Golden Tiki Apartments, Stockton, CA (apartments)

Name:Golden Tiki Apartments
Type:apartments
Street:1020 Bianchi Rd.
City:Stockton
State:CA
Zip:unknown
country:USA
Phone:477-7943
Status:operational

Description:
Medium size apartment complex, very run down condition. Bad Area of Town.

I have discovered a Tiki village in Stockton CA. It’s still inhabited but in ruins! After my work on the Stockton Islander update decided to go on Tiki expedition to the badlands of Stockton. I got my 10-D Cannon (camera), my trusty note pad and a six-pack of Shasta Tiki Punch before setting off on my adventure. After a twenty minute journey through grape vineyards and hay fields I arrived at the outskirts of town. I made my way past smog and Sunday drivers to the Bali-Hai/Outrigger Apartments that I had heard about on TC.

I then surveyed the surrounding terrain for any signs of palm trees. There on the corner, a quarter mile away, was an old apartment complex with huge palm trees growing all around. It had an old sign out front that said “Bradford Apartments”.

The place was surrounded by a sharp pointed metal fence and the gate was locked. I viewed outrigger beams extending from the roof lines and an A-Frame middle section that must be the Lobby. Looking closely at the courtyard from outside the fence I could see a smaller four foot chain-link fence. It was surrounding an old swimming pool that had been filed in with dirt. Unfortunately I couldn’t see any Tikis anywhere just some old lava rocks. The native villagers were starting to get restless and I felt like it was time to leave. I would strongly suggest traveling in pairs and going before sundown if you ever visit this place. I snapped a few pictures and headed back to base camp.

I was excited at the prospect of a new discovery but a little disappointed that I returned with no treasure or artifacts. A couple of days later I did some research at the local library and found that according to the local 1964 phonebook the address belonged to the “Golden Tiki Apartments”. If you would like to visit the address is 1020 Bianchi Rd. Stockton, CA. Well that’s it! My first Tiki discovery.

Here are some pics.

Happy hunting!
Abstractiki

Front View of lobby

Old swimming pool filled in with dirt

Side view of complex

Currant complex sign with street numbers

1964 phonebook add

Congrats on your first expedition. At this point in history, fewer and fewer forgotten Tiki ruins will have any signs of their former glory left, like the idols, landscaping or names in exotic typefaces. I am glad I started documenting them in the mid-90s, when there was SOME evidence around still. But sometimes I wonder how much more one would have found in the mid-80s...

However, with John L. Stephens' quote in mind...

“In the midst of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its terraces and pyramids, its sculptured and painted ornaments, grand, lofty, and imposing”

..and additional research such as finding the original name to be the GOLDEN TIKI APARTMENTS, even the most de-tikied sites hold their own mystery to the urban archeologist. What a great title, like from some James Bond movie. I wish we could find some paper ephemera or vintage photos of that place, but the chances are very slim with apartment buildings.

Thank's for your comments brotiki, and that is a great quote! To me it was almost like discovering an ancient city where the people who built it and lived there originally had long since died out and been forgotten. Their descendants now living there having no clue as to their own cities history and the past culture that once thrived there.

I made a short excursion and visited again today. I found a gate unlocked and I was wearing my ditch digging clothes so i didn't feel so out of place this time. (note to myself for future expeditions!) I went inside, surveyed the whole place and was warmly greeted by some native children. The only new discoveries were as follows:

1. That the front of the main lobby was covered in that old gray volcanic rock that was popular at the time. It was hard to see this in the photo.

2. The interior hallway ceilings were covered in acoustic (cottage cheese type) coating. Some areas still had the shiny sparkles in it.

3. There was some tiki style ornamental railing on the interior stair cases.

I just got a leed on a second tiki restaurant in Stockton that was down the street from the islander in 1969 so I'm off on another adventure.

happy hunting!
abstractiki

I was haunted by the "Golden Tiki" concept and couldn't let this rest, here are some thoughts on the subject:
Gold is the color of tackiness, but in a 60s lounge/secret agent world it rules. Mixing Pre-Columbian...

.... and Polynesian style elements seems so wrong --but in a good, Poly pop sort of way. They did it on Gilligan's Island!:

So why not in apartment design! "Golden Tiki Apartments" sounds so intriguing, I looked for other examples, and found one in nearby Arcadia. (Zulu Magoo probably has it on his list?). ....Talk about a lost civilization!:

It's the classic parking lot view now.

I also came across this fabulous clip, and the line "can't fool them with a golden idol" made me want to include this as an example of the carefree handling of ancient religions during the time of Tiki, and how it all fit together :) . Some might fail to see the connection, but please watch past second 52:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcEY8yYE9y0&feature=related

Sven. I love how you put this stuff all together. I have never heard or have seen an ancient story told quite that way.

Well done brotiki! Gold is the symbol of the "ultimate". Many pirates, treasure hunters, prospectors etc. have spent their entire lives in search of it and Hollywood writers are always perverting reality for the sake of entertainment.

Here is a thought, Gold is not so in fashion any more as we were shown by Hollywood in the "Crystal Skulls" Indiana Jones Movie recently. Crystal is the new gold and skulls are the new Tikis. If this movie had been made in the sixties they probably would have used Golden Tikis instead.

That u-tube clip you found was great. Dig those dancers, i was thinking a huge Golden Tiki should be rolling out on stage at any minute!

