Surf Rider Lounge - Jefferson Davis Hotel, Montgomery, AL (restaurant)

Name:Surf Rider Lounge - Jefferson Davis Hotel
Type:restaurant
Street:Catoma and Montgomery Streets
City:Montgomery
State:AL
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:unknown

Description:
Part of the Carling Dinkler chain of hotels named for the confederacy, this one had a Surf Rider Lounge, just as the Andrew Jackson in Nashville. There is a card dated 1961 for this, so we know it was around then. The hotel in Nashville burned in 1961, so it's Surf Rider's life was probably very short. Dinkler also opened the Luau in Nashville which he sold to the Dobb's.

The hotel is still there, but I have no idea what's left of the lounge.

[ Edited by: Swanky 2008-08-21 07:40 ]

Today

[ Edited by: Swanky 2008-08-21 07:37 ]

Swanky,

Cool find. I have the postcard from the Surf Rider lounge at the Dinkler Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. I did not realize they had a Surf Rider lounge at the Montgomery Alabama Dinkler as well. Found one on ebay this morning.

Here are the shots from the Nashville Dinkler Surf Rider.

I always liked that specific postcard, for the following reasons:

The Hotel's exterior architecture is classic "Old World" turn-of-the-century style. Yet the two interiors are:

A.) a Mid-century modern room, and B.) a Polynesian-style lounge...

..which altogether is such a telling example of how even classic hotels felt the need to create Tiki lounges as part of "modernizing" their operations: i.e. Tiki Modern!