What Great Tiki Finds Are Left To Be Found?

Is a question I find myself contemplating today and for the past few weekends as I prepare to begin another quest for searching for an unknown tiki treasure?

What is left out there that we have not seen? Not just mugs (although mugs are probably the most collected items on Tiki Central).

What is tucked away in a box or stored away in a warehouse? What is fabled, but not been proven?

The Erwin velvet I picked up last Sunday was from an estate of a Stockton antique dealer. She had put this and several others into storage and they had not seen the light of day in many, many years.

How many more items like this are hidden away?

What should we be looking for? What imagined or really great tiki items have been lost and not found?

What would or are you looking for that you have never seen before, except maybe in a picture or something you heard about?

What is left??

Later,

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2010-07-16 07:55 ]

The "Art forms of the Pacific" mural by Miguel Covarrubias! Something I would really love to look at on this lifetime...

To me, the last great finds are vintage "home" photos of both famous and obscure Tiki businesses. I'm guessing there's a wealth of content sitting in shoeboxes and photo albums in people's closets and attics.

What did the Tiki Lounge in Mar Vista Bowl look like ?? How about Pieces of Eight in Marina Del Rey ??

Those vintage photos of the Tonga Hut that I saw recently were great. I want more !!

Good question. I haven't got a clue as to what is left to be found out there. That's why I keep hunting as often as I can because you just never know.

When Seattle's Polynesia was literally moved off of pier 51 with a crane in 1981 the bulk of the 1961 restaurant's interior was stored away somewhere in Seattle. Builder and owner David Cohn was hoping to relocate the building and restore the Polynesia to its full glory. That never happened, the building was burned for fire department practice. When I spoke with Cohn in 2002 he couldn't recall where the interior contents had been stored.

It's highly likely it was all dumped or sold in a scrap sale but I like to think there's some dusty unused loft in one of the many old warehouses in south Seattle...

that sounds ....like a fun treasure hunt and a nice dream. ya never know I found one of the big Witco tikis from the front of the building right here in the hood.

Of course I know. I'm very remembery.

How about vintage recordings made inside Polynesian restaurants like this one.....

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=37133&forum=11&2

There's got to be more out there!!

I also know that Kim Tsoy and the Sauce put out an album recorded at the Luau Hut in Washington, D.C. Mega Rare!!!!!

How about more recordings by Arnie, the Singing Bartender!!

That's the stuff I'm looking for!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2010-07-16 09:35, woofmutt wrote:
Builder and owner David Cohn was hoping to relocate the building and restore the Polynesia to its full glory. It's highly likely it was all dumped or sold in a scrap sale but I like to think there's some dusty unused loft in one of the many old warehouses in south Seattle...

Strange coincidence: The guy who owned the recently closed MR Tiki in San Diego is named David Cohn. He owns a bunch of restaurants down here. Started his restaurant empire in San Diego in 1982...(same time frame as when the Polynesian was lifted away)

Seattle or San Diego: Will the real David Cohn please stand up?

I heard all the Mr Tiki stuff is in a warehouse now. Maybe even the same warehouse Woofmutt's looking for.

Buzzy Out!

ooOOoo even more intriguing.

My dream find is a bit esoteric, but here it is anyway.

Some years ago I got to talking with a retired broadcaster in a restaurant here, called Hugo Manson. He used to appear a lot on NZ TV and radio in the 70s/80s. He was telling me about his first trip to New Caledonia, and this eccentric hermit bohemian he met who lived on Anse Vata beach. This was back in the days before the Anse Vata was turned into the Waikiki of New Caledonia, and it was still just a sleepy bay beyond the city limits of Noumea.

This was also back in the days when France's leader was President de Gaulle. Now this bohemian friend of Hugo's hated de Gaulle. He thought he was a pompous old twit, so he went around looking for coconuts shaped like de Gaulle's head, carved them into wicked caricatures of the President, and mounted them on sticks all along the wooded drive leading up to his bungalow. It used to annoy the hell out of the local Gaullists.

I dream that one day, somewhere, I will find one or more of those coconuts....

