Ren Clarks Home Bar

The guesstimate is good - I have just confirmed Ren Clark's Polynesian Village opened to the public on Friday, June 24th, 1960, at 5:30 p.m. (they closed at midnight). The premier VIP opening was Saturday, June 18th, with additional parties in the following days.

The Western Hills Hotel opened July 11, 1951 and, due to an electrical fire, burned in 1969.

There you have it, one result of my pet research project...

An extensive post with much more additional information will follow in the coming days.

GK

And a bit of proof in the pudding (though the year is cut off in this close-up, I thought all would appreciate the fine bit of cinematic wonderment adjacent to the Polynesian ad...).

That combo is indeed a great pop time capsule. But still no date..ha ha, what a tease!

The movie Five Branded Women came out in 1960.

DC

I'm such a tease. The date on the ad is June 22, 1960.

Tiki and "B" movies: does it GET any better???
Thanks, GK!

Aloha all,

I continue to assemble the bigger story of the Polynesian Village, but I am now trying to track down all the known photographs of it - not that there are that many - the dining room shot the bar from BOT, a couple of Ren Clark shots with tikis including one I posted on another thread and one which Big Bro presented, and a poor quality news shot of a group at a table which I found. I am hoping to receive a couple of candid dining shots soon too.

Has anyone EVER seen an exterior shot? A postcard? A brochure? The Branding Room, which was the older "themed" dining room at the Western Hills, did have a few postcards for it which were issued in the 1950s, but there seem to be far fewer things from the 1960s when the property was changing hands.

Thanks,
GK

GK,

I just so happen to have a postcard showing the pool area and the entrance to the Polynesian Village at the Western Hills Hotel.

Can't quite see the buildings to the right of the A-Frame that are shown on the rendering that Bifcozz posted.

DC

Wow - I have not seen that one! Thanks for posting it. The view is actually into the Western Hills Hotel (you can see the second floor rooms), where they remodeled that entry with an A-Frame. You can see in the line drawing that entry on the left - the Polynesian Village's main entry is actually to the right, where the "domed" structure is visible (that being a large, open "lodge-like" space for one of the PV dining rooms). The entire pool area was remodeled/redecorated when the PV opened, including thatched umbrellas (curiously, not visible in this postcard - perhaps they had yet to be added), tiki torches (check), tikis (?), and related decor (entryways, etc.).

One apparently had to go through the lobby area to gain access to the PV, crossing the pool area or going through an adjacent corridor.

GK

Any updates? Wondering whatever happened to this amazing find...

Yes, yes!!! Update us please.