Found! Tiki Wall Carving from the Tradewinds (Oxnard,Ca)

Hey TC!
As most of you are familiar, the Tradewinds was a great Polynesian Restaurant located at the Wagon Wheel Junction in Oxnard, California.(http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=19144&forum=1&start=0).Once a popular stop for travelers and locals alike it, it has long since been torn down and now a parking lot stands in its place. I live in Ventura and I still hear from locals about how great of an experience it really was. There isn’t much of it around as far as artifacts and I have just found a piece of the puzzle.

Last night I went next door to borrow my neighbor’s lawnmower, and during our conversation something on the back gate caught my eye. It was a Tiki carving that appeared to be NOT of the garden variety. After taking a closer look I recognized that it was quite old and ask him about it. He went on to tell me all about its origins. Seeing my obvious excitement he gave me the carving!

It seems that he owned a antique store in Saticoy (Ventura suburb)in the 70's-90's. In the late part of the 70's be bought a lot that included a fair amount of what the people called "Tribal/African decor". In the lot were a few notable Tiki pieces such as a Witco fountain. It also had pieces left over from the Tradewinds. My neighbor told me that multiple menus, glossy photos, a few mugs, and Ellis carved Tiki's were also included. The carving I have was part of collection of three and is the only artifact left in his possession.

The Tiki is around 13" tall, 6" wide and has a flat back. It has a small hole at the top where it was screwed into wherever it sat in the Tradewinds. It’s in fair shape being that it has sat outside for the past 15 years!

I am am super excited about this find, I really am lucky to be able to save such a great piece of Tiki history.

Enjoy!

awesome find!!it gives other collectors hope for finding that tiki in the wild.

Is there anything more exciting?! :o
WOW! Congratulations!!!

(Ok, maybe the birth of your first child.....maybe.)

Awesome find! BongoFury is going to be jealous.
You should post this on the Trade Winds thread as well.

DC

They still sell this piece at Oceanic Arts, but not with that great weathered look. It's a fabulous feeling to find an artifact.

Goosebumps!

Congrats on a nice find and for being there to save it from further weathering. I assume you'll keep it inside now?

Actually, my best friend restores old yachts and he is going to help me preserve the wood without taking away from the appearance (a sealer, etc.

Nice find and story. Was that antique store by the used record store in Saticoy? Good to see another local here on TC.

Great find. It would be nice to track down some of the Ellis Tiki he bought and sold at his shop. Annie Ellis and her brother David Ellis have a few of them in Malibu. One day a guy visited Annie with some of her fathers Tiki after learning her father had carved them and sold them to her.
Maybe they were part of this group? Richard Ellis carved dozens for the Trade Wind's alone, Tonga Hut, Tonga Lei, Sam's. Most of them are still out there somewhere like the one in the tool rental yard in Oxnard.