The Lava Isle in Burbank? Giant flaming tiki by LAX??

I was stumbling along in Google and found myself at eGullet.org, a food-chat forum where I came across this post by one of their members (bold emphasis mine):

*"That reminds me of something else. Tiki lounges and their food. L.A. and environs was the Mecca for tiki lounge aficinados. From Trader Vic's in Hollywood to Kelbo's on Pico at Sepulveda to Latitude 20 in Manhattan Beach and The Lava Isle in Burbank, and etc. Kelbo's had the greatest ribs, almost like candy. The Lava Isle in Burbank (on Magnolia) was the first place I had Indonesian food - my first meal was nasi goering and I was hooked!

There was also one in the shopping center that used to front on Sepulveda Blvd. right where the airport expanded in 1961, where the east/west runway now crosses the road . I can't remember the name but it was very popular with the PSA stewardesses. (Pacific Southwest Airways - they were voted the most beautiful stewardesses in the U.S. in 1960.) It had a huge tiki with a flame coming out of the top of its head that could be seen from planes when one flew in at night.

Several friends and I used to "collect" tiki lounges and try the foods.
There are still a couple of tiki bars in Hollywood and L.A. but nothing like back in the late 50s and through the 60s.

The foods served at tiki lounges were different from any other restaurant and the drinks were elaborate, colorful and strong. The bartenders took pride in being able to construct any "tropical" drink from memory."*

Anybody heard of "The Lava Isle"? (Locating Tiki, Critiki and TRT have nothing on it) How 'bout a shopping plaza by LAX featuring a tiki with the flame so big you could see it from a plane?? The Latitude 20 was not in Manhattan Beach (actually it was about 10 miles south in Torrance), so this person's memory might be a little off...

This sounds like something out of a feverish dream! :)
Could this really be true?

Yes yes ! Inn of the Lava Isle was at 3116 Magnolia Blvd, Burbank. I have a dinner menu from there, and it has lots of Indonesian food listed. I'll get a photo and post some pics soon. I wonder what that shopping center near the airport was ? Could you imagine flying in and seeing a tiki from the plane ?!

I had relaties that lived in the area that was taken over by LAX. It was a residential neighborhood between Playa Del Ray and the dunes. We used to go there to visit when I was a kid, but I don't remember anything about a shopping center being there and I definitely don't remember a giant tiki with a flaming head. I think I WOULD have remembered that, but I was pretty little and if this shopping center was actually on the El Segundo side I might not have ever been over there to see it.

One addendum after rereading the original post. If the thing was gone by 61 then I probably never would have seen it as I was only 4 years old in 1961, and in the memories I have of visiting the relatives in Westchester I would have been older than that.

Here's the Inn of the Lava Isle menu:

[ Edited by: puamana on 2005-03-13 12:07 ]

Oh, it is so evil of you to post the cover without posting the insides! Nice menu cover, though.....

For your menu-reading pleasure, a souvenir-postcard version of the Inn of the Lava Isle menu recently added to the LAPL Menu Collection:

Hopefully a better scan will be available online within a year.

[ Edited by: stacymckenna 2015-03-03 14:59 ]

On 2005-03-12 15:23, Doctor Z wrote:
... There was also one in the shopping center that used to front on Sepulveda Blvd. right where the airport expanded in 1961, where the east/west runway now crosses the road . I can't remember the name but it was very popular with the PSA stewardesses. (Pacific Southwest Airways - they were voted the most beautiful stewardesses in the U.S. in 1960.) It had a huge tiki with a flame coming out of the top of its head that could be seen from planes when one flew in at night.[/b]

Could this have been referring to the Huki Lau/Tiki Hut located on Sepulveda? There were two sky-high torches adjacent to the entrance which could easily have been seen by descending planes.