Mai Kai 50th Anniv. - a look back in pictures!

Nice!

Hi,
About the outside shot that was taken from a slide.
From left to right - Chief Faalia(knife dancer), Toti
Heitapu, Lundy Nelson w/guitar
Liva, Louise(Ruita)and Andrea(Tupapau)

Heitapu was married to Andrea and I'm not sure if Kern was married to Louise at that time.

My father George Hines had the Polynesian show at the Yankee Clipper in Ft. Lauderdale for several years in the late '60s and early '70s.
Bob hired him and myself (Larry - I got a small portion of his talent) and we were the first haoles to play at the Mai Kai.
We played the 'off' night and did their show and also played in the Molokai bar. We also did the month of September when the other show was on vacation. We did that for ten years.
By the way, we're in the group photo right above, third row-left center with kukui nut leis.
I had the pleasure of knowing Mariano, a genuinely kind man.
In closing, I love your scans.

nibblegribitz,

Well, what do you know? Diane happens to be on my bookshelf and says hello every March! :D

So glad you found us here. What years did you play the Mai-Kai? If you have any Mai-Kai stories or pictures to share, we are the best audience you will ever find!

EDIT: I see your post snuck in before mine by 1 minute! So glad you're posting.

[ Edited by: GatorRob 2008-08-21 13:05 ]

nibblegribitz -

Great to hear from you and welcome to the TC community!! I just sent you a private message. I love to hear many stories about the Mai-Kai and of course about the Polynesian Room at the Yankee Clipper.

Keep the stories coming!!

Another picture of Diane. 1974.

On 2008-08-21 13:00, nibblegribitz wrote:

My father George Hines had the Polynesian show at the Yankee Clipper in Ft. Lauderdale for several years in the late '60s and early '70s.
Bob hired him and myself (Larry - I got a small portion of his talent) and we were the first haoles to play at the Mai Kai.
We played the 'off' night and did their show and also played in the Molokai bar. We also did the month of September when the other show was on vacation. We did that for ten years.
By the way, we're in the group photo right above, third row-left center with kukui nut leis.
I had the pleasure of knowing Mariano, a genuinely kind man.

Very cool info nibblegribitz!!

Is this your Dad? I would love to know more about him.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2008-08-23 17:07 ]

This thread is phenomenal! I didn't know it was here. I'm so glad it's been revived and going again. It's a treasure trove.

Thanks guys.

Aloha nibblegribitz!

Please, tell us more story! It is the candid shots and entertaining tales that we enjoy the most!

And, since we are showing pictures, here are a couple I found that have a pair of ladies enjoying the place over easter weekend in 1961:

This big Moai is in the 1964 calendar for June.

And posing with the Outrigger from a couple of pages ago.

This is an amazing thread!

tiki_kiliki, what is the copyright status of those images? can I use some of them in my art? (with credit to the scanner of course).

Hey Jeff,
Yes that is my father. That's the album he made when he was playing at the Yankee Clipper Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Im guessing mid to late sixties. I got to know a lot of beautiful Polynesian dancers. My two brothers and I sing backup vocals on some of the tracks. Also, one of the dancers was Nani Maka who had the female lead in a movie called "PAGAN ISALND". If you're not familiar with check it out, it's a real hoot.

Here's a hypnotic image from a City of Ft. Lauderdale promotional brochure, dated 1969. (Plus I wanted to bump one of my favorite threads again).

I like the innocent view of the beautiful maiden on the bridge contrasted with the ominous, fearsome tiki above her right shoulder:

Sabu,

That's a great visual from the brochure, for sure.

This is a scene from the Aloft airline magazine.

DC

Sabu, that is one fantabulous picture. Love the lighting. The fearsome tiki looming over her is the winged tiki after it was moved into the indoor garden (and now stands in the outdoor garden). :down:

DC, the rest of the article please? :D What's the date on it? Sounds to me like early to mid '70s.

Sabu, one of my favorite threads too! That picture is amazing!! I agree with Rob, great lighting!

I'll add this picture posted on Facebook:

"Mr. and Mrs. Abinader were in for dinner last week from Virginia Beach and were kind enough to give us this nice picture of them on their honeymoon back in 1959. A beautiful photo of them at the front entrance of the Mai-Kai. They came back to celebrate their 50th Anniversary! What a beautiful couple!"

