Trader Vic's(Beverly Hills)fate sealed? Not if we can help it!

TONIGHT ON KCET (LA & ORANGE COUNTIES AREA) at 6:30pm there will be a special on the clash between glitz and culture....It's all about the Trader Vic's at the Beverly Hilton. Should be very informative!!! Can anyone tape itand put it here???

How sad to hear this news about Trader Vics! I was in Beverley Hills only a few weeks ago but we gave TVs a miss. IDIOT!

I wish you all luck in your fight. Your persistence is going to be the key.

Please join us tomorrow at Trader Vic's bar sundown for our planning pow wow for the March 17th event.

Life is a state of mind

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2007-02-16 07:56 ]

Great turnout , here are a few pictures from the other night and the rest are posted on TC to save TV.

On 2007-01-19 18:08, freddiefreelance wrote:
This sounds a little more definite than the Condo idea, since Waldorf would be an extension of the Hilton name, but there'll still be opposition from the locals. Enough of this and they may be forced to try something different to recoup the money put into the Hilton.

I wonder if the Waldorf will have the Polynesian Room or the Tahitian Room, like the version in British Columbia.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=15525&forum=2

Life is a state of mind

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2008-02-29 14:50 ]

On 2008-02-29 14:48, Ojaitimo wrote:

     Life is a state of mind  

*"...Pangloss used now and then
to say to Candide:

'There is a concatenation of all events in the best of possible
worlds; for, in short, had you not been kicked out of a fine castle
for the love of Miss Cunegund; had you not been put into the
Inquisition; had you not traveled over America on foot; had you not
run the Baron through the body; and had you not lost all your sheep,
which you brought from the good country of El Dorado, you would not
have been here to eat preserved citrons and pistachio nuts.'

'Excellently observed,' answered Candide; 'but let us cultivate
our garden.'" *

Perhaps the best of all possible worlds may lie in what one chooses to make
of their own tiki bar (or hut, or backyard, or website),
and in how one may look to the proper tying of their own thatch.

"Don't let it be forgot,
That once there was a Spot,
Where Blowfish all wore sunglasses,
and Tiki-times were hot..."
SOK

[ Edited by: Son-of-Kelbo 2008-03-06 09:06 ]

Whoa.

The final nail in the coffin.

Here's the story for when the link expires or for those too lazy to click. :wink:

Beverly Hills approves condo project

A $500-million condo-hotel plan may also win City Council passage. Many residents are concerned about traffic congestion.

By Martha Groves, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 11, 2008

If you hate to sit in traffic at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, prepare to discover your inner reserves of patience.

To the dismay of residents wary of overdevelopment, the Beverly Hills City Council has approved a high-rise condo and retail project for the eight-acre site of the defunct Robinsons-May department store.

What's more, the council is expected Tuesday to approve an ambitious $500-million proposal by the Beverly Hilton to add condos and the West Coast's first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to the mid-century Hilton's fabled site. The two projects would be next-door neighbors at Wilshire and Santa Monica, one of the busiest intersections in the region.

Many Beverly Hills residents for years have been battling what they perceive to be uncharacteristically tall and dense development in the historically low-rise community. Construction of the Montage Beverly Hills, a large luxury resort hotel with condos, is well along in the city's Golden Triangle commercial district, and several other mixed-use projects are in the pipeline.

Mayor Barry Brucker said the 9900 Wilshire project, approved by a 4-1 vote Wednesday evening, would secure about $60 million in upfront fees for Beverly Hills -- "more than any other project in the history of the city" -- to help fund street improvements and other work. He added that the project would result in less traffic than Robinsons-May in its fading days.

The Hilton project, on the other hand, would create a great deal more traffic than the current hotel generates. Moreover, residents face the prospect of sharing the road with construction workers and their equipment for many months.

Critics of the 9900 Wilshire project contend that the city's planning commission and council needlessly rushed the approval process by holding twice-weekly meetings in recent weeks.

The frequency made it difficult for residents to participate, opponents said.

"Everybody knew they were going to approve it -- the steam-rolling train going down the track," said Ken Goldman, president of the Southwest Homeowners Assn. "I'm very sorry that both the commission and council didn't take time to catch their breath and give the community a chance to absorb what was going on."

The 9900 Wilshire project would include a small amount of retail and restaurant space and 235 ultra-luxury condo units in two buildings -- one beginning at nine stories and stepping up to 13 and the other starting at 13 stories and rising to 15.

The developer eliminated 17 units from what was originally proposed for the site, at the western gateway to Beverly Hills next to the Los Angeles Country Club.

Goldman maintained that the buildings "create a Great Wall of China of Beverly Hills, and I felt that was unfortunate regardless of how striking an architectural statement it might be." The project's designer is Richard Meier, the architect of the Getty Center.

