Canadian Tiki Part Deux

Good day, eh. This is a follow up to a post that Sabu put together years ago. Unfortunately, all of the photos from that post are gone so I decided to sort of recreate the theme with some new additions. There are several locations that I have never really heard of before so maybe some of the Canadians out there can chime in with a little more information.

These are from the Aloha Motel located in Rock Forest outside of Montreal. Check out the interior of the Aloha Bar and Saloon and the nice Tiki poles.

The Coconut Bar/T.V. Motel in Quebec. This place is still open, there is a separate post on TC with current photos.

The Shangri-La Restaurant located in Burnaby with a quasi-Tiki look. Pretty cool velvet painting on the back wall.

Marie Antoinette Tahiti Restaurant and Bar in Quebec. Only in Canada can you mix Marie Antoinette and a Tiki Bar! Love the drive-in car service.

This is an exterior of the Beachcomber Restaurant located in the Sheraton Hotel in Winnipeg. It would be nice to see the inside of this place too.

Here are a couple from Le Club Mon Tiki Restaurant in Laurier

The Menehune Banquet Room located in the Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver

Tiki sign from the Aloha Motor Inn Exterior in Penticton

A couple cards from the Tiki Courtyard at the Fort Nelson Hotel in BC

The Outrigger Restaurant in BC - I posted this before but I love this shot.

Here are a few from the mainstream Tiki powerhouses Trader Vic's at the Bayshore Inn Vancouver and the Montreal Kon Tiki

On 2008-07-09 18:37, Dustycajun wrote:

Marie Antoinette Tahiti Restaurant and Bar in Quebec. Only in Canada can you mix Marie Antoinette and a Tiki Bar! Love the drive-in car service.

Mahalo for posting Dusty!! Is that one of those rare Vicious Virgins Scorpion Bowls in Action :o :o

Aloha! Freddie :tiki:

Nice job Dusty.

Here is a rare side shot of the Kon Tiki in downtown Montreal. It does not appear as spectacular from the sidewalk as when seen from the across the street. I love the lady with sunglasses and gloves walking down the street, out for day doing some window shopping.

On 2008-07-10 02:20, HOUSE OF KU wrote:
Mahalo for posting Dusty!! Is that one of those rare Vicious Virgins Scorpion Bowls in Action :o :o

Aloha! Freddie :tiki:

Why yes it is a Vicious Virgin Bowl. Here is a close up. Check out the cool table lamp. The guy's drink also appears to be on fire and there is another bowl on the table behind the drink. They really packed a lot of props in this shot. Canadians must like to drink - two bowls and one drink per couple!

Zulu, I hear you blew everybody away with your presentation at the Hukilau...so bummed I missed it!

Here are some more Trader Vic's Vancouver shots:

...and a nice "Marina Swinger" interior:

Does anyone have photos of its demise, floating down-river on a barge?

And Scott, I have close-up requests again: That Marie Antoinette place looks fantastic, the sign alone is worth a zoom in. Classic Googie, this must have been an Armet & Davis job!

And the Shangri-La: Are those PNG masks on fabric, like a curtain? And is that a Bikini babe in the foreground on the left in that Velvet painting?

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-07-10 11:05 ]

Bigbro,

Here are the close ups. The masks are on fabric. I also thought that the figure in the painting was a women in bikini but it is still hard to make it out even in the blow-up.

Both the exterior and interior of the Marie Antoinette are way Googie and could very well be Armet & Davis.

On 2008-07-09 18:37, Dustycajun wrote:
This is an exterior of the Beachcomber Restaurant located in the Sheraton Hotel in Winnipeg. It would be nice to see the inside of this place too.

I answered my own question. The hotel is actually the Sheraton Carlton. These are images from the inside of the restaurant from Mimi's website. I have always wanted this card.

Awesome post Dustycajun and thanks to everyone else for their shots as well!! You almost put us Canadian collectors to shame!! Haven't seen a few of these before so that's good to see!!
There's something about being up here and having, at one time, all these cool classic Tiki Temples around that really get's my tikiblood going!! The great temples in the States really rubbed off on us here.

