Polynesian Murals and Dioramas - Vintage & Other

What a great thread! Thanks to Hiphipahula for bumping this up today to get some more interest, I missed this post the first time around. Here are some more murals from my postcard collection.

I will start with some oldies.

This is the Tropics Cocktail Lounge in the Hotel Phillips in Kansas City

The Bamboo Cabana Room at the Hotel Windemere in Santa Monica

The Beachcomber Bar at the Osprey Hotel, New Jersey

Next a couple from the classic establishments.

Don the Beachcomber at the St. Paul Hilton

The Surfboard Bar at the Mai Kai.

Next a few unusual places.

Bar at the China Royal (Chinese-Polynesian Cuisine) in Denville, New Jersey

The Pacific Hut, with locations in Brockton and Burlington Mass.

Benny Chan's Polynesian Restaurant in Salt Lake City.

Here is a more abstract mural from the Fiji Island restaurant in Maumee Ohio

Don't know if I mentioned this before, but, the scene in the Surf Bar at the Mai Kai once moved. It had some sort of scene that slowly changed from morning, through the day to night or something. I'm not sure of the details. I'll see if I can find out. I wish there were som ebetter images of it.

Look at the freakin' pineapple bar stools at the surfboard Bar, how cool are those!

Swanky,

I had never heard that story about the changing scene behind the Surfboard Bar at the Mai Kai. That would be great if you could post some more information and or pictures of that, it sounds very cool.

The Mai-Kai surfboard bar mural is right behind these people. Unfortunately, you still can't really see much of it.

According to Tiki Kiliki (who probably got it from the family), it was "an animated scenery complete with Tikis, huts and dancers - at nightfall stars would appear and the entire wall would be lit as if in the moonlight."

Pretty cool, huh? Wish it was still there.

I am not so sure about the animation part, but the "Nightfall effect" was a common concept in Tiki Bar murals, -the Hawaii Kai, the Kona Cove, the Kona Kai....a lot of them had these colored lighting dimming effects, going from overall bright sunny day, to orange sunsets, and then to blue night lighting. The stars were either little point lights that were dimmed up, or, beginning in the 60s, some places incorporated black light paint in their murals which would only highlight certain details once the "day" lighting was dimmed and the "night" black light came on. -Who here knows WHEN black light was first used like that? What year did Disneyland's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" open?

Wow! I love what appears to be vinyl tuck and roll cushioned siding on that piano at the Bamboo Cabana Room at the Hotel Windemere in Santa Monica!

Got word back from Annie about the Surfboard Bar diorama. She didn't recall anything moving, but just said it was very elaborate and had a lake with actual water that once kept a rat alive a bit before it was caught.

So how come the Beachcomber Bar at the Osprey Hotel, New Jersey....

...uses the same character in its mural than Heilman's Beachcomber in Clearwater Beach Florida on its matches?:

I was only able to use the sign in the BOT:

I love the slogan inside the matchbook :) :

Maybe! The bar at the Osprey Hotel was probably run by Heilman's Restaurant Inc.

Bigbro,

Very interesting indeed. I had never made the Beachcomber connection before. Here is the back of the card from the Osprey. Pretty cool in that you wrote down the name of your "Mixologist" and your "Entertainer" and then sent to card off as an advertisement. There is no mention of the Heilmans ownership on the back however.

Even more interesting, and fitting for this thread, is the mural from the Heilmans Beachcomber. If you look closely, you see our mysterious running sailor man again! Coincidence??

Regarding bigbrotiki's post on black light paint in murals...
I'm not sure when it started, but the Tower Theater here in Fresno has black light murals painted by Anthony Heinsbergen back in 1939. So the technique goes back at least that far.

Wow, that's early! Are you certain the black light touches were not added later to it? I always thought that black light was developed by the Army in WWII, and that any public application of it did not happen until after the war. But I might be wrong.

I double checked one of my architecture books - it actually credits the theater's architect, S. Charles Lee, with using black light paint as a decorative element. As far as theaters go, he first used it at the Academy Theater - which I think is in Inglewood. Not sure who else would have been using it at the time.

Here's a postcard for the Hurricane Motor Lodge located in Marathon Florida ca. 1970. Nothing to get worked up about but a nice couple of murals. Thanks.

UncleTrav,

Nice card. Love that old sign out front and a ship in the parking lot - wow! It also looks like there is a liquor store attached? I like those umbrellas on the ceiling - maybe Bongofury could slap a light kit on something like that. Does it say what the name of the Hawaiian lounge is?

DC

Dusty. Kinda bad quality to this card, the only thing I see on the side of the building is Hurricane. This may have been the name of the lounge as well. I did a search and found zero the place must be long gone by now. Thanks

Be forewarned, this may be about my longest post ever, and very picture intensive, but you've hit on one of my favourite topics. Dioramas, particularly those that change night to day, or have elements such as the thunderstorms that would "rain" alongside your table in places such as the Kahiki are an absolute inspiration to me.