CN

I worked for David Cohn in San Diego at his World Famous Corvette Diner...also the T-Bird Diner in Escondido...I did some work at the Galaxy Grille in Horton Plaza too...I even DJ'd car shows at the original restaurant that started it all for David & Leslie Cohn, Rory's Hot Dogs in Mission Valley.

I've not heard of him doing anything in Seattle, but it wouldn't surprise me, I think he owns most of the San Diego uptown, downtown and bay area...LOL! He even had a couple of Haagen-Daz stores!

He used to throw the best Bowl-O-Rama employee Christmas parties...he threw one bowling ball a year and it was always a strike! A great man and a great friend!

I'm sure there's plenty left to be found, I drive all over the greater L.A./O.C. area and am constantly noticing the remaining bits of tiki/googie in the most unexpected places...a building that has been repurposed, an apartment complex, hotels and houses...it's everywhere if you're on the look-out for it!

Keep on Rockin',

Ken

http://www.djken.com

(714) 686-8397
A Budhist walks up to a hotdog vendor and says "Make me one with everything".

[ Edited by: DJKen 2010-07-17 00:55 ]

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but this finding this film is something that a lot of people hope for:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=14762&forum=1&11

This should help clarify the David Cohn confusion.

Tuesday, September 9, 2003

David L. Cohn, Dead At 85: Restaurant empire included the Met

By PENELOPE CORCORAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER RESTAURANT CRITIC

Longtime Seattle restaurateur David L. Cohn, chairman of the board of Consolidated Restaurants Inc., died yesterday at Swedish Medical Center's First Hill Campus in Seattle after suffering a heart attack a week ago. He was 85.

A key community figure credited with helping bring professional big-league stadium sports to Seattle, Cohn served as a member of the University of Washington's Board of Regents and president of the Restaurants Association of Washington.

He started his lengthy and successful Seattle hospitality career in 1951, when he opened the Barb on Seneca Street across from what is now the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.

Over the next three decades, Cohn built his portfolio of properties into the largest group of single-owner operated restaurants in the Pacific Northwest.

Run by son Ron Cohn since 1983, Consolidated Restaurants' current roster of notable restaurants includes the Metropolitan Grill, Elliott's Oyster House, Union Square Grill and DC's Grill, as well as casual eateries Steamers Seafood Cafe and Quincy's Chargrilled Burgers.

Until earlier this year, the company owned Hiram's at the Locks.

An avid tennis player who often played five times a week as recently as this summer, Cohn attended Indiana University on a basketball scholarship after achieving recognition as a prep school hoops star in Indianapolis.

He left a successful Midwest food-brokerage business to move to Seattle.

In addition to multiple Barb locations, over the years Cohn's other restaurants have included the Polynesia, the Tivoli Haus at the Seattle Center, the Carriage Inn, the Cove, the Meat Market, two Windjammer restaurants and the Abigail's chain.

Also, the Jet Diner in the Northern Life Tower, the Sir Loin (which eventually became Majestic Short-Order Deluxe) in Lake Forest Park, the Conquistador Southcenter and Sammamish's Coconut Beach Grill.

Cohn and his wife, Ruth, residents of Mercer Island, were married in 1943. They have two sons, Ron and Steve.

Sadly, this is 2010, so I think most items have been found, or have been lost.
The goal is to preserve the existing, to the extent we can.
I haven't gotten over the loss of Tahiti, in LA with the fireplace to rival Kahiki, the loss of Taboo Cove at the Venetian in Vegas, the loss of Mr. Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge in San Diego, or the Hawaaian Hut or Hawaiiana Hotel in Waikiki. All of these existed as recently as 10 years ago.

On 2010-07-17 09:38, christiki295 wrote:
Sadly, this is 2010, so I think most items have been found, or have been lost.

I think that is incorrect. Every day people are still coming across 1 of a kind items or items that don't pop up that often.

Duane I would not even sweat it...whatever is left to be found I am sure you will be the one to uncover it!

I agree. Just look at all the great Barney West photos that JonPaul unearthed for his Tiki Magazine article. Just because he dug a little deeper. I am always hoping for veterans of the style, be it artists or restaurateurs, to come out of the woodwork and share their material. At this point, it's likely going to be their descendants, but there are still many untapped sources out there.