Now you can't have a Canadian post with only one room of the Waldorf being shown, which might I add, that shot of the Menehune Room (Above in first post) is one of the earliest pictures I have ever seen and I think it dates pre-1963!!

Here's my favorite shot of the Tahitian Lounge which is also sometimes called the Tahitian Twilight Lounge or the Leeteg Room. Note the first original painting on the wall in background with the working waterfall on the left under painting. This wall has been painted several times now with a few different scenes.

And this colorful shot of the downstairs Polynesian Room, which in itself, is a unbelievable room with a huge Eugine Savage Hawaiian Mural almost running the length of the whole room!

Okay fixed problem with my photo's so I will post a few more shortly.
Thanks for everyone's help!!

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2008-07-15 22:05 ]

Hey TabooDan...I think you may have just copied the address of the thumbnail, not the image itself. Your code was missing this suffix: /f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

Great images here. Love this thread!

I stayed at that Bayshore in Vancouver several years ago.Fun place to visit.
I also worked on several films in Vancouver-since everything is being shot
there now.Great collection of PC pics as always Scott.What a great collection
of PC's you must have.

For lots of great Canadian Tiki info, check out http://www.maitaionline.com

Great site done Canadian style

Here's a couple more postcards of places in Canada.

Nice exterior shot of the Trader Vic's at the Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver:

The next shot is one of a pretty much unearthed establishment that was once here in Richmond, BC, called "King Wah Restaurant".

This is the only image I have seen of the inside and it looked pretty good. There's different masks along the bar and also a carved molding running the length of it. Bamboo covered walls, Carvings, Matting and a Thatch ceiling. Also had a cool exterior with carved posts and molding above door.

The next postcard is a different one from the Sheraton Mt.Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, which housed Stephen Crane's Kon Tiki.

Must be closer to the 1959 opening date as there is no circular Kon Tiki sign above the roof in this shot. Was probably added later because you really couldn't see the restaurant if you were walking or driving down the road until you were on top of it!

A little closer one of the entrance where you can see the statues (off to right) and the cool design to the shape of the roof protruding from the Hotel.

The short-lived Mauna-Loa Lounge at the Mayfair Hotel in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba:

Kind of throwing this one in to see if it jogs anybody's memories from out here.
Not Tiki, but a cool picture of the Royal Towers Motor Hotel (New Westminster, BC) which once housed "The Tapa Room" which practically nothing is known about.
There is a menu for The Tapa Room which exists but that's all I have seen.
I have seen the Managers and unfortunately they know nothing about this hotels history. A side note to this one is that the Royal Towers "features Canada's first and only Glass Elevator" which was a big deal back then!

Mahalo, TabooDan

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2008-07-24 19:35 ]

Great photos everyone!! Some I've never seen before!

Here's a link to some photos of our Trader Vics being barged away..... :(

http://www.nickelbros.com/tradervics.html

On 2008-07-25 00:21, Pepe le Tiki wrote:
Great photos everyone!! Some I've never seen before!

Here's a link to some photos of our Trader Vics being barged away..... :(

Pepe,

Wow that's a great find. Just what Bigbro asked for. Its good to see that the building was recycled.

Here is the story and the pics from the link just in case it goes away some day:

Trader Vics is on the Move
After many years of service, a well-known Vancouver landmark is retiring to a waterfront vineyard near the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island. The highly respected Polynesian dining room was known to thousands. The building was moved by barge from its historical site by the Bayshore Inn in downtown Vancouver to its new site in Brentwood Bay. Trader Vics measures some 12 x 44 metres and weighs and estimated 140 tons.

Anybody know what the building is being used for now ?