Candy & Candy, a London-based firm known for building "super-premium" residences, bought the property a year ago for $500 million from New Pacific Realty, a Beverly Hills firm that had paid $33.5 million just three years earlier. New Pacific was planning to spend $500 million to redevelop the site with a number of environmentally innovative elements.

J.A. Mirisch, a Beverly Hills film distributor and local blogger, said the council should have gotten a better deal with the 9900 Wilshire developer. He said he hopes that homeowner groups figure out a way to fund an effort to put the two projects on the ballot. "Having a referendum . . . would be a great course of action," he said. "It would serve as a referendum on overdevelopment in general."

BOO!

Time to hit Trader Vics Lounge while it is still there.
Good times last week when I was there.

I wonder what is going to happen to that enourmously tall TV tiki?

Wow..that really sucks!!! Reminds me of all of the needless overdevelopment here in NYC. I may be living in Los Angeles for a month this summer and I was really looking forward to going to the TV lounge a few times at least. I was there last October, and although I missed the REAL TV's restaurant (that I got to visit once around 1994) I was still glad they had SOMETHING there. Is it possible that Trader Vic's could set up shop somewhere else in LA? It seems like there's a good market there for them and it's not like they're closing this location due to bad business. Does anybody know when they are slated to close it....AGAIN!

Is it just me or are all of these 'developers', no matter where they choose to crap out their condos around the country, aren't they just sucking all the fun and life out of these towns and cities? Other than the obvious benefits to those who can afford to build and buy these things, what the hell is so great about high-priced residential property and the 'economies' the spawn? Seems to me all it does is f*ck over the community, bulldoze property that should be landmarked, and spoil the landscape with alot of ugly structures that were just farted out in a hurry by some millionaire board of directors. I would say that this is really starting to piss me off...but it already has!! Is the general public interested in anything except needless consumption and prick waving? Goddam..the higher the prices go, the lower the bar is set for life as we know/knew it.

I'm not so sure about the needless consumption, but count me in for the prick waving!

On 2008-04-23 00:57, Koolau wrote:
I'm not so sure about the needless consumption, but count me in for the prick waving!

I must say, that IS funny. Okay you're counted in.

On 2008-04-22 23:14, christiki295 wrote:
Time to hit Trader Vics Lounge while it is still there.
Good times last week when I was there.

I wonder what is going to happen to that enourmously tall TV tiki?

Whoa, who said the Trader Vic's Lounge is closing? Christiki unless you heard that while you were there last week then you have just started a rumor for no reason. The hotel isn't being torn down, The Robinsons-May building, the parking lot and the corner where the old Trader Vic's was will be gone but the hotel will stay pretty much the same. It looks like there will a ballot measure to try and overturn the city council's approval. I think that when Grandpa Richguy realizes that his unobstructed view of the Hollywood Hills will have a high rise blocking it filled with people looking into his yard he'll vote no.

I also think that the big Tiki and even the A-frame entryway still belong to Trader Vic's and maybe they'd be moved to the downtown LA location if that happens. I hope there is a way to remove the cement images etched on the walls of the old Vic's. It would suck to see them smashed.

Lets Cross our fingers for the downtown location to get some of the inside and outside decor from the BH location.

yeah what's up with saying that the Lounge will close?
when the article said nothing about the hotel closing.

sheeeesh.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

How would it stay, if that whole city block will be razed? This project is a complete redo from the ground up. 1955 Welton Beckett built Hilton Hotel bye bye, comprendo?

"What's more, the council is expected Tuesday to approve an ambitious $500-million proposal by the Beverly Hilton to add condos and the West Coast's first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to the mid-century Hilton's fabled site." I take that to mean like I posted earlier the removal of the Robinson's-May building and the huge parking lot but not completely raze the existing hotel.

well either way, I have been thinking about planning a huge TC get together at the TV's lounge.
on a sat. or sun afternoon, before all the snooty, BH's type people show up at night.

sound cool?
when would be good.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Hmmm, that WOULD be better news, indeed! I was sure I had heard it would be a Las Vegas style out with the old/in with the new complete knock down...with that kinda money involved. Doubt the murals will stay, though.

Trader Vic's Downtown LA, News coming soon..........

On 2008-04-23 07:50, Bora Boris wrote:

On 2008-04-22 23:14, christiki295 wrote:
Time to hit Trader Vics Lounge while it is still there.
Good times last week when I was there.

I wonder what is going to happen to that enourmously tall TV tiki?