Murals also add that extra special touch that make a place really sing. I love seeing them across the room, or peeking out from behind tiki poles, as you'll see below in my picture from Sam's. I also love what lightboxes can do when worked into a space with care, as you'll see in my pictures from the Honolulu, it's a very different style from say the lightboxes at Chan's Dragon Inn in New Jersey or the Bali Hai in Massachusetts.

As my home bar is named for the lounge that was once part of the Hawaii Kai, we'll start there-

These treasures are pulled from an oversized postcard we scanned and enlarged from the Hawaii Kai in New York City (you can find the original here-http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/Hawaii-Kai) the descriptions are from the back of the card. Somewhere, perhaps in the cookbook, I have a written description of the diorama behind the bar but it's not at my fingertips at the moment.

"The Waikiki Outdoor Waterfalls: Overflowing with the exotic flowers of the Islands"

Note the diorama enticing foot traffic in off the street.

And the lovely diorama behind the bar, making a pleasant place to sit and "look out the window" while sipping a cocktail.

(Is it just me or is there a mannequin's torso hanging strangely above the bartender?)

"The Okole Maluna Bar with Diamond Head diorama: Scenes from Dawn to Dusk in realistically colorful settings"

Here's a sadly inadequate picture of the mural from Cheng's Pacific Restaurant that closed recently in Virginia:

A few treasures that were preserved despite repainting in the Men's washroom at the Waldorf hotel in Vancouver:

and

they provide quite the contrast to to more upscale murals in the other rooms of the Waldorf. Others have been already been covered in the thread, but I wanted to pull these two photos of the Savage mural from the Polynesian room for you:

Also note the "fishtank" dioramas built into the wall:

Blacklight lovelies from the Alibi in Portland, Oregon:

Foreground fading into murals at the former Sam's Seafood in Huntington Beach, CA (Now Kona):

and Sam's murals

and note the Tiki

From Sam's bar, look to the back wall

going directly to the back

Glimpses into the Royal Hawaiian's former indoor/outdoor glassed in spaces in Laguna Beach, CA, such as at the back of the room here-

or here-

or here-

Lightbox murals from the now gone Honolulu in Virgina, created by the Chan's daughter-

and the full effect, looking from one end of the restaurant towards the other, with another lightbox mural at the far end glowing softly behind the decor-

Mural from the outside of Vera's White Sands near Lusby, Maryland (now Vera's beach club)

with the artist's signature-

The mural survives, but clearly with the shift to "beach club" certain things have shall we say "changed"

if you think that's Tiki-gone-awry, the new murals inside are even more confusing

none the less many artifacts from Vera's day survive, but I digress... .

(We now return you to your regularly scheduled content.)

Here's a small tucked away Tiki mural painted on a door from the Islander that was once in Seattle, Washington

Check in at the Hawaiian Inn Daytona Beach, Florida-

Outrigger mural in the lobby

close up, note how the doorway to the elevators becomes a thatch hut

And finally just another of the many murals around the property, Wahine's bidding you Aloha!

For good measure, here's one of the other Hawaiian Inn murals. This one is in the indoor pool area...

Sabina,

Thanks for that extensive post.

DC

I am still looking for detailed images of the moving diorama that was in the Mai Kai Surf Bar. I have many stories of it from the old timers. It turned from day to night and the moon came across the sky too.

Nice stuff Sabina!

WOW! Great stuff, Sabina. Thanks for the effort!

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2009-02-17 18:17 ]

Great thread.
Thanks Sabina.
I always liked the dioramas at the Royal Hawaiian.
For some reason, being glassed in just made them cooler.
Anyone have anymore of RH's dioramas? (I mean before the demise.)

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga 2009-02-17 19:37 ]

Here's a shout out to anyone in Honolulu with a camera that wants to (quite possibly) be the only one to document and preserve (in some form) the incredible '50s era mural painted in classic Hawaiian kitsch, covering a main wall inside the Bowl-O-Drome on Isenberg St., in Mo'ili'ili, near Waikiki.
The alley has been closed for years, owned by Kamehameha Schools, with entry access very rare if not indeed impossible now, for safety/letigeous reasons.

But it's worth the effort. It will be gone before long, as the wrecking ball is inevitable and over due.

It depicts the royal family and court out for fun and games in the mountain lushness, playing a form of bowling, while fish are being caught in a nearby stream for the up-coming feast, and rascal menehune snatch the catch away. Classic stuff.

Thanks everyone. Just wish I had better pix.

I'm still on that quest to find the written description of the Hawaii Kai's Okole Maluna Bar Diamond Head diorama.

Good thread.

Late add from a funny colored hotel in the middle of the Pacific. After a few cocktails on an island, who cares what color the hotel is! :)

bump

ther is a really nicely done night scene in the Lava longe in Seattle. anybody have a picture of that?

Honolulu Harry's Chino California

The Yankee Clipper in Ft. Lauderdale, besides having the Wreck Bar & the Polynesian Room, also had the Polynesian Lounge with naugahyde drum stools and a great mural. The spiral designs on the cieling beam really set the mural off perfectly. Could that be Thor Heyerdahl on that stool, flirting with another man's date?