Just a while ago I heard from a TC member who had found the wife of the now deceased artist who sculpted the Leilani Wisconsin Tikis. I am still hopeful she will respond to our interest.

A year or so ago Mo-Eye got on a Florida newspaper archive kick and unearthed not only amazing articles about Tiki Gardens, but also other, previously unheard-of restaurants and Tiki artists, opening our eyes to the lost and under-appreciated Tiki world of the Florida Gulf Coast.

I personally would like to know more about:

The owners of Christian's Hut, and why they wandered from place to place, including Waikiki --and how the character of the Goof came about.

And the Tiki- life of Ren Clark. Even after the amazing find of his home bar, it is still an enduring mystery.

I am also always hopeful for photo-album finds, though most of the time family snapshots, just like restaurant photo folders, feature the people and rarely the decor. I believe that Polynesian show performers and musicians might still yield some finds, there were so many.

The only thing I am worried about is that the dedicated Tiki archeologists are a dying breed. With the BOT being out of print now for years, the understanding of the context and history of original Tiki culture is more and more replaced by Tiki revival stuff and the single-minded search for drunken fun -Yeah yeah, nothing wrong with that, blah blah, ha haaa.....but you know what I mean.

I agree with John-O and Bigbro on hoping for more photo album finds, also more blueprints and concept sketches.
• What did the exterior of the Mainlander in St. Louis look like?
• What was the entrance to Ren Clark's Polynesian Village inside the Western Hills Hotel like?
• Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!! (Please read in a Yul Brynner The King and I accent)

To me, the thrill of the chase is to find items from places that have not been documented before. They are still out there, like this postcard I found last year from the Hawaiian I with Milan Guanko Tikis.

Next up is archival news photo documentation on places that have little or no info to date. There's lots of information just waiting to be found. The internet is churning up more and more of this stuff, and the historical sites are an untapped resource (such JP's Barney West article referenced by Sven, Abstractiki's Islander bank photos, and Uncle Trav's research). I recently got this old news photo showing the exterior of the Junkanoo in DC - this stuff can be found!

The personal home photos are also on the A list. Some recent favorites include the old photos that Luau Hut posted from her mom's restaurants in Washington DC and the Bahamas, the Tonga Hut photos, the photos that Abstractiki found from the Islander in Stockton, and Sabu's photos from the Kon Tiki in Hawaii.

I vote for the vast untapped resource point of view - there is a treasure trove of swag just waiting to be uncovered.

DC

Aloha,

• Bigbrotiki wrote:*
  The only thing I am worried about is that the dedicated Tiki archeologists are a dying breed. With the BOT being out of print now for years, the understanding of the context and history of original Tiki culture is more and more replaced by Tiki revival stuff and the single-minded search for drunken fun -Yeah yeah, nothing wrong with that, blah blah, ha haaa.....but you know what I mean.

BOT may be out of print Sven, but there are hard cover copies in every public library in Hawaii (and I suspect other countries and states.) I think what has really happened is that in many cases, the internet has allowed discovery to accelerate to a very fast and dizzying rate. Even the most dedicated (and casual) Tiki archeologist is entitled to a little fun, (before and) after posting a clue that may lead to a greater discovery. Perhaps that answer will not come right away but further down the road in the hazy future.

On 2010-07-17 12:48, Dustycajun wrote:
To me, the thrill of the chase is to find items from places that have not been documented before. I vote for the vast untapped resource point of view - there is a treasure trove of swag just waiting to be uncovered.

I agree. The primary source material is the best to draw upon. I also thrill to the excitment of the chase and their eventual connection to the bigger picture.

I consider the "History Detectives," "Pawn Shop," and "American Pickers" television programs all to be the kissing cousins of the "Antique Roadshow." These programs have shown that people like to know what they have, and (of course) what it's worth. As long as that is a base instinct in humanity, many finds (tiki and otherwise) will be made contributing to the larger understanding of it all.

My friends have a home tiki bar and a six year old. He knows what tiki is, even if he doesn't understand the context. Yet.

There is always the entire contents of the London Mayfair Beachcomber still to be found, stored somewhere in blighty.

crypto mug--islander coffee grog by spurlin. just keep looking and it will find you!!

