"The Tikis," Monterey Park, CA

Name:"The Tikis," Monterey Park, CA
Type:restaurant
Street:Potrero Grande
City:Monterey Park
State:CA
Zip:91755
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Hi Tiki Fans,

I need your help--your Tiki Help!

Here’s the situation in a nutshell: I’m writing numerous Tiki-enthusiasts on the web with a special request. You may perhaps know of a now-defunct Tiki Restaurant (created by Danny Balsz) known as “The Tikis,” which was located on Potrero Grande Blvd. in Monterey Park, California. It was closed sometime in the mid-70’s, and is, from what I understand, well documented in Sven Kirsten’s “The Book of Tiki.”

I grew up in Monterey Park in the 70’s, not far away from this place--in fact, the club was situated at the bottom of the hill I lived on. But you couldn’t see much of it from the top of the hill. I do have memories of hearing the drums from the restaurant pounding away into the night each weekend. Apparently, they had some hot and cookin' nights down there! I was too young to visit the place, and, honestly, at the time I was not interested in such things. Since then I’ve developed a great fondness for Tiki culture, and now have a nagging desire to know what this restaurant looked like, as I never got a good look at it. I’d love to see a picture or two of the place, if anyone has something like that!

Pictures of other Tiki clubs are readily accessible on the net, but not pictures of this one. Mr. Kirsten’s book is out of print and somewhat difficult to get hold of; I did actually write Mr. Kirsten, but unfortunately he was out of town on business, and unable to help. (A new printing of the book is forthcoming, but when that will be is unknown.)

If you have a photo lying around that you have scanned, or a scan of a magazine photo or something, would you do me a big favor and email it to me? I would be very, very appreciative. Anything at all, even something low-res, would be verily cool.

Thanking you for your time and attention...

Most sincerely,

Rodd Matsui
http://www.progressivecinema.com
[email protected]

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-07-31 00:40 ]

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-07-31 00:41 ]

I recall some pictures in an old issue of Tiki News. I'll look through my back issues for it and let you know. Some back issues are still available.

I appreciate all your help. In fact, I'd be happy to create some small piece of original tiki artwork (most likely digital) for the first couple of people who are able to find something for me. Fair exchange for services, you know. Thanks again!

Rodd Matsui
http://www.progressivecinema.com
[email protected]

This man has to be helped...
First of all, the Book of Tiki is available again, and because it is now in a "flexi" cover, you can get it for only 19.99!

Second, I am back in LA now (...err, from next Wednesday on again) and if the BOT chapter does not suffice (only then), I have a brochure and a matchbook floorplan you can xerox if you come by.

I've been up on your hill and surveyed the site (now a self storage), and talked to some people, seemed they had quite a rowdy backyard in it's time...

Well, I'll say it...

I can appreciate procinema29's search for info on The Tiki's, but shouldn't this be in The Main Discussion Forum? I can understand a newby confusing the title of this forum "Locating Tiki" as a place to ask questions, but if you read Hanford's requirements BEFORE you can actually post, it says:

*This is not the forum for questions about locations and other inspecific location-oriented posts. Those belong in the Main Forum. Look at some of the posts in the Locating Tiki forum to get a feel for the format. *

Please, please, correct ME if I am wrong. I just would hate to see THIS forum to turn into "Searching For Tiki Locations and Informations". I don't believe that's what Hanford had in mind for this forum.

Shouldn't the first poster already be someone with lots of information to share with everyone?

I will delete this post if I end up being correct and Hanford transfers this to "The Main Forum".

Just my 2 coconuts worth.

[ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2003-08-01 13:47 ]

Actually, yes, on reflection, my original post is at least riding the line, being half listing and half query...

You know, there was a rule page, but I just tried looking for it, and I can't remember how I navigated over to it...could you post the address to this rule page? Thanks!

In the meantime, I'm up for purchasing a "Book of Tiki" softcover, if anyone can point me toward one....

In regards to the place itself, I recall that the sound of the drums was positively unearthly...everyone in the vicinity noticed it, especially in the hours when the traffic on the nearby freeway was quiet.

