. I was able to do a simple black and white version of one of the newspaper ads.

This is a version that I cropped and brightened up from the original that is very weathered.

Which way would you rather me show or is it about the same for newspaper clippings?

This is from an Orlando area newspaper. I hope that this image is good enough to read the article. If not, I'm working on cleaning one up with the photo software I have, which has been time consuming so far, and hasn't improved the quality a lot yet.

continued portion:

I would love for someone to give me some feedback on these news clippings. Are they easy enough to read or should I try to keep working on them? I have another article or two that I can probably post, depending on the size. I may have to break them up into sections. Anyway, any input from the viewers of this thread would be most welcome.

With the help of a magnifier, I could read them well, so one is into it enough, they can. Regarding more articles, it depends if they have anything unique to offer, or just restaurant reviews, which might get repetitious.

From my viewpoint, it's all about eye candy. The visuals are what really draws people in and transports Tiki culture, so items like the menu covers, and the 8x11s are the most impressive. Part of that is also the architecture, like blueprints or even renderings of a Tiki temple. And interiors with Tiki decor like statues and lamps.....

When they have seen all that, then people get curious about the background, and will want to read more about it.
We are kind of at this point here, so yes, any info is welcome, just not too much of the same.

Here's our Polynesian-style chef, "Chinese Joe", at work in the kitchen! Wish I knew what yummy food he was preparing! There's a blotch in the lower right corner of the picture that you can ignore.

So how old do you all think he is? I thought roughly around 60, but that's a guess. Did I mention that Mom thought he went to work for The Kapok Tree restaurant after we closed up? Apparently they were opening a branch in Madeira Beach about that same time. I understand the main one in Clearwater closed in the last several years.

On 2007-03-02 13:28, bigbrotiki wrote:
With the help of a magnifier, I could read them well, so one is into it enough, they can. Regarding more articles, it depends if they have anything unique to offer, or just restaurant reviews, which might get repetitious.

From my viewpoint, it's all about eye candy. The visuals are what really draws people in and transports Tiki culture, so items like the menu covers, and the 8x11s are the most impressive. Part of that is also the architecture, like blueprints or even renderings of a Tiki temple. And interiors with Tiki decor like statues and lamps.....

When they have seen all that, then people get curious about the background, and will want to read more about it.
We are kind of at this point here, so yes, any info is welcome, just not too much of the same.

Thanks for the input, I'll be working on scanning in the pics next. It's going much slower for me today. Another new learning curve I guess. On the positive side, I'm getting better and faster at this with each item I do, still I'm a bit frustrated!

VolcanoGirl - I think you are doing a great job with the new scanner -
Thanks for all your efforts - we are all appreciating this post! Not sure what kind of scanner you have, but I learned some helpful tips with my scanner. Maybe the first is obvious but to crop the item when you select the image as it appears on the scanner bed, just before you Save or Send the scan to file. When scanning items like news articles, magazines or anything that is a printed original as opposed to a photo - I go into my menu items (either under settings or tools) and select *Sharpen details in photos & also *Descreen printed originals. Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions!
I agree this would make a great display at an event and it seems like you will have enough information, photos, stories and first person narrative to make a wonderful publication!
Eager to help any way I can!

I think you're doing fine on the scanning. I prefer the "yellowed" look to the bright white but either is fine. I have no trouble reading the newsprint and I enjoy reading it.

What software are you using to edit the pics? Like jp said, use descreen when you scan and a little sharpen before you shrink the pic. I like to throw in a little +brightness and +contrast myself.

It would be nice if there were a place to post mega-jumbo size pics but I can't think of good solution for that at this time. I'm thinking maybe blogspot lets you post larger pics that you link to with a smaller "thumbnail" in your post. Feel like starting a Volcano blog? :)

Look forward to the rest!

On 2007-03-02 15:51, Kono wrote:
I think you're doing fine on the scanning. I prefer the "yellowed" look to the bright white but either is fine. I have no trouble reading the newsprint and I enjoy reading it.

What software are you using to edit the pics? Like jp said, use descreen when you scan and a little sharpen before you shrink the pic. I like to throw in a little +brightness and +contrast myself.

It would be nice if there were a place to post mega-jumbo size pics but I can't think of good solution for that at this time. I'm thinking maybe blogspot lets you post larger pics that you link to with a smaller "thumbnail" in your post. Feel like starting a Volcano blog? :)

Look forward to the rest!

I have an HP scanner (part of our printer), and the photo program is Microsoft Picture It! Photo 7.0. So far I've just been using the brightness and contrast adjustments, but after seeing yours and JP's hints, I will try the other things also. As for a Volcano blog, right now I think this is all I can handle, LOL, but I'll keep my mind open to it as we move along.

Stay tuned!! I'm getting ready to upload more!

Picture yourself walking up to this tropical paradise. There are fountains of water spraying upward out of lagoon pools all over the entrance area. Of course the landscape is filled with tropical foliage, palm trees, palm bushes, a bit of hibiscus here and there. But mostly running water. You cross a little wooden bamboo bridge, and the water from the lagoon flows underneath you as you cross. The walkway is covered with a thatch roof (in case of inclement weather). You (or sometimes a doorman) pull open these two huge, HEAVY wooden doors (I think they were carved as well). You walk into a rock-walled hallway of sorts (maybe 10 ft. long?), and there's still running water on each side of you (about knee high) in pools that it collects in. Suddenly you see in front of you an opening...

Voila! You enter a huge atrium area are greeted by a Bora Bora statue. (However, this picture doesn't really do it justice.)

Next you sense the enormity of the room you've entered, and look up to see a very raised domed thatched ceiling. You begin to hear gentle music coming from somewhere. You take a deep breath and exhale. You feel tranquil and peaceful, yet wonderfully aware! Welcome to the Volcano!