Tiki Hut, at Hacienda Hotel near LAX, EL SEGUNDO, CA, CA (restaurant)

Name: Tiki Hut, at Hacienda Hotel near LAX
Type:restaurant
Street: 525 N Sepulveda Blvd
City: El Segundo
State: CA
Zip: 90245
country: USA
Phone:
Status: operational

Description:
As a hotel close to the L.A. airport, it has to stay up-to-date to the latest business travel trends, so there is nothing of its TIKI HUT left. But the Tiki hut's A-frame made up one of my all-time favorite matchbook covers once. It is a reminder that there was a time period when it seemed almost obligatory for any hotel to have a Tiki lounge.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2012-05-19 07:59 ]

"It is a reminder that there was a time period when it seemed almost obligatory for any hotel to have a Tiki lounge."

Can we pass some sort of law and make it so again?

Here is above mentioned matchbook in the BOT:

My friend Kiara just sent me a photo of which this is a closer frame capture:

I am posting this location in hopes that other, complete photos of this place will surface. One can see how it looked exactly like the rendering, with its two sky-high torches left and right of the outrigger beam. When looking at the rendering again, we can also see that it probably was just a separate entrance structure propped up by itself in front of a boxy building. It is however a great example of what Alan Hess called "the building as a sign", and full shot of it (with its sign) would look great for sure.

Here's what it looks like now, of course:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2012-05-19 23:53 ]

Sven,

Zulu Magoo has a bit of information and photos on his blog.

It started out life as the Huki Lau Restaurant in 1962.

http://tikiarchitecture.blogspot.com/2012/02/huki-lau-el-segundo-california.html

DC

Good catch, DC, gotta remind myself to check Mike's excellent blog more regularly! Good info, great rendering, but that great 3/4 frontal full view money shot is still missing. :)

I have always liked these "Triangle touching ground" A-frame roofs: Very simple in design, very modern, very effective: They could make any structure into a Tiki restaurant, like here, a boxy coffee shop.

Here is an example of one, in a side view of the ruins of the Kapu Kai bowling alley. Not the one on the right, but the left one we are seeing from behind:

(even though this one is structurally more attached to the main building)

Back of card reads: 500 tower and poolside rooms. 24 hour Dutch Kitchen Coffee House, open hearth plantation dining room, Creole show lounge featuring continuous entertainment and dancing - tiki hut, Polynesian drinks and hors d'oeuvres

On 2015-11-17 23:31, Otto wrote:
Back of card reads:

We just got this card since our last visit to TC and were coming on this thread to post. Thanks for saving us the scan!

Anyone know when the Tiki Hut finally closed? We checked this place out about 4 years ago and what was still completely intact was the Mariposa Coffee Shop. Open 24/7, totally late 50s / early 60s retro coffee counter, kind of like the long counter at Pann's. Parking was very non-obvious if you didn't do valet. We think the place has since been wreckovated.