Thanks so much for the pics. Brings back lots of memories! I used to go to the Sheraton Mount Royal Kon Tiki all the time in the 70s, and 80s. I cried when they closed it sometime in the 90s. Wish I could have bought some of the stuff they auctioned off. I loved that place. Had my sweet 16 birthday there, and after they briefly reopened the Kon Tiki in the newly refurbished Mount Royal hotel, I got engaged there! Great memories of that place. I remember the bar had a fishtank all around it, so you could lean on the bar and it was part fishtank. And, the waterfall when you walked in, the great won ton soup, poo poo platter (!) the volcano drinks with the dry ice in the middle. I have several mugs I saved. There's a restaurant called the Jardin Tiki near the old Olympic stadium, the owner bought a lot of the stuff from the Kon Tiki, the food at the Jardin Tiki is bad Chinese food, and it's pretty tacky, but still, I like to go there once in a while, the drinks are still good and fun!

..damn..

..they should have left the traders on the barge......that would have been my dream home.....just sail it around the coast, docking here and there to check out other tiki bars around the country....

On 2008-08-08 13:00, 1961surf wrote:
Anybody know what the building is being used for now ?

I'll do some sleuthing - sounds like it could be in Deep Cove (near Chalet Estate Winery). If I find out, I'll report back.

Tikiwahine dug this info up on this thread:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=13849&forum=1&vpost=148774&hilite=trader%20vics%20vancouver

Since I'm off to Seattle for the weekend - I won't get to check this place out until next week. However, it must be Rachelle's Vineyard Bed & Breakfast in Saanichton, outside Victoria - 739 Mt. Newton Cross Road.
"Nestled among 100 year old arbutus and cedar trees at the corner of Mt. Newton and West Saanich roads, a short distance to Butchart Gardens in Brentwood. Originally the Major Jukes Estate of 1910 where concord grapes and his organic hybrid grape “Saancichton Seedless” was developed. We offer accommodations which include:Tuscany House with large spacious rooms and balcony, Beach House on the ocean, and a Polynesian style cottage formerly the Trader Vics at the Bayshore Inn in Vancouver."
Tikiwahine - did you ever get a chance to check it out?
Kitty spoke with the moving company - and it was transported from Vancouver to Saanichton about six years ago.
More details//pics (hopefully) to follow.

[ Edited by: Eddy Brazil 2008-09-02 13:40 ]

Well, after repeated calls with no answer - and non-working numbers - Kitty and I decided to make it our mission to visit Rachelle's Vineyard. The two driveway gates (one of which luckily was unlocked) have bold warning signs "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED". We drove in anyway, since the sunshine was out and we naively were looking for this B&B. I very much doubt this property - all 110 acres of it - ever operated as a bed and breakfast. It was probably listed on a B&B directory with the intention of opening, but - the way redundant info floats around in cyberspace - never did. The first (most likely original) Italianate house is vacant and half-boarded up. The huge property is dotted with land-locked boats (with people inhabiting them) and a variety of cottages and shanty-makeshift buildings that people are also living in. Instantly reminded me of a 1960s/70s commune or biker gang hangout. There is, however, a thriving vineyard on the property which is being professionally irrigated and maintained. Halfway down the dirt drive, we saw an old guy working on a piece of machinery. I stopped and got out of the car and told him I was looking for the Bayshore Trader Vic's which was supposedly barged here. He got a bit excited, in his French-Canadian accent, and said surely I could drive down the road/hill towards the shore - and I'd find it. No problem taking a look at it. He wasn't forthcoming with much info about who the owner is, etc - so I didn't push it (in case he changed his mind). The whole vibe, overall, was a bit shady. The fellow did say that the plan is to open it to the public in a couple of years. However, it appears unlikely that will happen anytime in the near future, judging from the clutter and condition of it.

Anyhow, here's the view as you approach it from the drive.

To Kitty's (and my) surprise, the door was unlocked - yet someone is certainly living here (it smelled of stale ciggies - and the clouded jar of pickled eggs on the still-intact bar counter stirred my appetite)! So, we trespassed some more...

Original door leading (I believe) to the kitchen - which likely was gutted and now appears to be a bedroom.

Mugs "Made Exclusively for Trader Vic's - Made in Japan" on the bar.