Besides being a nice picture from 1959, it is the only picture I have seen of the doors. Ron Licudine told me about the doors. They were mahogony and as you can see, they look like the vintage drink menu, with "Mai Kai" on one side and the cannibal trio on the other:

So, you walk up to the Mai-Kai and pull open these big doors and then sit down and you are handed this menu, that looks just like the doors you just walked through...

Fantastic! So, are these doors out there in storage?

Your key to Beachbum Berry's books. Login and start concocting!

[ Edited by: Swanky 2009-11-30 09:45 ]

Great find. Like the Lanai in San Mateo: There the carved door also became one of menu covers. Some Tiki temple doors (and door handles) really had some nice creative concepts. Trader Vic's S.F., the Chin Tiki...

And now we also know where the Traders Restaurant at the Aku Tiki Inn...
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=29385&forum=5&vpost=421637

...took its entrance door concept:

Meet the Chipmunk Cannibals! (also page 262 in Tiki Modern)
And yet another example how the Mai Kai really was the cradle of Florida East-coast Tiki and inspired others to follow its lead.

Great stuff. hhmmm.. a Tiki door and door handle thread maybe?

Great photo! Glad this thread is hoppin' again. I'll try to post something tonight!

Great thread!

What I have not seen and would like to see, is, some pictures of the Large Barney West tiki that fell last year?? There has to be some photos of it from "back in the day" (preferably in color if available)?

Sometimes I get the feeling folks get a little spoiled by the rich offerings of Tiki Central (and the 6 - 700 images in each of my books) and take them for granted. Let's not forget that until the 2000s, there was NOTHING out there! Every little vintage Tiki image is a jewel uncovered, a rare gift from the gods, an ephemeral testament that has survived the vagaries of time! You can't order them up, they come to us by diligence and sheer luck --just like Swanky meeting that couple and for the first time realizing that door/menu connection.
(This is not to be taken personal, oh valuable and honored contributor A.S., just me taking this opportunity to point something out that has been on my mind.)

On 2009-11-30 20:50, bigbrotiki wrote:
Sometimes I get the feeling folks get a little spoiled by the rich offerings of Tiki Central (and the 6 - 700 images in each of my books) and take them for granted.

You want to know how to fix that?

Shut down TC for a month. :)

Yes and no, there now are other sites with Tiki ephemera, and since "Google Images" you can order them up with the click of a button -to a point. This is not to deride the advances of the internet which have made "Tiki" a household search word, and which has led countless non-interested newbies to go and dig up Tiki ephemera -something that a handful of urban archeologists could not match. Though the efforts of a focused few in the field stand high above that. RAMBLE RAMBLE...

If I lived in or near Ft.Lauderdale,I would be living at the Mai Kai.Really one of
the oldest and still standing Tiki temples in the US, but you knew that already .
Long live the Mai Kai .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k4pjEunOz0

Bump ditty bump

Ok, I finally found this photo. This was taken in the 60's. Enjoy everyone. "Barney" is what they have begun to call him and he will be the focus of our pendant and mug this next Hukilau.

Okay, do I see an erect penis there or is it just some chance dark area. I was always told he originated with a penis, but I think it would be flacid...

Now that would have been be extremely forward for the 60s, a carving like that was reserved for the rumpus room, never "erected" in public areas. Maybe it is another animal symbolizing "it", like his nose being a lizard?

A lady at the bank I would go to said that
they knew one of the guys that did the the
Kahiki, and he gave them a tiki that could not be used
at the restaurant because of the package it had.
I think she said it had a man tiki on one side
and a girl tiki on the other.

I asked if she wanted to sell it.
But she did not.
Bet that tiki was mint!

Great pic's!!!

On 2009-12-07 09:25, Swanky wrote:
Okay, do I see an erect penis there or is it just some chance dark area. I was always told he originated with a penis, but I think it would be flacid...

Barney's just happy to see you Swanky! :wink:

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Wow - Thanks for posting that picture.

Big Bro - no offense taken. I understand that images are rare - I also understand that that are thousands of image NOT posted in people's collections and the forums are the best way to contact those people.

Now for another request... I am looking for details of the Face, head and features. There is a purpose for request and I will show that when I'm ready. For now more research is needed. Thanks

On 2009-12-08 08:53, Jeff Central wrote:

On 2009-12-07 09:25, Swanky wrote:
Okay, do I see an erect penis there or is it just some chance dark area. I was always told he originated with a penis, but I think it would be flacid...