The resaurant was considered a kind of "local Disneyland" in Monterey Park, and the kids in the area were well aware of the place, since it had such novelty appeal. Even I, a person who never visited it, had a certain awe of The Tikis. I wonder if any record albums were produced, similar to the LPs of the "Tiki Gardens" in Florida. Will have to look this up...

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-08-01 14:39 ]

Here's the rules page (it appears when you hit the "New Topic" button):

https://tikicentral.com/nt-location.php?forum=2

SCD wrote:

I just would hate to see THIS forum to turn into "Searching For Tiki Locations and Informations". I don't believe that's what Hanford had in mind for this forum.

SCD, when I saw this posting I wondered too. I was going to do something but then I thought I'd wait and see what people say.

It seems like if we only had the exact street address we could edit this into a legit listing. Procinema does explain a little bit about it, so we could keep that in there. Perhaps when we get pictures we can link up to them here.

Does anyone have the address of this place?

~Hanford

PS If we can get the information on the address I'll move this back into Locating Tiki.

~Hanford

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2003-08-01 19:32 ]

Ah, thanks for taking care of that, and for posting the rule page address; I stand corrected. I'll locate the exact address, which I did see listed somewhere...

AHA!!! I found a reasonably local store that has "The Book of Tiki," and will be making my way down there in the next couple of days. (Sigh.)

Postscript: Drat! There was a computer glitch in their inventory, and they were all out of copies! Back on the search again. Oh when?

--Butthead

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-08-05 14:02 ]

Hey, good luck in your search. I started out with a couple of postcard images, and now I'm backlogged with web viewers contributions ( apologies to all who have sent photos, they'll be up with attributions ).

Don't be surprised if its slow at first, but you'll get your lucky break soon enough.
TG
http://www.exotic-tiki-gardens.com

I did visit your Tiki Gardens site, and was floored. Nice documentation of an amazing place; truly a perfect use for the Web. I saved some of the pictures and was staring at them, thinking, "This place can't have been real. It looks huge!" Do my eyes deceive me?

I have had some responses from friendly folks who may have "Monterey Park Tikis" material tucked away somewhere, but nothing has been located as yet, so my offer to the first few people who can dredge up some material (this is to limit my obligation, of course, in case fifty million people produce some material) still stands! and I'll upgrade that to physical, actual, real Tiki artwork of some type. It's better than digital! It's ANALOG-O-RAMA. (Let's say the first THREE people to produce something get a nice tasty piece of artwork.)

Okay, I got hold of "The Book of Tiki," and I've been thumbing through it. An amazing book.

"The Tikis" was located at 1001 N. Potrero Grande Drive, Monterey Park, CA (according to the documentation in the book).

And looking at the pictures, I find it very hard to believe that such a place existed in Monterey Park. I'm not sure I do believe it at all. The photos seem impossible; how could all that stuff have fit anywhere down there? All that sculptured, painted cement... From the edge of the hill, very little of the place was visible; the cover provided by trees effectively blocked the view from above, I suppose, ensuring that only paying customers got the show.

An excerpt from the text:

"THE TIKIS represents the culmination of the Tiki era, which peaked with unprecedented grandeur and decadence..."

Yes, the idea that this establishment was practically in my backyard the whole time I was growing up completely amazes me.

Thinking back now, I do very vaguely recall that some people in the neighborhood had been complaining about the noise generated by the place, and that the complaints had had something to do with THE TIKIS eventually being closed.

But that was quite some time ago. "Wow" is all I can say.

PC29, I had the fortunate opportunity to get the grand tour of all the caves and passage ways at the Lake Elsinore Tikis a couple of years ago. Danny B didn't pay his bills, but boy did that man have an awesome imagination. Very sad to see an broken dream with so much effort invested.

On 2003-08-19 22:51, thechikitiki wrote:
PC29, I had the fortunate opportunity to get the grand tour of all the caves and passage ways at the Lake Elsinore Tikis a couple of years ago.

YOU DID???!!

Lucky Bastard. That's one of the things I've always wanted to see. Now that its a paintball park I've kind of lost interest -- unless the caves are still there.

ADRIAN! O O Kaibigan. It helps to speak spanish and have the BOT with you.

Hey Sven- you forgot to mention that those tapes you sent me "LA TIKI TOUR" & "AIR-CONDITIONED EDEN" had some priceless footage of Danny complete with a full video-tour of the shambled grounds.