Whoa, who said the Trader Vic's Lounge is closing? Christiki unless you heard that while you were there last week then you have just started a rumor for no reason. The hotel isn't being torn down, The Robinsons-May building, the parking lot and the corner where the old Trader Vic's was will be gone but the hotel will stay pretty much the same. It looks like there will a ballot measure to try and overturn the city council's approval. I think that when Grandpa Richguy realizes that his unobstructed view of the Hollywood Hills will have a high rise blocking it filled with people looking into his yard he'll vote no.

I also think that the big Tiki and even the A-frame entryway still belong to Trader Vic's and maybe they'd be moved to the downtown LA location if that happens. I hope there is a way to remove the cement images etched on the walls of the old Vic's. It would suck to see them smashed.

I hope you are right about the big Tiki and the A-frame entryway.

I was under the impression that the Beverly Hilton would be demolished as that space was going to part of the Waldorf Astoria, which would be built along the SaMo Wilshire corner.

I hope the ballot initiative can turn the tide against the billion dollar project.

Bump

Benny,
If you read this, please give LA Trader Vic's whatever you can. Thank
you!

Ironically, even though Trader Vics @ LA Live is due to open shortly, the development plans at Wilshire & Santa Monica seem to be in shambles.

In 2007, the planning and resources management firm Jones & Stokes Associates determined that the place that launched decentralized shopping in America was eligible for the California Register of significant sites. But the fate of 9900 Wilshire was already in the hands of developers.

First, there was New Pacific Realty, which paid Getty Center architect Richard Meier to design a green hotel and condo complex with private and public gardens. New Pacific, which paid $33.5 million for the site, issued a statement that said its development, requiring the demolition of the historic 1952 department store, would reflect "the standards and values of Beverly Hills throughout the world," according to a story in The Times.

Next up were Christian and Nicholas Candy, thirtysomething British developers of condos for the Euro rich. They picked up the property and Meier's plans for $500 million from New Pacific. The brothers' Iceland banking partner collapsed in the global financial crisis, and a request this week for Candy & Candy to update The Times on the future of the development went unanswered. Zoning variances and permits, however, supported by enthusiastic city officials, authorize construction to begin after a nearby school is out.

LA Times 3/14/09, Courtesy of Nichols via Lottaliving

Benny and the bouncers have gutted her for NOTHING.

Their grand scheme to Manhattanize Beverly Hills is on the rocks, and all they've accomplished is the destruction of a treasured destination, an irreplaceable icon of vintage tiki-era culture, and a historical landmark where we once could dwell among the spirits of LA's most luminous, refined, and storied gentry.

Still, no one can take away the fine memories, and so without wishing to appear too cruel, it is my great wish that those involved in the desctruction of TV's BH -- and all people who demolish other peoples' special places to serve their own grotesquely greedy whims -- were deeply invested with Bernie Madoff.

Happy St. Pat's Day and Aloha and Mahalo to the Fighters who stood up for her, not so long ago.

SOK

Well said Son-of-Kelbo!

OK Benny, time to make this right. Restore the Trader Vic's to what is once was. The Echelon is sitting unfinished in Vegas where the Aku Aku and Stardust stood.
Legend has it that there is a curse on the property and to make it right, the Aku Aku needs to be restoredn. My guess is that you got the same curse.
Hope you held on to all the interior cause it looks like you are going to need it. Happy St. Patricks Day!

If the fact that a property that was originally purchased for 35 Million was turned around and only a few years later was bought for 500 Mil (!) does not aptly demonstrate what was wrong with the multinational world of finance in the last decade, what does!

There is a whole city block smack in the middle of downtown Palm Springs that was razed (with it the original location of the m-modern Gallery) for a multi-use shopping and living development that is an empty desert lot now. The developer skipped town.

Its a crime I tell ya.
bums me out big time.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2009-03-17 09:59, Ojaitimo wrote:
OK Benny, time to make this right. Restore the Trader Vic's to what is once was. The Echelon is sitting unfinished in Vegas where the Aku Aku and Stardust stood.
Legend has it that there is a curse on the property and to make it right, the Aku Aku needs to be restored. My guess is that you got the same curse.

Did that legend exist before 3/17/09?

Sven, same thing happened with Kona lanes.... It's been what, like 7 years, and that lot is still empty too. What a bummer.

On 2009-01-05 18:04, JOHN-O wrote:
Actually here's a pretty comprehensive history of the Stardust.

http://www.earlyvegas.com/stardust.html

http://www.earlyvegas.com/stardust_two.html

I understand there's a Tiki curse on the property unless the Aku Aku moai is returned back to it's original location. Don't believe me?, take a look at the shuttered half-completed Echelon Place. If Boyd Gaming ever wants to get that project off the ground again they better get a moving truck on down to Sunset Park !! (I think there was a Brady Bunch episode based on this).

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2009-01-05 22:26 ]