On this week's episode of "American Pickers" on the History Channel, Mike and Frank came across a vintage 1940's era hula lamp. The base was a hula dancer and when the lamp was plugged in and turned on, the hips gyrated ! And this lamp was found in, of all places, my own backyard: Kansas !

You can see the episode for yourself on-line right now. And you won't believe how much they paid for the lamp and how much they resold it for. . . .

http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers

Close but no cigar, Baron Von.

Yes, vintage Hula Girl lamps are tres cool but they are NOT Tiki-style. That is the focus of this thread.

:)

Let's not forget Benzart's twenty-year+ reunion last week regarding Ben and a selection of Las Vegas Tropicana resort tikis he carved...amazing story and photos posted elsewhere. G

Due to money constraints, I passed on buying this tiki at a recent estate sale...

I probably should have popped for this and I am starting to have regrets. I am sure this Milan Guanko tiki found a good home.

Sigh, can't have it all!

PTD

On 2010-10-05 07:36, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
Due to money constraints....
Sigh, can't have it all!

Truer words were never spoken! Thanks for the photo of that baby, it's a beaute. I know, there are some that got away (like the carved Maori box owned by Artie Shaw sold at his estate sale here a couple of years ago...)

It also helps to remind oneself that it is not only about OWNING the Tiki treasures that are out there, it is finding them and sharing them and adding to the VIRTUAL world of Tiki, enjoying them vicariously. The recent discovery of the Wonder Lodge in Bakersfield is such an example, a tremendous thrill even if we one does not own a mug or Tiki from it, it is a true FIND:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=37765&forum=2&25

I have to agree with Sven it’s finding out that places like the “Wonder Lodge” existed, who knows how many more just go under the radar, it is always inspiring to see something pop up out of (seemingly) no where.
PTD don’t regret it too much, I don’t think that carving is a Guanko, I dare say it looks like a much more recent effort.

Bosko

On 2010-10-05 07:36, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
Due to money constraints, I passed on buying this tiki at a recent estate sale...

Admit it - you spent the money on the iron ducks instead! Priorities...

-Randy

On 2010-07-28 09:20, JOHN-O wrote:
Close but no cigar, Baron Von.

Yes, vintage Hula Girl lamps are tres cool but they are NOT Tiki-style. That is the focus of this thread.

:)

Au contraire my friend. I don't see why vintage Hawaiiana like a hula lamp should be excluded?

On 2010-10-05 07:36, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
Due to money constraints, I passed on buying this tiki at a recent estate sale...

I probably should have popped for this and I am starting to have regrets. I am sure this Milan Guanko tiki found a good home.

Sigh, can't have it all!

PTD

Gee Duane, you should have asked me. Maybe I had the cash for that (or not).

That big trove of tikis in Philly that I got several years ago happened because of some good tips, etc. from the ohana here on TC. I still wonder what happened with that giant Barney West tiki those people in NY were trying to sell last year?

Moai in the house!

[ Edited by: rugbymatt 2010-10-05 10:32 ]

On 2010-10-05 10:31, rugbymatt wrote:
... I still wonder what happened with that giant Barney West tiki those people in NY were trying to sell last year?

Queen K purchased it and it now resides in Palm Desert.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20143&forum=18&vpost=536032

On 2010-10-05 10:48, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2010-10-05 10:31, rugbymatt wrote:
... I still wonder what happened with that giant Barney West tiki those people in NY were trying to sell last year?

Queen K purchased it and it now resides in Palm Desert.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20143&forum=18&vpost=536032

Glad to hear it went to a good home.

"That big trove of tikis in Philly that I got several years ago happened because of some good tips, etc. from the ohana here on TC"

How soon they forget.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=24802&forum=5

When the first extraterrestrials make their presence known, publicly, and they are rum-swilling, exotica-digging, peaceful, fun-loving, jovial, good-looking, social folks...

...and the men are in tropical shirts and trunks, the ladies in pareos around their hips...

...and the spaceship has Tiki bar decour.

And instead of saying, "Take me to your leader," they proclaim, "Mahalo."