Bob Lee's Islander in Boston

I got one the large postcards from Bob Lee's Islander with the wild interior scenes so I did a couple of close ups.

This place had to have had the Highest TIPSY factor ever recorded!

The story of a wandering Bob on the back of the card.

DC

Sigh! Unfortunately, before my time!

Cool postcard DC, the Tiki's look to be based on PMP's mug and what a space amazing!

Wow. Bob Lee's Islander! That really brings back memories. The closest restaurant now a days would be the Kowloon in Saugus MA. Still can't beat the old Islander feeling though. Those days are gone but not forgotten.

same bob lee as tiki bob SF??

Bob Lee had no relationship with Tiki Bobs in San Francisco.

A few more photos of the exterior.

The Lantern House.

And the Islander - first time I have seen an image of the exterior,

Plus an old ad.

DC

is "the islander" the same as this bob lees islander? so many similar names and it doesnt help that many places used the same mug style, just different name on the back

I picked up a nice old menu from Bob Lee's Lantern House (before it became the Islander).

The menu cover had a dragon image like the great neon sign outside.

The Lantern House was still a Chinese restaurant.

But the cocktail page from the Aloha Lounge gives us a hint that Bob Lee was transitioning to Tiki Pop style.

Some classic descriptions on the drinks.

Here is my postcard from the Aloha Lounge at the Lantern House.

The inside of the menu cover gives a nice bio of Bob as well.

DC

Another exterior photo.

And a photo of Henry Lim an employee at Bob Lee's Islander.

DC

Here is another magazine ad- a variant of the one that Dustycajun posted. Copied from ebay. American Weekly -December 22, 1963 Boston issue with the Pope on the cover.

Found another photo of the exterior of Bob Lee's Islander circa 1975 that shows the larger A-Frame and rock wall facade that had been added.

You can see Carl's Pagoda Restaurant across the street and the China Pearl down the street on Tyler.

DC

With the advent of DC's great Jerry Williams photo inside the Kon Tiki...I stumbled across this...Jerry and family at Bob Lee's Islander in 1968...Jerry must have loved the Polynesian Pop!

On 2016-03-31 12:03, Or Got Rum? wrote:
With the advent of DC's great Jerry Williams photo inside the Kon Tiki...I stumbled across this...Jerry and family at Bob Lee's Islander in 1968...Jerry must have loved the Polynesian Pop!

Nice one OGR. I did a little more research on the subject. Jerry Williams read commercials on his radio show for Bob Lee's Islander. Here is a clip I found on-line:

"But I did visit Bob Lee's 'Islander' with my girlfriend at the time. It was as great an experience as Jerry had promised during his mouth-watering descriptions of the place for commercials. I wrote a letter describing our wonderful dining experience, but never heard a word from Jerry. Years later, I met a friend who said he had heard Jerry read my letter on the air as a fresh ad for Bob Lee's!

Another web post indicated that Jerry was such a regular that:

"On the drink menu at Bob Lee's islander, it listed the "Head Hunter" cocktail as "Jerry Williams' favorite drink".

I have not seen a menu with that reference, however, that does not mean that it does not exist.

And finally, cleaned up photo of the interior.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2016-03-31 16:18 ]

Spotted another Bob Lee Islander ad from the early opening era with a photo of Bob Lee, "Mr. Polynesia of the USA"!

DC

Saw this great photo of the exterior of Bob Lee's Islander on ebay.

Oh the wacky world of the Islander.

DC

This place had a lot going for it indeed...never seen anything like this before. Thanks for all the pictures and history. Wonder what it looks like inside today. I visit Boston quite often will have to take a walk to Chinatown and see...

A bit more about the Bob Lee's Islander - evidently the restaurant was closed on 27-1-1977 for 60 alleged health violations. Lee sued over the closure.

Boston Globe 9-2-1977

The next year, Bob Lee was sentenced on tax evasion on the restaurant profits, seems he was having a bad few years.

And on a happier note, Lee offered a free lunch at his restaurant in 1967

Boston Globe, 14-2-1967

A little excitment and tragedy at the Islander, though of interest is that the restaurant was still presenting floor shows as late as 1980.

Boston Globe November 5th, 1980

"A Bridgewater man was shot in the head last night as he was watching a floor show along with about 50 other persons in Bob Lee's Islander Restaurant in Chinatown. Dep Hem Chin, about 30, is in critical condition and on the danger list at Boston City Hospital today with a gunshot wound in the right side of the head, a hospital spokesman said.

Boston Police are searching for three men who entered the restaurant at 12 Tyler st. about 11:30 p.m. They walked up to one of two long tables in the lounge, and one of them shot Chin, according to police reports. About 50 people were in the cocktail lounge when the shooting occurred, according to Morris Ng, who was playing the restaurant's organ when he heard shots. "I didn't know what it was, so I kept right on playing," he said. Police called the incident "very unusual" for Chinatown."

On 2017-01-13 09:37, Dustycajun wrote:
Spotted another Bob Lee Islander ad from the early opening era with a photo of Bob Lee, "Mr. Polynesia of the USA"!

DC

The same layout was used in print ads in the Boston Globe, this one dated April 4, 1965. What is interesting is that he states "New" in the ad but looking at earlier ads the name Islander was in use by 1961. Lantern Lounge was still used in 1959, and I found an classified seeking hostesses for the Aloha Lounge in 1960, so we can assume he transitioned to the Islander over that 2 year period. As he advertises the place as "New" in 1965, my guess would be that he did the remake of the interior to that funky tiki design around that time.

Found on eBay and listed as 1963: https://www.ebay.com/itm/372493002367

Which looks smaller than the exterior posted previously, so they must have expanded:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19091&forum=2&start=60#774396

Found a swell 1968 photo featuring Bob Lee's Islander from the always-delightful Avocado Memories site. Scroll about halfway down the page in the link.