Outrigger Club, Ardmore, OK (restaurant)

Name:Outrigger Club
Type:restaurant
Street:1212 Commerce Street
City:Ardmore
State:OK
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
I picked up the great postcard from the Outrigger Club restaurant that was located at the Clayton House Motel in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

There is a separate thread about this place but most of the pics are small or gone, so I thought I would combine everything here in the Locating Tiki forum.

Close ups of the Tikis and the A frame entrance

Here are some additional images of the menu and the matchbook from this great old 60's place.

The hotel must have changed names from the Clayton House Motel to the Rio Motor Hotel later on as that is what is listed on the matchbook and the menu. The matchbook also lists another location in Oklahoma City.

The place is still there and is the Economy Inn, although the current website is not operational so I don't know if it is open.

Google street view

Photos posted from a visit by fellow TCer Kilikopela. Cool to see the A frame is still there.

DC

Yes! One of the greatest tiki postcards out there, in my opinion, and very hard to find. You lucky dog!

Here's their website:

http://www.economyinnok.com/

But at this moment I can't get any of the links to work.
I hope it's not my computer.

Great postcard, great menu! The photos of how the place looks today remind me of "The Volcano" in Florida. Amazing the entrance A-frame, the bridge and the waterfall mound are still there. Wonder if the original operators are still around.

I always thought that postcard was as great as a representation of Tiki style as it can be...almost, that is:

This images got everything: Tikis, a lava rock waterfall feeding a moat that is traversed by a bridge, an A-frame with a fishnet float hanging from its center, Tiki torches ablaze, the entrance crowned by a Witco mask... we all can see that.

Yep!: WE can see that, but can the layman? I have hesitated using this gem because its lack of clarity. To the Tikiphile, it's a dream come true, but to the novice it must be perplexing: Too many things in the frame with their geography not clear.

But nevermind, since this board is for Tikiphiles, let's talk about some Tiki esoterics concerning this postcard:

I wonder how many more Milan Guanko Tikis made it all the way out to Oklahoma to this place! Those two are fine examples of his "Frightened Tiki" style, here are some more:

at the Royal Hawaiian, Laguna Beach

unknown apartment with Guanko Tikis, Ontario

Kapu Kai bowling alley post (middle)

Kapu Kai doors

This particular design also always reminded me of my favorite Tiki bowl Tiki:

Sven,

Your back! Thanks for adding all of those pics of the great Milan Guanko Tikis.

DC

The Clayton House Motel also had a nice tiki holding up the sign out front.

Oh jeez, what a great sign! That Tiki looks like it is kind of a half-face, flat like the sign, doesn't it?

Sabu,

Great postcard. I just found one of those on ebay and the seller had another postcard showing the pool area with a nice Tiki hut and some lava rock features. You can also see the sign and the Tiki out front.

Will post some better pics when it arrives.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-11-23 12:17 ]

Sad to say, that pool is no longer there. I went to their site and it looks incomplete as many of the links don't work, but the important one did, the photos:

http://prosearchplus.com/tour/economyinnardmoreok/

Both panoramic and gallery images work. Sadly, the place has been horribly renovated with cheap hotel furniture, but if we are in the area and need to stop for the night, I'm getting the jacuzzi suite! The lounge chair in the rooms look nice though.

DC: Yes, please zoom in on the sign in the background when you get the card, from this angle the Tiki actually looks full figure.

Adding the unique, hard-to-find mugs from this location:

BigBro I think that Tiki is a full figure 3D tiki. Wonder what happened to it?

Great additions Sabu, the Fog Cutter mugs are interesting.

Here are three pics from the site. Poor quality since they wont let you cut and paste. I did the old photograph the computer screen trick.

Here are close ups of the front and back of the Tiki, it looks pretty three dimensional to me.

DC

Another nice dinner menu from the Outrigger Club from ebay.

I love the promo line at the top of the menu:

Appetites will rage never fear in a Polynesian atmosphere.

DC

I wish I had those mugs and bowl, Wendy

Spotted a postcard from the Outrigger Club at the Rio Motel in Oklahoma City. Some great Goggie signage.

Wonder what the inside looked like?

DC

Interesting. The chevron and overlapping trapezoid sign resembles the one used for the Capri motels in Joplin, MO, Lawton, OK, and Oklahoma City, OK, as well as the Sands Motel in Tulsa and the Flamingo motel in Elk City, OK. I wonder if there was a common ownership or just a case of regional sign copy-catting. All are lost as far as I know except for the Joplin Capri sign which is being disassembled by a collector, the motel having just been razed this month.

And I just found this: http://www.66postcards.com/postcards/ok/OK070750.html

On 2013-04-19 18:53, Dustycajun wrote:
Spotted a postcard from the Outrigger Club at the Rio Motel in Oklahoma City. Some great Goggie signage.

Wonder what the inside looked like?

DC

[ Edited by: tikijackalope 2013-04-28 01:45 ]

I picked up a few more postcards from the Rio/Clayton House Motel.

The motel with the Tiki and that great sign.

The Tiki pool hut.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2015-05-09 07:28 ]