On 2009-09-18 18:04, tikiskip wrote:
"Ooooh, I didn't realize it was GOLD. Yeah, I think that's original. Here are my thoughts on the Golden Tiki concept"

I remember my mom painting EVERY thing that was old in our house gold!
That old peacock wall hanging, BAM! now new and so chic with only a can
of gold spray paint.
This would have been the early 70s.

I remember Bill Sapp telling me that the ceiling of tha Kahiki had this
fiberglass tile of sorts that was first painted Kahiki brown then
gold paint was litely rolled over the top of that.
He said it was kinda sparkly. Like stars above.

On 2009-09-19 01:31, bigbrotiki wrote:
Haha, yup, it was that late 60s, early 70s Hollywood Regency/ Las Vegas/ Palm Springs interior decorator -thing.

Probably somewhat inspired by Goldfinger...anything that made the cover of LIFE was influential back then:

...and that song was such a hit!

Hmmm, an idea for a new book? "Golden Modern" ?

For Tikidom, painting Tikis gold could be seen as an early side-period to the late 70s/early 80s "painting-Tikis-in-bright-colors" phase. :)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-09-19 01:41 ]

Wow, how Bizarre that the Golden Tiki Apartments in Arcadia are STILL listed on Google, even though it's just the parking lot for the Santa Anita Mall now.

I'm in Arcadia a bunch. So many amazing Mid Century Apartment buildings there....alot of them with very Tiki/Hawaiian style Architecture too.

I would suggest a ride through Arcadia to anyone into that kind of architecture...there's tons of it, still in Excellent condition. The area is very well kept.

Many of the buildings just need Tikis added to them, and they'd look right at home.

I wonder when the Golden Tiki was leveled.

[QUOTE]
bigbrotiki posted pic

[QUOTE]

I have a whole new respect for Gold!

Tikiyaki - "Many of the buildings just need Tikis added to them, and they'd look right at home."

Maybe we could get one of those cable home improvement shows to restore an old tiki apartment or restaurant to its original glory! They could start with the Stockton Islander!

On 2009-09-19 10:56, abstractiki wrote:

[QUOTE]
bigbrotiki posted pic

I have a whole new respect for Gold!

Tikiyaki - "Many of the buildings just need Tikis added to them, and they'd look right at home."

Maybe we could get one of those cable home improvement shows to restore an old tiki apartment or restaurant to its original glory! They could start with the Stockton Islander!

How great would THAT be ?

They could have Bamboo Ben and Crazy Al do the job and host it. Music by the Tikiyaki Orchestra, of course :P

looks like the Golden Tiki lives on at http://www.goldentiki.com! Jonathan and Kelly Knowles, proprietors.

I saw this, a very commendable home lounge. To me the Golden Tiki concept (and the "paint-everything-gold" craze mentioned by Tikiskip in Collecting) is more at home in places like this:

...where taste atrocities such as these:

...freely mingle with gold or ivory painted faux bamboo furniture...

...and little "exotic" Sascha Brastoff-style chochkies such as this clutter the mantle piece:

This whimsical mixing of styles has had a revival in the last ten years as "Hollywood Regency" (another term for tacky designer glamour :wink: ), especially in Palm Springs, where it reigned in the late 60s/ 70s, and into the 80s in the homes of wealthy socialites, and then was picked up by the gay community in the 2000s. The success of the Parker Hotel...

...led to the (moderately successful) attempt of renovating the Riviera Resort:

...which is most noteworthy because of its spectacular lobby above.

I was able to squeeze one little authentic example of this type of scary taste environment into Tiki Modern, on page 134:

An unaltered-since-the-70s, original condominium at the Royal Hawaiian Estates in Palm Springs, which was completely decorated in yellow, with the bedroom in green. A dream for the urban archeologist, I documented it thoroughly and when I'll get home I will scan some slides.
This, to me, was the kind of interior where you would find a golden Tiki.

Ok I got some NEWS on this temple but never got around to commenting on Big Bro's great post so here go's. I'm not crazy about the chairs, the lamp or the horse but actually I like those other Golden Tiki type interiors. Ya don't see them like that to much any more. The Riviera Resort looks great.

I think part of the reason that the style couldn't last was hardly any one could live up to it's opulence. It reeks of glamor, riches and extravagance the casual Californian just couldn't handle on a day to day basis and may have made them feel a bit uncomfortable. I mean you just can't walk around your house in jeans and a star wars t-shirt with all that richy rich stuff goin on.

When I was growing up in the early 70's I do remember one of my friends houses had a suit of armor, red shag carpet and big oval mirrors with golden frames like something you would find in a castle. The couch was also a smooth gold velvet type.

I would like to see those scans of the Royal Hawaiian Estates in Palm Springs if you can find them Big Bro.

I think that the hotels should always leave one room untouched and original to serve as a time capsule and mini museum of the design and style of the original vision.

Now about this Temple, the Golden Tiki Apartments.

I was on tiki safari today and thought I would check up on the place. Well the closer I looked the worse it got. Most all the windows are boarded up. The sign in front torn down. The place was run down before but now it's even worse. The parking lot was empty and no one around.

Well I grabbed my camera and hopped the fence. All the doors were locked but strangely the main door to the lobby was open. I looked around and the interior passageways were locked and boarded up. Any way, this is it I'm afraid. The place it totally abandoned and I think it's just a matter of time before vagrants burn it down or a excavator tears it down.

I know it's not the Islander but it's still a piece of Tiki history that is on it's way to oblivion.

Here are some pics;

Broken down sign.

No Trespassing sign.

Plywood in the windows, front door wide open.

Mail boxes busted open and interior doors covered in plywood.