Old Vancouver Chinese newspapers (some adverts for Granville Street businesses in Chinese and English) decoupage-ing the corrugated section of the bar/entrance ceiling.

Flooring - which has yet to be properly installed (it's sitting atop the original floor) - was salvaged from Mayfair Lanes bowling alley when it was demolished a couple of years ago. I was told that the owner wants to invite friends over for ballroom dancing when it's completed.

Wonderful original real-shell wall sconces, and authentic tapa bark-cloth wall coverings.

[ Edited by: Eddy Brazil 2008-09-02 13:42 ]

[ Edited by: Eddy Brazil 2008-09-02 13:43 ]

[ Edited by: Eddy Brazil 2008-09-02 13:45 ]

[ Edited by: Eddy Brazil 2008-09-03 06:57 ]

Thanks for those photos Eddie. That's some amazing stuff. Great to see so much of it is still intact.

Wow .. thanks for posting these Eddy! I'm surprised how much of the interior decor remains. I assumed it was gutted when they moved it but it looks mostly intact!

Eddie! awesome job of trespassing and documenting whats become of that Trader Vics!! what a rush that must have been ~ oooh that row of mugs! WOW..

these canadian threads have been fantastic!

Eddy,

What an awesome expedition. Thanks for the great photos, nice to see how much of the interior still remains. How the heck did they move that building with all of that stuff still intact?

Eddy you are my "Hero of the Month" and it's only the 4th. :)

That is absolutely amazing! Fantastic job, Eddy! Makes me want to go up to Victoria to check it out!!!

Cool!!!!

Fantastic. Imagine living in a Trader Vic's...wow.
Thanks a lot

That is friggin' FAN-TAS-TIC !!! Reminds me of the good ole days of urban archeology, like excavating at THE TIKIS, or recently, at the Chin Tiki. Great job, Mahalo folks. :D

Great job Eddy!! That's so cool that most of it is still intact! I never ever would have thought it looked like that!! I cant believe the mugs and all the Tiki carvings are still around! I guess there were boxes of them just sitting around and the inhabitants pulled them out.

You would have thought it would have been completely gutted by the owners/franchise when it was sold off. I know the city wanted it off the property in a hurry so I guess they just got it ready to move and then off it went.

It looks so good that it really could be reopened as a B&B or something else and still retain alot of it's original splendor and decor. I even see paper ad's for Mai Tai's on the wall!! It sure makes you have a little bit of belief that some of these once great Tiki Palaces could possibly be preserved. The Outrigger is even still there!! Just leaning against the wall!

Before closing.

Today.

I would have figured Tikiwahine would have been all over this years ago! Too many trips down to Seattle for Mai Tai's I believe!!

Thanks again Eddy!!!

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2008-09-06 10:51 ]

Aloha, Here's a couple more interesting ones from good old Canada!

The above photo is not really Tiki but I bet a few of these cool furnishings made it into several local home Tiki Bars back in the day!!
This picture is of the Bamboo Room that was once located in the heart of Vancouver's Chinatown at a shop called Foo Hung Co., a large Importer of Oriental Furniture.

The next picture is of the Tropic Isle Restaurant that was located in Surrey, B.C. from 1970 to 1988. It had three different rooms one of them being the Tiki Lounge.

A look at the Tiki Lounge:

Take a look at this thread on the Tropic Isle if you haven't already.

That's it for now. I do have something else to post here but I will have to do that later.
Mahalo, TabooDan

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2008-12-31 14:37 ]

TabooDan,

As always, thanks for adding to the post. Here is another marvelous venue from north of the border, the Waikiki Restaurant in Kitchner, Ontorio. These images came from the album cover of Mike "Malahini" Scott and his Hawaiianaires on a live set recorded at the restaurant. Smokin!

A photo of the exterior from the back of the album.

The band

Ladies at the bar.

The dinner show

My what big knockers you have!

The restaurant.

DC

This is another one for TabooDan and fellow Canadians. Check out this postcard I just got from the Au Parasol Chinois restaurant located in Montreal (at 325 Henri Bourassa Blvd E). I had never heard of this place until I found the card.