Hey all! I am wanting to do a diorama in my home bar using the layered glass method like the Kona Kai. I was wondering if anybody had specs/glass spacing info/lighting tips/etc... any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tropicale. Palm Springs.

This mural didn't come out of a bar, but a naval base! About 7 years ago Sneakytiki posted that in the mid 90's , when he was stationed in Bremerton WA, it was in the base library. It was first in the enlisted mens center but though it was approved in 1941, it's subject matter, shore leave hijinks, was no longer palatable there when it was revealed in 1942. The artist was Ernest Norling and I found it moved about 4 blocks to the Kitsap Museum. It's about 17'x5'.

and some detail..

a little hard to get good shots that high up on a conference room wall. The original mural was twice as long, with the second half similar subject matter set in the arctic or Alaska. If anyone is interested I could I could post them also.
aloha tikicoma

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On 2007-02-23 08:34, The Granite Tiki wrote:
Murals at South Pacific in Newton, MA

Are these still here now?
Spectacular!

On 2007-02-23 08:34, The Granite Tiki wrote:
Murals at South Pacific in Newton, MA

Are these still here now?
Spectacular!

On 2007-02-23 23:00, puamana wrote:
Here's a few examples, starting with some early views of murals from
places past:

Curry's, Miami Beach :

Curry's was located at 7433 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33141. It seems to still be vacant-is this possible after all these 7 odd years? Someone needs to check it out! Are the murals still there?

On 2011-06-07 23:49, mrsmiley wrote:

On 2007-02-23 23:00, puamana wrote:
Here's a few examples, starting with some early views of murals from
places past:

Curry's, Miami Beach :

Curry's was located at 7433 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33141. It seems to still be vacant-is this possible after all these 7 odd years? Someone needs to check it out! Are the murals still there?

Entirely possible. Google maps shows a single story structure which is entirely boarded-up, and forgotten by time. It is located closer to Sunny Isles & Bal Harbour, not South Beach, so it is not in the red-hot entertainment district, where developers would be more inclined to invest.

Does anyone have a picture of the mural that was in the Hilo Hattie (now gone) at the block in Orange. It was in the room with all the mens aloha shirts. I used to admire it everytime i went in there.

Aloha,

The Bowlodrome on Oahu HAS finally been documented.

The details are here.

---

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-01-27 23:52 ]

Mass. Guess!

Picked up this old postcard showing the Hawaiian Dining Room at the Old Hearst Ranch in Pleasanton, CA

The mural is from a Matson menu.

Back of the card describes the exotic dishes brought back from the South Sea Islands.

The really decked the place out in bamboo.

DC

On 2012-11-12 21:09, Dustycajun wrote:
Picked up this old postcard showing the Hawaiian Dining Room at the Old Hearst Ranch in Pleasanton, CA

The mural is from a Matson menu.

Back of the card describes the exotic dishes brought back from the South Sea Islands.

The really decked the place out in bamboo.

DC

Learning something new on TC every other day!: I knew and have been to Hearst Castle and its surrounding lands, but never heard of this place. apparently, it was a very popular tourist destination at some point:

Being a recreational place, it apparently shared California's early affinity to the Pacific islands:

...and now DC's postcard find proves again that at some point, hardly any Californian hospitality business could avoid being part of the Polynesian craze - even a "dude ranch" :)

DC, since it's in your neighborhood, have you been?

Here are a few murals from Adrift, a newer bar in Denver, CO. These are from http://www.critiki.com and their facebook page. I'll try and take some pictures next time I'm down there.

...and my favorite

GREAT Thread!!!!!
I've seen great Tiki murals on film in the background. Always wanted to know if they are real and where they come from and I've learn a lot from you tikiphiles on Tiki Central and from this thread. For fun I'ld like to post some screen captures of these murals shortly but first I like to reply to TikiTie above. Your favorite mural above is actually a copy of one of my favorite South Seas or Tiki movie promo images and for sure the best image of Brando's "Mutiny". We have the same taste TikiTie. Here are a couple of posters of the film. All European which usual make the best versions of film posters.

Spanish 1 sheet:

Italian 4 sheet (my favorite):

Smaller Italian film poster with color promo photograph from the studio of which is the inspiration or original of the paintings.

[ Edited by: creativenative 2013-02-11 20:07 ]

[ Edited by: creativenative 2013-02-11 20:12 ]

Here's some screen captures of my favorite mural, the Eugene Savage mixed painting from different Matson cruise lines menus found in the Waldorf Vancouver. Anybody know if this was a repaint by Savage or by someone else? Today with a computer someone can combine the paintings and reprint it but I don't know how old this mural is.

Here in CHIPWRECKED:

In everyone's favorite Tiki movie to hate, THE EXPERTS with Travolta who married part Hawaiian beauty Kelly Preston:

and in THE PLEDGE here with Aaron Eckhart:

[ Edited by: creativenative 2013-02-12 00:02 ]

[ Edited by: creativenative 2013-02-12 00:17 ]

Eugene Savage, not Salvage.

Good catch Grog. How embarrassing. Better salvage my post and edit now .