Hawaiian Village, Myrtle Beach, SC (motel)

Name:Hawaiian Village
Type:motel
Street:U.S. 17 Nth. at 39th Ave.
City:Myrtle Beach
State:SC
Zip:unknown
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
The Hawaiian Village was originally built in 1948 as the El Ranch Motel. It was renovated in 1965 and renamed the Hawaiian Village. The large grounds contained many small buildings including guest rooms and the Hawaiian Village Restaurant featuring The Bora Bora Room. A large pool with it's own island with palm trees was also on the property. The motel lasted until it was torn down in 1979 to make way for a new strip mall. I am not sure how Tiki the place was but the sign would make the top twenty list at least. I have many pictures with descriptions to post so give me a few and I'll get them right out. Thanks

First up a great rendering of the motel

And another from the collection of Tim Haack

A great interior shot of the restaurant


A menu from the collection of Wayne Aiken.

Now a little signage.


The lobby.

Check-in time.

Cooking for the luau.

Meeting room.

The pool.


That's all for now.

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2009-06-21 17:29 ]

The menu is an obvious ripoff of the Hawaiian Village Tampa menu. Wonder if they did the matchbook as well, as many other establishments did.

Great material, Unc. Is it from a brochure? The "El Rancho" turns into "Hawaiian Village", what a classic. :)

Wow, that dining room looks great. Love the bridge going over stream, right in the middle of the place.

Why don't people do that anymore ?

My blather post number 1 and post number 2 with relevant comments.

Good find, Tim. And the Tikis sure are Witco.

In Tiki Modern page 168 (the first image of Part 2) there is a rendering of those guys, the catalog being from 1962. Westenhaver sure peppered Florida Hotels with his wood! :)

See prior comments about the Hawaiian Village here:

http://www.swankpad.org/blather/2006/09/15/hawaiian-village-restaurant-myrtle-beach-sc/

I frequented the restaurant as a kid - and yes, it was tres tiki with waterfalls, tiki mugs galore, etc. My first tiki experience (who can ever forget?). And yes, the restaurant burned to the ground and I doubt it was done in by a flaming Pu-Pu tray.

I was hoping the photographer of the interior of the restaurant might still have more interior shots, but he told me he had to use so many flash bulbs to just get that one shot, that was the only one he could take of that space!

GK

Matchbook

I too stayed there as a child. I have old Polaroid photos of family and me lounging in tiki bliss. I remember drinking way too many Shirley Temples, walking over the bridge, and swimming to the island in the pool. I showed this thread to my wife to try and explain my tiki fever. I guess growing up in Philippines it is no big deal. But to dumb old county boy high on cherry juice and sprite it made a lasting impression. I’ll scan the Polariods and post over the Christmas break. Thanks for all of the details.

Max_Power

[email protected]

My mother Patricia S. Bishop by the pool.

The Village July 1965
Check out the roof line.

The Village July 1966
The island in the pool.

The Village July 1967

[ Edited by: Max_Power 2009-12-26 09:08 ]

[ Edited by: Max_Power 2009-12-27 15:45 ]

[ Edited by: Max_Power 2009-12-29 14:26 ]

I love this thread, those brochure pics are too cool. This matchbook has a nice rendering of the Asian A-frame:

Bigbro,

I like this thread too. That is a great matchbook. Here is a photo that is for sale on-line showing the Asian A-Frame and another neon Tiki that was on the grounds. I am assuming that is the restaurant building.

Speaking of the restaurant, found this article. It met a fiery death on September 7, 1974.

Sure a lot of Poly Pop places that went up in smoke. Something to do with the "flammable decorations inside" no doubt.

DC

I just got these three orange swizzles from the Hawaiian Village. I am assuming they had to be from this place as the Hawaiian Villages in Hawaii and Tampa had their own logo swizzles.

The Tiki looks a bit like the PMP Tiki mug.

The font on the swizzle also looks a lot like the font on the matchbook that Bigbro posted.

DC

Did you say ORANGE swizzle sticks? Three of them? :D

Picked up another variety of the cool die cut matchbook from the Hawaiian Village.

Info on the back of the matchbook.

DC

Found this menu. Not marked Myrtle Beach, but it must be by way of the logo. Here are all the pages in case it means anything to someone later.

Ah, it does...I remember ordering from that menu as a kid!

Sigh....

Room key on Ebay now if anyone is after it.

I picked up a different postcard from the Hawaiian Village.

Close up of the restaurant, lots of Witco Tikis to be spotted.

And the A-frame with Witcos on the front doors.

DC

While researching South Carolina Polynesian locations I found a number of photos of Hawaiian Village, Myrtle Beach on the Geddy Images website so I thought I would share them here. I know some of these photos have previously appeared in this thread before but I thought seeing the higher resolution scans might be interesting.

Great find! So "budget", yet so individually cool. Love the hostesses of the various nations.