Here is A close-up of the exterior - some nice bamboo and wood work on the facade.

The interior shots are what make the card. Great decorations, reminds me of a Steve Crane Kon Tiki restaurant. Check out the array of ceiling lights and fixtures.

My research indicates that the restaurant is still there. Wonder if it looks anything like this today? Calling all Montreal TCers for a look-see.

DC

I have never heard of this place. It may have some Tiki influenced decor. Anyone?

Uncle Trav,

Nice swizzle. Saw this postcard on ebay for the Neptune Hotel Motel. Not much to look at, but it does have the same "Tropical" motif on the roof of the restaurant that is embossed on the swizzle. Wonder what the inside of the bar/restaurant looked like?

DC

RE: Parasol Chinois...

It is still around... hasn't looked exactly like the postcard for quite some time but still there. Fishing nets and floats in the windows first caught my eye about 8 years ago or so...

However, I never wrote about it for the Mai Tai newsletter or website because I always considered it more of a Chinese restaurant than a Tiki joint... but perhaps it's worth another look and some further research. I'll post more when I have a chance to look at it again.

Les Pins Hotel and Polynesian Kiko Bar in Granby, Quebec, Canada

Sorry, all I've got is the ebay pic, and no exact address.

On 2009-06-05 17:34, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:
Les Pins Hotel and Polynesian Kiko Bar in Granby, Quebec, Canada

Sorry, all I've got is the ebay pic, and no exact address.

This must be the place now:
http://motellespins.ca/home.html

[ Edited by: Slacks Ferret 2009-06-06 14:42 ]

Their sign today:

SlacksFerret & Sabu,

Thanks for that research. I had seen the postcard on ebay as well. Looks like the sign is the same now as shown in the old card. This appears to be one of those ski chalet type of places that was converted to a Polynesian theme - good use of an existing A-Frame!

Here are a few more items from the Great White North.

The first one is from the Waikiki Casino in Quebec. Looks like it was a dance club.

Here is a matchbook from the Mauna Loa Lounge at the Mayfair hotel.

This one is from the Tiki Dore restaurant in Montreal.

DC

sorry if this has been up before but I figure it belongs here....

Tikiville,

Thanks for the post, nice matchbook.
Congrats on the new name for the room, Moku Doom I like it.

Here is another matchbook from the Restaurant Waikiki in St. Jean

They used the Kon Tiki logo holding a spear instead of a drink.

DC

Finally had a chance to head up to Montreal North and snap a couple of shots of Au Parasol Chinois Restaurant... which is not at all what it once was. As I mentioned previously, I never reviewed this place on maitaionline.com because I always considered it to be more of a Chinese restaurant than a tiki joint... That being said, when I first saw it about 10-12 years ago, it had a few interesting vestiges still in situ (nets and floats in the windows, a little bamboo trim and some lamps inside, etc.). But it has been even more de-tiki-fied over the last decade. All that remains of interest now are a few lamps hanging inside. Nothing at all like the photos on that postcard above. Here are the shots:

John in Montreal,

Thanks for that update on the Parasol, still see a little of the bamboo trim on the outside, painted though.

Came across this old matchbook from the Cafe Hale Hakala in Montreal.

DC

Hey Dustycajun,

I've seen that matchbook before but I've never met anyone who's heard of or been to that place... Must have already been long gone in the late 60s/early 70s... way before any kind of revival of interest in poly-pop. That being said, I will take a drive by there too, when I have a chance, to see what's at that address these days... Should be right at the northern edge of Old Montreal, which was probably a great location for a place like that... a prime tourist area and not too far from Chinatown.

John in Montreal
http://www.maitaionline.com
http://www.signbasedeating.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: John in Montreal 2009-08-11 05:05 ]

Here is another postcard showing the interior of Le Club Mon-Tiki. Love that crazy mural and those orange lamps.

DC

Here is a print of the matchbook cover from Le Mon-Tiki restaurant in Laurier (for sale on ebay).

DC