Honolulu Tikis preserved- (lots of pictures on link)

I sent the below over to the MD/DC/VA Tiki page this morning, some of it may be considered 'local intrest' as TCers won't neccessarily know the names or some of the layout of what I'm talking about.

On the seven pleasures link, though- you'll find pictures of getting the two entryway Tikis down. Some of David and Anna, and the now emptied Honolulu. After some TLC, the poles will be finding a new home here at the Lounge of the Seven Pleasures.

If anyone has any information or even guesses on who the artist(s?) may have been or other details, please chime in! They're assumedly about 26 years old- if they were installed when Honolulu began.

Thanks!

(from the MD/DC/VA Tiki page's messageboards- http://www.marylanddctiki.com/marylandwelcome.htm)

Well as promised- one last 'update'. The final Aloha finally came for Mike and I yesterday. And I have someone out there to thank for it. I have no idea who- but whoever you are, let me begin by saying thank you! (And then continue over and over!)

So, the tale-

As I mentioned in my other post, I had recieved a final unexpected phone call from the Honolulu, a series of events unfolded which then led to one last trip down to VA.

As I said, we had bid on things in the auction from Ohio- so our bids were beyond blind, they were a shot in the dark. Well, Sandy called and said that someone else had won the outside entryway Tiki poles, (which we had also bid on), and another clamshell light, and the other person had decided not to take them. So as we had the next highest bid would we want them?

Naturally we said absolutely!!! on the poles. But feeling like we had already had such great luck I said the other light should go to someone else since we already had one. Call it Tiki Karma- I couldn't deal with us having two and someone else having none.

So the poles, well, we spent yesterday wrestling them loose from the building. I took lots of pictures and spent last night getting them up.

The entire final visit was even more sureal than the last. Honolulu looks very different now- as I'm sure you can imagine. We took a few pictures of it for those of you who want to see it. Yes, it's heartbreaking, and if you don't want to see it, I completely understand.

On the other hand, to see it so empty should also be a great inspiration to us all- because if Honolulu can emerge from the box they had to work with- Tiki can spring forth from ANYWHERE!

A few other last details; Ms. Chan took us on sort of a tour of the behind the scenes parts of the restaurant- it was a rabbit warren of small rooms, an office, the walk in refrigerator, hallways, it just kept going- much larger than we ever would have imagined.

I won't go into a lot of detail about the Tiki rescue as the pictures and thier tiny captions speak volumes of what it was like yesterday- all told it took about 4 hours to get them loose safely. All though that time we worked and every so often the Chans would come out and would help or keep us company so we spent some time learning little details.

For example- apparently the roof canopy used to be supported by four Tikis, but two kept getting bumped by cars parking- so eventually there were only two. And at one time the outside Tikis were brightly colored too!

When it was all over, we went inside to pay for the Tikis and Anna and her daughter went through and found us copies of each of their menus- including one of the ones from when they first opened and one of the handcolored cocktail menus. (All of which we need to scan and share.)

Over and over, we were both just overwhelmed by their kindness, their generousity, and how much anyone who was part of Honolulu is Ohana to them.

Honolulu may be gone, but the Chan's aloha spirit is still going strong!

So, without further ado- the pictures- http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/albums.php (click on the fifth album down, titled "Honolulu Tiki Preservation, & Final Aloha".

(I thought it was important to get these up ASAP in case any of you were driving past Honolulu and were worried by it's now Tikiless entry.)

[ Edited by: Sabina on 2004-04-28 05:30 ]

Sabina, your site's looking great. Thanks for sharing your pics and story.

Mahalo :)

Real simple design- pictures are everything- and bad photography at that- usually just spur of the moment snapshots. So go figure.

Congratulations Sabina;

It looks as if the local DC Tiki Central people were successful with getting the four carved faces tiki poles, as I was the winner for the two painted tiki posts located inside - the ones you walked by to get to the restrooms. I was actually in process of carrying my poles out to my waiting truck when Sabina walked in to pick up her first clamshell light. I'll try to post some pictures later of my poles - they are similar to Sabina's , except they are painted in bright, primary colors.

It took less of an effort to get my two painted posts out away from the building - perhaps less than a half hour of total effort.

The two poles inside did not have any concrete pads underneath - they were supported by additional ordinary wooden support poles buried one to two feet underground. The bottom of my poles were also rotted away - I ended up sawing off about 8 inches of rotted wood on each. I still have not figured out the precise loaction to place my new poles, nor of how to get them upright and keep them from falling down.

I'm pretty sure the other two poles (with abstract patterns) went to some local persons (non-Tiki Central) who also purchased the Honolulu bar and some other items - apparantly they will be trying to capture much of the look and feel of the Honolulu in their own basement bar.

Vern

Way to go you guys! Glad to see the Honolulu's tikis are staying in the family. The prices were too high for me, and the distance too great. Good for you!!!
KG

Way to go you two. As Vern said it's great that these went to TC Ohana. Karma works.

Sabina, thanks for posting those pics. They remind me of the Kahiki salvage pics posted a few years back. I'm glad the tikis are going to a good home where they will be preserved and appreciated. Will you be restoring them?

Oh, Sabina!

Those are wonderful pics, especially David and his family at the end, "Honolulu's not a building." Beautiful. Also nice were your shots of the place in full swing. It's funny, because I kept half-expecting to see myself in the photos, even though you and I were never there at the same time! But whenever I see Vern, Carroll, Christopher et al lined up at a big table there, I am immediately transported back there, to happy happy dinners with wonderful people.

And congratulations to you and ikitnrev for getting the big daddies! I am SO happy they stayed 'in the family' (and that I'll get to 'visit' them again some day!)

I am so VERY lucky I got to see that wonderful place, and more than once. It reminds me to hurry up and see as many tiki treasures as possible; one never knows which will be the next to fall.

Congrats on your adoption of the "twins".
Based on personal experience with our namesake, I am certain that anyone who goes to that much effort to aquire a vintage tiki,
will surely also do a first rate job of restoring them. Thanks for sharing your photos with us and we look forward to seeing more as you progress with their installation into the lounge of the 7 pleasures.

Yup- planning as full a restoration as possible. I'm not sure whether we'll try to restore the colors or leave it at plain wood- guess it'll depend what they are under all that, from the looks of 'em they could almost be telephone pole Tikis, though.

Perhaps we should pour sacrificial bottles of rum over them- hmmmmmmmmmm.

We're also not sure whether they'll actually fit into the relatively low basement ceiling yet- we haven't measured yet, or whether we'll have to do some drastic rebuilding of our house to keep them sheltered and safe.

For now, keeping them from destruction and stablizing them indoors is the priority.

I will post pictures of instalation and them in their new homes once we get there. Like Vern, we're looking at the engineering on them- but we have the additional problems of termite and water damage and the external coats of paint.

Again thanks everyone- glad the pictures reminded you of good Honolulu times and made people feel happy about the Tikis being saved. We were so afraid we wouldn't be able to get the down and they'd be destroyed!

Glad to see the Honolulu relics are going to deserving homes! I wish I had bid on something but those high prices scared me off! Sabina, excellent documentation on the doorway tikis liberation!

Here are the pictures of my Honolulu tiki poles. Obviously, these and Sabina's poles were done by the same carver. The main difference is that mine, which were inside, still have their primary paint colors, while Sabina's were painted brown.

They now stand about 7 feet 8 inches tall, and weigh about 75 pounds each.

If you look closely, you will see that the poles had cracked lenghtwise, and they were resealed with a white putty, and then painted over.

The unpainted scuff marks at nose level were where the bamboo rails for one of the booths was attached.

The bottom portions were rotted away, and the one on the left showed some signs of past termite/insect damage. These were the 8 inch portions that I sawed off.

and these were the bottom of the posts afterwards. Obviousy, the one on the right is in better shape.

The Chans did say that the Honolulu did have some termite problems after suffering some water drainage problems in past years, but regular visits by an exterminator eliminated the problem.

I will keep my fingers crossed that there are no more problems with live termites inside .... I'd like to preserve these as much as I can.

Vern

You guys are completly nuts! Whatever gave you the idea that any of this mattered!!? :)

Great work, Sabina and Vern. Sabina, I have to admit I had not perused your site until now, but what a thrill! I had heard so much about Vera's White Sands, but never seen any images, and now I feel like I have been there! I would say that, judging by the lamps and that one long nose Moai, some of the decor came from the Sea and Jungle store. That shell outrigger is insane! You know, even if this place would close tomorrow, it is at least preserved in some form now, thanks to you.

Regarding the Honululu Tikis, I don't know the carver, but they are definitely from Orchids Of Hawaii catalogue, like the ones at the Hawaii Fountain, Chan's Dragon Inn, and Tiki Port (in "Locating Tiki"). I never liked the colors, but I have to differentiate an earlier statement. Since these are made of wood, and from the 70s (not the fiberglass casts from the 80s), they are from the late phase of the Tiki period, and not yet examples of the Tiki devolution of the 80s. And anyway, since they have been imbued with all the mana and ohana of the Honululu, they are shining examples of Polynesian Pop now!

On 2004-04-28 11:02, 8FT Tiki wrote:
Congrats on your adoption of the "twins".

Adoption? Nah, their 'parents' said they were 26 years old- time to move away from home! :)

On 2004-04-29 02:52, bigbrotiki wrote:
Sabina, I have to admit I had not perused your site until now, but what a thrill! I had heard so much about Vera's White Sands, but never seen any images, and now I feel like I have been there! I would say that, judging by the lamps and that one long nose Moai, some of the decor came from the Sea and Jungle store. That shell outrigger is insane! You know, even if this place would close tomorrow, it is at least preserved in some form now, thanks to you.

Careful, we try not to say 'could close tomarrow' around here. Vera's could very well close soon- so we try not to jinx it. In order to undo that I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to down a mai-tai while proclaiming loudly 'Vera's will live on forever!'

I've actually been thinking we should try to get together a weekend and have people see it while they still can. And there's still much documentation to be done, for example I don't have any good pictures of her magnificent horseshoe bar area. But yes, the outrigger is absolutely unreal!

The other thing about her decor is that since she spent time traveling- yachting and traveling around the world many of the things are little pieces she's picked up over the years- utterly unique to her.

The other thing about Vera's is it comes from a part of Maryland that just feels like a slower pace of life- boating and fishing is everything here.

Which is why despite the fact that the Solomon's Island tiki bar (not Vera's) opening every spring is a zoo and involves more beer than rum, we forgive it- because it just makes such perfect sense for where it is and who frequents it.

As for the Tiki carver of the Honolulu Tikis- I suspected they were related to the ones at Chan's and perhaps some from the find in Pittsburgh- so Orchids makes perfect sense. Thank you! I guess they're sort of that last gasp before the devolution kicks in.

RIGHT ON SABINA!!!!! just added your site to my favorite list!

Aloha

This is a photo that I can fantasize about.
Bringing home my first tikis.

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-05-11 21:57 ]

Unga Bunga,

I'm sure your time will come :) Just hope you don't have to get yours the way we got ours- at the 'cost' of Honolulu itself. Far better to find long 'lost' Tikis, or garage sale Tikis, or treasures that had been tucked away in an attic for 30 years...

But yes, for that one magickal day, we had a 'tiki transporter' of our own- and they just barely fit inside!