Barney's just happy to see you Swanky! :wink:

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

The story is that "Barney" was rather well endowed upon his installation. At the time the Mai Kai was a mostly Adult-Centric operation being a Bar first and a restaurant second. It would have been very risqué (VERY) for the time, but being focused more on the adult population and under cover of him being presented as an Oceanic Artifact would have given the Mai Kai a whole lot of leeway to 'get away' with something so 'rude' by today's standards.

Sometime in the mid to late 70's Barney was neutered as it were. Some say the weather got the best of his little tiki, others say it was a cruel act to appease the more family-oriented crowd that was frequenting the place. Either way, no one seems to remember well enough (or seem to have any pictures) of how well endowed Barney may have been upon his installation, nor does anyone seem to remember when he may have lost that particular feature.

Don't know how much of the story is true and how much has been embellished by the retelling..... if nothing else it makes for entertaining story.

Tom, maybe I will send out a news about Barney for your project. Kevin Kidney has also asked for photos as - surprise - Barney will be the study of the Hukilau 2010 Official Mug. Kevin will sculpt it once again and Munktiki will produce it.

If ANYONE has photos, please post them here or send them to me directly. I sure would appreciate it.

And for a little eye candy for today....Check out this beauty snapped one one of the natural palms that used to be in the garden area of the A-Frame. And those glass doors you see in that photo used to open up so that you could enjoy the tropical nights.....

I don't doubt Barney had a penis in the begining, nor that it rotted off. Everyone who saw Barney recently could see that the crotch was very far gone. Obviously went early. I just can't tell if that is a skinny erect penis in that picture or not!

Am I right that West carved similar pieces and I have seen the images elsewhere or am I just recalling other images of this guy?

On 2009-12-09 09:37, Swanky wrote:
....it rotted off. Everyone who saw Barney recently could see that the crotch was very far gone...

..you know, the same thing happened to Gauguin....AND Leeteg!

On 2009-12-08 11:44, tiki_kiliki wrote:
Kevin Kidney has also asked for photos as - surprise - Barney will be the study of the Hukilau 2010 Official Mug. Kevin will sculpt it once again and Munktiki will produce it.

If ANYONE has photos, please post them here or send them to me directly. I sure would appreciate it.

Not sure if this helps anything - a photo we took of "Barney" from Hukilau 2006. Given the discussion above, I bumped up the gamma a bit to show any remaining detail for the poor guy's decrepit crotch, but I don't think that answers any questions.

Can't wait to see what Kevin does for a sculpt!

-Randy

absolutly fantastic thread. thanks to all for posting the great history in pics.

Randy, thanks so much for the detailed pic! I will certainly let Kevin know that you have posted this.

I can't wait to see his sculpt either!

Here are a couple more Barney photos, taken in April 2008, including a too-close-for-comfort view of his "crotch rot" ...

From the November 1959 issue of Esquire magazine. A one page of text and one full-page photo of a bartender pouring one of the flaming drinks at the Mai Kai. Also, the full, detailed recipe for the Moonkist Coconut:

"Although U.S. Route 1 is reputedly an artery hardened by mustard-smeared comestibles, two gentlemen arrived in Fort Lauderdale three years ago with a satchel full of money, and created a dining emporium in the near geographical center of Florida's Gold Coast. Les freres Jack and Robert Thornton, not yet aged thirty, indulged themselves in a million-dollar project which would have made Henry Flagler take pause. Equally removed from Worth Avenue and Key Biscayne, the Mai-Kai may well have been built in Polynesia—a sensation which the owners cherish. However, no small part of the current Fleetwood migration is triggered by atmospheric conditions as subtle as a tightly wrapped sarong.

To a region that is flagrantly chrome-cum-hibiscus, the Thorntons have imported koa, milo and monkey-pod wood for the elaborate interior structure, and counterpointed these textures with the art of Fujimoto and Askew. In deference to sun-drenched Florida, the island pulse is quickened by machine-driven rain sloshing against the windows of the Molokai Bar, while vagrant flames dance impo-tently from the midst of a giant coral-rock waterfall. But the muffled passion mood is not created solely by a decorator's taste for allegory, as edibles and potables must nourish that hedonic state.

