"The Tikis," Monterey Park, CA

ah, that's unfortunate. Thanks for the tip.

I'm confused...

I know Dug has had this piece up for sale for a long time (on eBay)

I was under the impression that this sign came from the Tikis in Lake Elsinore.

Now it seems the sign's sales description implies this sign was from the Monterey Park Tikis location.

What's up?

That sign was from both locations.

1. I can't believe Dug is selling it :)
2. I can't believe it's been sitting on ebay so long.
   This is the real thing, I just have never been able to find
   a photo of them in situ.
   Here's sign #2

What a great sign , surprising that it has still not sold. I guess the price of $249 is too steep for today's tough economic times.

I just picked up a very early version of the Tikis Matchbook in black and white.

This rendering from The Tikis ended up on a sculpture and postcard at the Tahiti Motel in Miami Beach, Florida.

DC

Some mug sightings from The Tikis.

A barrel mug

And this little guy that I had only seen used at Johnny Quong's - without a lid?

This must be rare as the bottom is marked from the San Gabriel location.

DC

I picked up this giant postcard showing the entertainment scene around the giant 85-foot volcano at the Tikis.

The description on the back of the card.

Also a photo of the entertainment troupe that I found on-line.

DC

Ever seen a fold-out business card?

Digging up this ancient thread to share what I found today at the Pasadena City College Flea Market.
No lid,but I'm not sure if it had one to begin with.

On 2010-07-16 18:49, kiara wrote:

I would like to see a photo of the Quiet Village sign in this photo.
Now THAT looks like the Kahiki signs that they had in the old Kahiki.

It is, Skip. I don't remember how Kiara got it. It'll be in my new book below the B&W photo you got me.

So that may make the one that's for sale on eBay now not an old one from the Kahiki start as I thought.
Thanks Sven.
Now if we only knew how it made it there?

HA! As you were typing, I was composing this :) :

…and Skip, what do we think of this? :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kahiki-restaurant-wood-sign-quiet-tiki-village-/191160065864?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c82071f48

"Quiet TIKI village"….!!? I don't know, that sounds awfully like a Tiki revival concept. I don't remember seeing it there
"...at the entrance to the Village Dining Room behind the front desk wall (as indicated on the label when it was taken down)…"

Where IS said label then? If this is indeed from the Kahiki, it must have been a very recent addition made just before closing, and has no vintage value on its own.

Sven I have not yet asked my friend Soung that was one of the owners of the
Tropical Bistro, but I can remember him asking me to come and look at a sign like that
one he had just hung in his bar and telling me it was from the Kahiki.
I told him I "No way" he then told me he had made that sign.

LOTS of the items at the Tropical Bistro sale were not from the Kahiki, in fact only four
items were from the Kahiki as far as I could tell.
Four oars, That's it.
The rest of it Soung made.

Now there was a sale where a "cop" Soung said got everything from the Kahiki at the Bistro.
This guy came in before everybody and paid a lot to the owners before the Sheriff came.

That is my best guess on that one.

But then this eBay sale says it's from the first sale at the egg roll factory.

The sign you showed is COOL! Love the way they did the "Q" on it.
I'm going to cut up the tables I have and make twenty of them.

I acquired a set of 4 postcards, 3 of which have been posted here. This fourth one hasn't.
Look at the size of that thing!

Clayfran,

Nice score on the postcard, have not seen that one before. Any chance you could do a scan and blow-up the pic of that impressive Tiki?

DC

Hi folks - I don't have a copy of it with me, but didn't I show this postcard image in the Book of Tiki in my "The Tikis" chapter?

It is the only one (other than the matchbook) that shows that giant, fire or freon spewing Tiki statue that I was lucky to see in situ at the defunct Lake Elsinore location. Here's my old friend Pete Moruzzi posing with it in 1994:

I think I also have a photo of Danny Balsz in the BOT that demonstrates the scale of this giant even better. I was very sad to hear that Danny toppled and broke the statue when he was evicted.

Bigbro,

You are correct, that postcard with the huge Tiki is shown on page 110 of the BOT. Here is the photo of Danny Balsz sitting in front of it.

The "Old Testament" still provides us with Tiki lore!

DC

Sorry for the delay; here's an enlargement of the tiki from the postcard.

Old B & W photo of the Volcano show at the Tikis in Monterey Park.

And a ticket to the show, lets go!

DC

My Father, Frank Kula was the emcee there. He also sung too.
I was 5 years old and one time they had Arnold Schwarzenegger (famous for only bodybuilding then), come on stage and he picked my dad up with one arm.

Any additional Frank Kula pictures would be appreciated.

[ Edited by: darkwombat 2015-07-16 21:30 ]

Thank you all for posting all these photos about the Tiki's that was in Monterey Park, CA ...today, a living "plant nursery". That was the corporate party central back in the 60's....the shuttle service form the parking lot and swan ride were the best! When you exited the shuttle (like they had at Disneyland), they gave you a Hawaiian Lei around your neck and escorted your group into the underground Caves where you ate & drank drinks from sea shells with long straws. Then they would escort you to the evening shows...that were the best!

Most of these photos posted here are showing my Sister Antoinette and her girlfriends...who you may recognize in the movie with Elvis called "Paradise Hawaiian Style", see the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv-tn6nj_P4

She is the one that speaks "There it is"! She is Pointing at Elvis in a helicopter. Some of the girls from the Tiki's played bikini dancers as well as the Hawaiian dancers in this movie.

As family members, we were also extras acting as child actors in TV Shows like Adventures in Paradise starring Gardner McKay, Follow the Sun, and movies like Donovan's Reef (john Wayne) and Two Loves with Shirley MacLaine. All pre-TV hits such as -Hawaii Five-O, Fantasy island, etc.

Wow, thanks for these great memories.

Be well you all, Aloha...

Jimmy "D" DiChirico '71 Wilson High...in El Sereno

What's the connection to the tikis south San Gabriel....same place?

[ Edited by: nomeus 2015-08-12 12:29 ]

Those mugs are classics. But the apostrophe misplacement has always irked me. The place was the only one with that name, suggesting a plethora of Tikis, because Danny Balsz believed that the more Tikis one had, the more luck one would have. :)

On 2009-09-12 14:50, bigbrotiki wrote:

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 ]

I loved that show.... "The Lost Room" Thanks for the reminder bigbrotiki :)