International Market Place Will be horribly razed

A few more oldies but goodies from the IMP.

Don the Beachcombers on the map.

And a nice press photo of one of the signature IMP tikis.

You can see a Menehune show sign on the left and another Tiki above the photographer on the right.

DC

Mahalo for All your posts Dusty. Giving away my age but I first visited the IMP in ’66.
I like dem old kine pix.
Cheers

Dustmaster- awesome pics

David- :)

A few more Flickr photos of the Tikis and shop signs at the old International Market Place.

DC

DC It was great to meet you for lunch today. TCers rule!

DustY
U da man...

Here are some pictures I found on Instagram from Fotoaloha.

Saw this pic online

Here is another photo of the stage and Tikis from the IMP.

DC

I just got this text from a friend today

"There's a Tesla dealership just to the right opening tomorrow."

:evil:

Ugh, the Tesla company is kind of a scam, but I think electric cars in general are probably a good thing for Oahu.

TT

Yelp and Tripadvisor folks are giving the re-done IMP 3.5 stars while Google users give it 4 stars. (See below) From the reviews, it doesn't appear to be a runaway hit but rather just another "place" that has blended into the high-end modern stuff in Waikiki. Does anyone who is local have any insights to share? Impressions? What the locals think? Any feedback from tourists?

I went and stayed a few years back and caught the final year of the real International Market Place with cheap Mai Tai's and T shirts and stuff still in there-

It was so old school that I knew it wouldn't last forever.......

Many real estate developers have paved over a lot of tiki memories...this is just another one gone cheers

Well it was hard to forgive tearing down the old IMP. Architecturally it was truly a Hawaiian sense of place in Waikiki, where it was sorely needed. They could of cleaned the old place up to be a new age tiki gem. Then it was hard to believe they didn’t incorporate modern tiki elements in the new architecture. A steel and glass radical A-frame awning at the entrance would of been cool - not a stupid bell tower, which has no Polynesian significance. I complained a lot at that especially when the owner claimed it was Hawaiian. Where? How? When it finally opened, it was an High-end name-brand mall as expected, but since the damage is done I’ll only talk of the positive things. #1 they do have an open feel, with tropical plants and a steam. #2 they kept the banyan tree and importantly there is a tiki architecture micro museum there as a treehouse. It pays homage to the original IMP developer Donn Beach and Tiki style. #3 There is Hawaiian music, live at times, but no Tikis. The place started out slow and some people got worried that it would be colossal bust but it slowly gained tourist and locals and more stores. There are a couple of new and good food courts and one has a small but nice tiki bar in it. For me, born and raised most of my life in Hawaii, I’ll just give it a barely passing grade, definitely not for the architecture but for their efforts of giving it a Hawaiian ambiance. But I miss the old one, dearly.

[ Edited by: creativenative 2018-02-12 20:39 ]

Jan 2018

Awesome rum selection

Cheers to Don

Worst sound ever, slurp of an empty tiki mug through my straw!!!

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2018-02-12 21:41 ]

Great photos, thanks for the update. Are there any carved tikis (besides the mugs) at the "tiki" bar? Or is it more like the "Florida tiki" we have here with everything except real tikis?

Again, this is a confirmation that the "modernized sterile" tropical look is fully in vogue. Reminds me of some of the shopping galleries across the street next to the Royal Hawaiian. Very architecturally interesting, and nicely done, but not true to the real roots of the location and the islands.

I must say that there are some GREAT places to sit and relax with a drink along the Waikiki Beach waterfront. Once you overlook the structure and look out over the water and at Diamond Head you can get completely immersed in the beauty of the view.

The IMP is no longer a draw for me other than to see it out of sheer curiosity. The waterfront cocktails and Waikiki Beach and the chill-out time will be front-and-center the next time I go. But I will go because it's one of the world's top beaches and it's always a very nice time.

Not gonna lie, I LOVE that myna bird design. Looks like vintage DtB graphics.

Yes, it is, in a cubist/modern/abstract sort of way. It reminds me of Pacific Islander tattoos a bit. But ironically I believe the Myna Bird is not native to any tropical islands though. :)

Ace
Only “Tiki” mugs

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2018-02-14 21:33 ]

News photo of a couple of natty looking gals and the great Tiki at the International Market Place.

DC

Saw these on line