For a restaurant which serves a thousand or more customers each evening, the Mai-Kai kitchen is remarkably uncluttered. Each meal is cooked to order, a feat possible not because of the simplicity of the fare, but because fourteen chefs work their cauldron magic simultaneously. Thirty-six standard dishes, such as Hong Shue Chicken, Water Chestnut Pork, Lotus Beef, and Mandarin Duck, come directly from the fire to the table in a two-minute lap. For those perverse observers who feel that Polynesian restaurants are nothing more than Cantonese cuisine minus neon lighting, Chef Kenny Lee stands ready to prepare a luau for guests who telephone their orders at least one week in advance. This ceremonial feast includes the traditional imu pig and wild orchid leis and costs just $150 without the extras—in all, an eminently fair price for ten diners.

Patrons are not permitted to mix their own drinks by chewing kava roots, but the spiritual concept of a luau is maintained with forty-eight rum concoctions, collected and in many instances originated by Mariano Licudine, the master mixologist. A dozen unseen bartenders juggling fifty-two kinds of rum and fruit extracts famed from Samoa to Singapore take his cabalistic direction with the precision of a Cape Canaveral fueling team. Consistent with Anglo-Polynesian patois, the drinks bear such names as Impatient Virgin and Shrunken Skull, which sheds no light on their ingredients but presumably is intended to disperse some social disorder.

Classic among Mai-Kai originals is the Mystery Bowl. At the ringing of a gong, this flaming concoction comes to the table in the hands of a hula-skirted maiden, and in a manner which would win applause from the Tahitians, among whom such inflammatory rhythms were born. The Mystery Bowl is a six-dollar drink, but it may adequately quench four to six straw-sipping customers. To those gentlemen who have sampled all the world's cane squeezings —from frosty elegance to fiery turbulence—Dr. Licudine prescribes his original Moonkist Coconut, now revealed for the first time:

Moonkist Coconut
Half ounce lime juice
Quarter ounce simple syrup
Quarter ounce honey
Quarter ounce Falernum
Half ounce coconut milk(fresh or powdered)
Three-quarter ounce West Indies rum
One and a half ounces Puerto Rican light rum
Three-quarter ounce Barbados rum
Two dashes Angostura Bitters
Put all the ingredients in a mixer with crushed ice; strain and serve cold in a topped coconut, or suitably attractive glass.

Awesome Sabu!

Great photo.
"Disneyland For Adults"!

Seems wrong that at some point somebody may have willfully neutered a tiki. Even Bob Barker might object to that.

You know... those old flaming Mai-Kai drink publicity photos, great as they are, always crack me up. I mean look at the size of that flame! Looks as if a rocket is blasting off. I think if there was that much flame, the servers would all be bald!

Thanks for the post Sabu. I know I've read this before, but I didn't recall the printing of that recipe. There's proof right there that falernum was once a big part of Mariano's arsenal.

On 2010-10-23 10:32, GatorRob wrote:
There's proof right there that falernum was once a big part of Mariano's arsenal.

Still is!

On 2010-10-23 00:13, Unga Bunga wrote:
Awesome Sabu!

Great photo.
"Disneyland For Adults"!

That dark space in front of the sign, is that the bird/tiki piece from the original postcard?

From a recent ebay auction. Small thatched building out front (no longer there) with the A frame in the background.

On 2011-01-25 03:29, GatorRob wrote:
From a recent ebay auction. Small thatched building out front (no longer there) with the A frame in the background.

Poor little hut. One of the casualties of the Hurricanes in 2005. It covered some of the water pipes and connections.

To give you a point of reference for that shot, the coral stand with the torches and fern-wood tiki is the edge of the drive way.

If you look just past the hut you will notice the thatching does not cover the entire roof line. The roof above what is now the inside gardens used to be windows to let in light. The inside gardens were like a small tropical rain forest.

Here is an interior shot from around the same time frame:

Looking from inside towards the street.

And the inside gardens under the part of the roof not thatched.

Those two photos and many more here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/maikai/

Great image. What a nice fern Tiki. This installation must have been new back then, or why would there be a press release and photo. It is more evidence that, no matter when the first Tiki was used as a logo and a word, the real over the top expansion of Tiki style to baroque levels happened in the early 60s. This is probably when George Nakashima and Florian Gabriel came out to work on the Mai Kai. The recent T.C. link to the 1962 L.A. restaurant guide confirms that date was also the year of the expansion of the Luau.

One thing to take notice of is the photo Kiliki posted at the bottom of page 5 of this thread. The fern wood tiki shown in her photo is perched on the same corner post as the tiki in this photo. I don't know which one came first though because we don't know the date of her photo. But I guess its another example of how the fern wood tikis just did not last long, especially when sitting out exposed like that.

Here's a side-by-side: