An application for my Urban Archaeologist Papers(Discovery of Un/little known Tiki Structure?)

I have been on a nerve wracking trip to Florida. My arrival date put me in two days before Hurricane Ivan was supposed to impact Florida. With its original landfall slated to hit St Petersburg dead center, I was less than looking forward to the visit.
Compound this with the knowledge that I was going to possibly say good bye to my father for the last time.

So I had no thoughts of anything but the solemn proceedings that lay ahead of me.

But in a quirk of life, a funny thing happened. From day one, a Mysterious building lay on my direct route to the VA Hospital.

I've run a database search, and haven't seen this place mentioned. Perhaps some area residents know about this establishment. But for a stressful trip, the thrill of discovery was something that could take my mind off of things if only for a few minutes each day.

So I present my application for my urban archaeology papers. And share with you

The Porpoise Pub.

http://home.earthlink.net/~tikigardener/porpoisepubua.htm

[ Edited by: TikiGardener on 2004-09-19 21:16 ]

[ Edited by: TikiGardener on 2004-09-19 23:01 ]

Damn. Talk about a find. I lived in that area for several years and never even sniffed that place. Great detective work!

What other businesses were nearby?

Very interesting, thanks for posting that.

Its on Seminole ( alt 19 ) and on the left side is an open lot that adjoins Lake Seminole. There are some boat trailers, and some guy parks his gardening trailer there.
The view of the lot on the other side was block by a ramshackle fence. It was your usual mix of stripmallitis all around.

The one thing that struck me was if Ivan had hit St Pete, this place would have been toast.

This place must have been as Large if not larger than Tiki Gardens.

Oh, just found this srticle on the book store.

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/12/22/news_pf/SouthPinellas/Serendipity_amid_the_.shtml

And this link has some images

http://www.recentpast.org/groups/treasure/images3.html

And here is a yahoo map page for it. I told the Barmaid to be on the look out for people in brightly colored polynesian shirts appearing looking for the tiki.

map

[ Edited by: TikiGardener on 2004-09-20 00:51 ]

How interesting is that, thanks for a great find.

Great detective work! Where did you come up with the copy of the brochure? Old print ads like that always help to bring these finds back to life. Nice job with the website.

There is hope for the rest of us urban archelogists. I'm sure there are still lots of undiscovered places to out there waiting to be found. In fact, I stumbeled across a new dingbat apartment complex here in Denver last week. No architectural elements on the building, just a woodem sign out front (Kon Tiki apts). You never know where or when you might stumble across a gem.

The barmaid gave me the photocopy.

Tg
http://www.exotic-tiki-gardens.com

Holy Crap!!!
I remember that place!
I used to live in that area and my mom used to take me there in the 70s and early 80s to buy books!
I remember it was dark and pretty nasty inside, kinds mildewy.
I forgot all about the Polynesian aspects of it! Never wandered around the yard, just went into the bookstore.
Wow, that brings back a few memories.
Glad to see it's still around...

Great stuff, TG. This sort of wacky roadside attarction is one of the reasons I love Florida so much. I'll have to check this out at some point. You have a great eye for spotting hidden tikis. Your Florida friends owe you for finding this.
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2004-09-20 08:42 ]

Wow! Nice work Tikigardener... What an unbelievable find....! I love it when you can explore the crumbling ruins of an old attraction...

Urban archeology licence granted!

Phenomenal job, TikiGardner!

Great persistence in following up on a hunch and a fleeting glimpse of tiki. Its un-Polynesian name of "The Porpoise Pub" probably kept it off the radar for so many of us tiki-history hunters. I often wonder how many more of these strangely-named Tiki locations there are out there, just waiting to be re-discovered. It gives one hope. You've had the honor of finding what we all look for - a forgotten Tiki bar. Good work! And thanks for memorializing it on your website for all to enjoy.

Sabu

The multi day discovery was honestly the best part. It helped me to have a little something to think about when things felt to be becoming to much. In comparison to the significance of the situation that has had me on a life numbing roller coaster that I hope no one ever has to go through, the discovery of this lost but extant Tiki remnant is so minor. But that small distraction was at least something other than grief that I could latch onto.

I may not post for a little bit. I have set my mind on an ambitious project. I have a stack of photos and albums from my fathers WWII service that I am going to scan and clean up the images so that they may be preserved. They contain a trove of amazing shots. Given the volume, I am going to be busy for a fair amount of time.

I will share some of the photos from his training ship ( USS DETROIT CL-8 ) and the CROSSING OF THE GRAND MERIDAN CEREMONY that took place on it in 1939. Neptunes Court is something to behold!

I'd like to say thanks to Tiki Central for being a great group of people.

And I have to go frame that Urban Archaeology License!

Take care people!
Be back in awhile...
TG
http://www.exotic-tiki-gardens.com

sad to hear you wont be posting for a while. I hope whatever it is that is keeping you lind of down works out, remember it always works out.

It's one thing to discover unknown Tiki bars in out the way places like Mexico and Europe, but quite another to find one in the US where Tiki archaeologists have scoured the land like botanists through the Galapagos islands.

A great find and excellent documentation!

Thanks for sharing it with us. This sort of thing is what makes Tiki Central such an incredible resource.
Trader Woody

the Tampa Tribune Website ran an article recently at

http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGB0T6JTF3E.html

This photo accompanied the print version...

Interesting photo Gardener! Have you gleaned any more info about this place since your original post?

Nothing yet. I contacted the Trib writer and asked them to pass on the website, and the tiki central url to the owners. So maybe I'll hear something back. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until I go back to Florida.

TG

TikiGardener,

I live about 20 mintues from the Porpoise. Let me know if there's any follow up I can do for you.
Thanks for the great find. I have a friend in Seminole and plan on hitting this place this week.

I write this at the base of this wonderful Tiki. We have named him Edgar. I have just restored the old tiki building over the last year. Thought you might like to see some new pic of the place. Saved the whole thing just in time and turned it back into the old style fl gift shop it was. I have carved some new tikis lots of coconut heads and am doing lots of palm weaving in this 50 year old Florida landmark. Will update site as things change for the better. Thanks coco lou

is the bookstore gone?

So am I getting this straight that a TCer bought the place?
Or a tiki from it?

CocoLou, help me figure it out, braddah.