Not sure which tape it was on, but it was really good...

I took a little time to go through "The Book of Tiki"--and it's some book. It featured a lot more text than I had anticipated, and is solidly written, by the way. A very nice piece of work, and worth the sizable degree of craziness I went through trying to get hold of it.

The photos of "The Tikis" in Monterey Park, and the accompanying text, are very nice...and now, popping in to post my updates, I've just read that some film or video footage of this place exists? That's too interesting to be ignored, of course. Is there some way I can get a copy of this footage on VHS? Oh, that would be just amazing. I do appreciate anyone's help on this one...thanks again!

On 2003-08-20 07:45, procinema29 wrote:
I've just read that some film or video footage of this place exists? That's too interesting to be ignored, of course. Is there some way I can get a copy of this footage on VHS? Oh, that would be just amazing. I do appreciate anyone's help on this one...thanks again!

It's an awesome piece on Polynesian Pop in America.
:tiki:

Yippee A'Kai Yay!

[ Edited by: MTKahuna on 2003-08-20 17:58 ]

just give sven a jingle- (bigbrotiki) he can most likely hook u up with the video

The correct Address is 1975 N. Portero Grande Drive. Monterey Park. CA

Directions (taken directly from the matchbook): Off the Pomona Freeway.... From L.A. Take the Garfield Exit | Take the Paramount Blvd. Off ramp North to Arroyo St. Left on Arroyo St. to Portrero Grande to the tikis. (It is shown on the north side of the street on the little map)
the map also indicates it is East of Wilcox and West of Rosemead Blvd. It also indicates that the offramp from the San Bernadino Freeway would be the the San Gabriel Blvd. exit South.

Here is the rest of the text:
• 12 Acres of Tropical Enchantment
• 50 feet of underground lava tubes
• 80 foot erupting volcano
• Waterfalls, lagoons, jungle trails
• 3 to 7 bands
• POLYNESIAN EXTRAVAGANZA featuring the finest of Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand.
• Accommodates to 5000 persons, 18 acres of parking
• Complete year round banquet facilities
• Private facilities for birthday parties
• We specialize in holiday parties
• Sundays bring the kids
• 12 exciting rides, petting zoo
• Polynesian cultural center of the islands
• Train ride through ½ mile of Polynesian settings and monster caves

Miss Cherry Capri has done a painting based on the historical matchbook which will be viewable (and for sale) at the M Modern Gallery in Palm Springs on the same night as "It's All About the Tiki" event on NOvember 29, 2003

Now does anyone have the approximate date/year when this place opened???

Hi,

I do not have any pictures of the Tiki's just a lot of memories. I used to go there all the time with my girlfriend during the Disco days in 1976/77. It was a phenomenal place. The song " Disco inferno " takes me back there as if it were last Saturday night.

I don't even know how our group found out about it. We used to go to a place called " My uncles " in Van Nuys all the time and we just gravitated to the Tiki's.

I had a friend that lived on Potrero Grande and my ex wife lives close by now. A few years ago while picking up my son I drove by looking for the place but I could not locate it so I have no clue where it went or what it is now.

I would love to hear from anyone else that has memories of it when it was a Disco.

Danny Balsz and The Tikis has always been one of the more fascinating stories in The Book of Tiki. I recently acquired these postcards showing a few scenes of the entertainment at The Tikis.

I also found this really big matchbook with some great stuff on it.

The giant flaming Tiki

The volcano show

On the back a listing of the fun things to do

And this great artist sketch map of the layout of the facility

Here is a mug and another matchbook from The Tikis that LOL Tiki recently posted on tiki finds.

What a great place this must have been.

On 2003-07-31 00:34, procinema29 wrote:
Name:"The Tikis," Monterey Park, CA
Type:restaurant
Street:Potrero Grande
City:Monterey Park
State:CA
Zip:91755
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Hi Tiki Fans,

I need your help--your Tiki Help!

Here’s the situation in a nutshell: I’m writing numerous Tiki-enthusiasts on the web with a special request. You may perhaps know of a now-defunct Tiki Restaurant (created by Danny Balsz) known as “The Tikis,” which was located on Potrero Grande Blvd. in Monterey Park, California. It was closed sometime in the mid-70’s, and is, from what I understand, well documented in Sven Kirsten’s “The Book of Tiki.”

I grew up in Monterey Park in the 70’s, not far away from this place--in fact, the club was situated at the bottom of the hill I lived on. But you couldn’t see much of it from the top of the hill. I do have memories of hearing the drums from the restaurant pounding away into the night each weekend. Apparently, they had some hot and cookin' nights down there! I was too young to visit the place, and, honestly, at the time I was not interested in such things. Since then I’ve developed a great fondness for Tiki culture, and now have a nagging desire to know what this restaurant looked like, as I never got a good look at it. I’d love to see a picture or two of the place, if anyone has something like that!

Pictures of other Tiki clubs are readily accessible on the net, but not pictures of this one. Mr. Kirsten’s book is out of print and somewhat difficult to get hold of; I did actually write Mr. Kirsten, but unfortunately he was out of town on business, and unable to help. (A new printing of the book is forthcoming, but when that will be is unknown.)

If you have a photo lying around that you have scanned, or a scan of a magazine photo or something, would you do me a big favor and email it to me? I would be very, very appreciative. Anything at all, even something low-res, would be verily cool.

Thanking you for your time and attention...

Most sincerely,

Rodd Matsui
http://www.progressivecinema.com
[email protected]

Good luck with this project Rodd. I spent my teenage and early 20's in Monterey Park..great waterfall and mid century modern houses up around De Lafuente (sp)..wonder if the stilt houses are still there?

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-07-31 00:40 ]

[ Edited by: procinema29 on 2003-07-31 00:41 ]

Here is a close up of the older matchbook from The Tikis.

It's kind of interesting to see the evolution of the facility from the descriptions on the back of the two matchbooks. The older matchbook had 200 feet of underground lava tubes, a 60-foot volcano, a capacity of 2,000 people and 14 acres of parking. The newer one increased in size to 500 feet of underground lava tubes, an 80-foot volcano, and a capacity of 5,000 people with 18 acres of parking. Than Danny was a busy man!

Old CBS ticket for a company party at The Tikis!

A very cool brochure showing the action at The Tikis.

DC

I own this chunky resin lamp in the picture in the lower left corner above....

Here it is...

...a powerful "object" from "The Lost Tikis". :D

(The above being a play on one of my favorite T.V. Mini series, "The Lost Room")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Room
Which cabal are you: The Collectors, the Legion, or the Order? :D

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-09-13 01:11 ]

Bigbro,

Nice lamp, did you pick that up during your expedition?

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2009-09-12 16:40 ]

I found a movie that has some scenes shot at the Tikis. I think it is from 1979, so probably filmed in 78. I will try to post some shots soon....

On 2009-09-12 16:28, Dustycajun wrote:
Bigbro,
Nice lamp, did you pick that up during your expedition?

Yes. I undertook a couple of Safaris out to the Lake Elsinore site, the November '94 being the most notable one, because that's when Danny was selling off stuff. Here are some pics, some of these will be in Kari's article on The Tikis in the next Tiki Magazine:

Tiki in the forest, March '93:

Ruins, Nov. '94:

Otto von St. and Sven K. examine a relic:

Skull mound:

From the out of print movie "Seven" filmed in Hawaii & The Tikis-Monterey Park. I thought the whole movie was shot in Hawaii until the credits rolled. After watching the movie again, I think that all or most of the dancing/luau scenes were the ones shot at the Tikis.

For reals? Andy Sidaris was filming down at the bottom of the hill, and I didn't know it? (Well, I would've been about...seven or so!)

It's strange, because late one night in the mid-80's I happened to catch "Seven" on TV, and was agog at what a bizarre, hyper-violent film it was, while also featuring exotic and mysterious locations. I would have been surprised to learn that any scenes might have been shot at The Tikis, definitely.

On 2003-11-26 04:07, Futura Girl wrote:
The correct Address is 1975 N. Portero Grande Drive. Monterey Park. CA

Directions (taken directly from the matchbook): Off the Pomona Freeway.... From L.A. Take the Garfield Exit | Take the Paramount Blvd. Off ramp North to Arroyo St. Left on Arroyo St. to Portrero Grande to the tikis. (It is shown on the north side of the street on the little map)
the map also indicates it is East of Wilcox and West of Rosemead Blvd. It also indicates that the offramp from the San Bernadino Freeway would be the the San Gabriel Blvd. exit South.

Mahalo for the directions, Futura Girl.
What is there now?

On 2010-01-05 18:36, christiki295 wrote:
Mahalo for the directions, Futura Girl.
What is there now?

A strip mall. :(

On 2010-01-05 19:48, LOL Tiki wrote:

On 2010-01-05 18:36, christiki295 wrote:
Mahalo for the directions, Futura Girl.
What is there now?

A strip mall. :(

As yes, I should have checked the obvious.
At least there is a hula halau and an Ono Grill. I wonder if the hula school is operated by a former dancer at the Tikis, or if the Ono Grill has photos up?

WOW! :o
Sorry for posting here with nothing substantial about The Tikis, I just wanted to say that this thread is awesome! I entered this thread because it seemed awkward for me that it was in the "general tiki" and not in the "locating tiki" now I understand why...
That place must have been a tiki dream (or nightmare)...
Where's Danny now?

R.I.P. Danny, your dream lives on in the minds of many Tiki revelers.

I just picked up this postcard from the Tikis that shows the extent of the jungle that enveloped the grounds.

Apparently there was a swan ride!

Close up of the festivities.

What a place.

DC

Nice, never seen that before! In this case, zooming in did not really provide greater clarity :D

I am blown away that this existed! Why must such amazing places be torn down! This would be such an amazing place if it was still there.. I'd probably go there once or twice a month just for the atmosphere!

Wild photos! And here's another memory...not of the place itself (because I never got to actually go in the place) but of a party one of the neighborhood families threw in Monterey Park. I believe it was a birthday party for a kid down the street named Tim. This would have been around 1975-76. The kids in the family were allowed to decorate their backyard for this party, and having seen "The Tikis," they wanted to make their backyard like the nightclub. They had a couple of torches--good for a start. But they were smitten with the canals, the water aspect. So they dug trenches in the earthy areas and filled them with water, and the water quickly soaked into the soil and disappeared. Undaunted, they lined the trenches with aluminum foil to hold the water in. That didn't work either! But a few puddles of water did remain in the foil trenches, so they left those there. When the party guests arrived, the kids explained what they had attempted to do, and I was impressed by their ingenuity. Their decorations still looked cool.

that's a rad story! sounds like something i wouldve done when i was kid.

Here are some more images I snagged from a brochure that sold on ebay a while back.

The description of the whole entry process is really amazing - the banana train, the jungle, the cave, the girls...

DC

A-MA-ZING!!

Here is the album cover from Manny Lopez that was shot at the Tikis.

DC

I have always been amazed by this place , and that someone way back then had the vision,
the money and the ingenuity to bring such a cool place to fruition.I was born in the
wrong era for sure.Thanks for posting that brochure DC I tried to win it .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160379532530&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

someone is selling off this little piece of history! If I had the money to throw around, I would purchase this in a heartbeat!

from the ebay listing:
THE TIKIS

ORIGINAL VINTAGE

RESTAURANT BAR

RESTROOM SIGN

This is an ORIGINAL VINTAGE SIGN from the TIKIS BAR & RESTAURANT. I bought this from DANNY BALZ on the SVEN KIRSTEN Expedition to the TIKIS as seen on Page 13 of THE BOOK OF TIKI.

The Tikis was a large entertainment complex with Bar & Restaurant, elaborately landscaped with tikis and volcanos, and featuring a polynesian show. The Tikis could accomodate groups up to 1,500, and was able to entertain up to 3,000 people in one night. Sometime after 1970, owner Danny Balsz divorced his wife, Doris Samson, and The Tikis closed. Balsz attempted to recreate The Tikis in nearly Lake Elsinore, but he was never able to reopen

ITEM is MADE OF WOOD and HAND PAINTED and is 23 x 12 inches and in AS SEEN Condition (PLEASE SEE PHOTO) .

USA Buyer pays $25.00 DELIVERY CONFIRMATION PRIORITY First CLASS Air MAIL & Handling fee.

That's Dug Miller....
He's had it for sale for months...Too expensive if you ask me.