Pagan Room, Town House Hotel, La Jolla, CA (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

C ClassicSanDiego Tiki Centralite Martin Joined: May 06, 2016 Posts: 14	C ClassicSanDiego Posted posted on Wed, Dec 14, 2016 12:18 PM Name:Pagan Room, Town House Hotel Type:restaurant Street:6363 La Jolla Boulevard City:La Jolla State:CA Zip:92037 country:USA Phone: Status:defunct Description: Pagan Room was a tiki restaurant and bar, located in the La Jolla Town House Hotel near Birdrock and Windansea beaches, from 1959 to about 1962. The The La Jollan was intended as a 252-room luxury hotel, developed in 1952 by Larry Imig (Lafayette Hotel), Grandvell Schumaker and D.E. Evans. The hotel restaurant was first called Imig's Den. Under the management of Allan Witwer, the hotel’s name was changed to the Town House Hotel and the restaurant remodeled into the Pagan Room. Witwer and his wife hosted many cocktail parties for visitors summering in La Jolla, and the exotic restaurant was the perfect seaside venue... Adjacent to the pool, the Pagan Room invited one into its dark, mysterious interior through cascading Hilo bead curtains. The entrance was dominated by a large, hand-carved date palm ʻaumakua by Andres Bumatay. This and other carvings were purchased from Hawaiian Garden House nurseries in Long Beach. Upstairs was Coifs by Palm Springs hair stylist Toni King, originator of the Caprice ’doo. Tropical murals inside were painted by Del Mar artist Jon Helland, known for his Hawaiian work and murals for the Copper Kettle, Del Mar Racetrack, Garden of Allah (The Flame), and Peter Pan restaurants. Cantonese food by chef Wing How was served to comfortable guests relaxing in cozy nooks furnished with rattan furniture and tiki lamps. Witwer had reportedly poached the chef and staff from Don the Beachcomber’s. The piano bar served up “exotic South Pacific drinks” to La Jolla socialites and beach-weary vacationists. The Town House was sold in 1962 and converted into rental apartments. The property is now [2016] the La Jolla Villa Condominiums. Source: http://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/pagan-room/ A date-palm ʻaumakua hand-carved by Andres Bumatay dominated the entrance to the Pagan Room at the Town House Hotel in La Jolla, CA, 1959. Photo, Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA Library Special Collections. [ Edited by ClassicSanDiego on 2026-08-17 12:51:05 ]

Name:Pagan Room, Town House Hotel
Type:restaurant
Street:6363 La Jolla Boulevard
City:La Jolla
State:CA
Zip:92037
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Pagan Room was a tiki restaurant and bar, located in the La Jolla Town House Hotel near Birdrock and Windansea beaches, from 1959 to about 1962.

The The La Jollan was intended as a 252-room luxury hotel, developed in 1952 by Larry Imig (Lafayette Hotel), Grandvell Schumaker and D.E. Evans. The hotel restaurant was first called Imig's Den.

Under the management of Allan Witwer, the hotel’s name was changed to the Town House Hotel and the restaurant remodeled into the Pagan Room. Witwer and his wife hosted many cocktail parties for visitors summering in La Jolla, and the exotic restaurant was the perfect seaside venue...

Adjacent to the pool, the Pagan Room invited one into its dark, mysterious interior through cascading Hilo bead curtains. The entrance was dominated by a large, hand-carved date palm ʻaumakua by Andres Bumatay. This and other carvings were purchased from Hawaiian Garden House nurseries in Long Beach. Upstairs was Coifs by Palm Springs hair stylist Toni King, originator of the Caprice ’doo.

Tropical murals inside were painted by Del Mar artist Jon Helland, known for his Hawaiian work and murals for the Copper Kettle, Del Mar Racetrack, Garden of Allah (The Flame), and Peter Pan restaurants. Cantonese food by chef Wing How was served to comfortable guests relaxing in cozy nooks furnished with rattan furniture and tiki lamps. Witwer had reportedly poached the chef and staff from Don the Beachcomber’s. The piano bar served up “exotic South Pacific drinks” to La Jolla socialites and beach-weary vacationists.

The Town House was sold in 1962 and converted into rental apartments. The property is now [2016] the La Jolla Villa Condominiums.

Source: http://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/pagan-room/

A date-palm ʻaumakua hand-carved by Andres Bumatay dominated the entrance to the Pagan Room at the Town House Hotel in La Jolla, CA, 1959. Photo, Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA Library Special Collections.

[ Edited by ClassicSanDiego on 2026-08-17 12:51:05 ]