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save a tiki from lat. 20 |
Surfinannie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 13, 2004
Posts: 16
From: Annie Ellis
|  Posted: 2005-07-02 10:21 pm Permalink
Latitude 20 was a Restaurant in Las Vegas that my father, Richard M. Ellis, designed, interior decorated AND carved the Tikis that are there still. When the owners sold it, they called my father who went up and got alot of interior items, but the new Owners wanted to keep the two Tikis he had carved outside. My father was taught to carve by Andy Bumatai in the early 50's. My family would love to rescue those Tikis and get them back in the family. I have posted on here before but my post did not go up..Maybe I am doing it wrong, but if anyone has any info. on this I would be extremely grateful. Otto had emailed me, but I did not get it until today. In all of Tiki Central, my mom and I hope there is someone who knows how we can retrieve these Tikis or if someone already has. Appreciate any info. ASAP. Thankyou! Annie Ellis
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10558
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-07-03 09:35 am Permalink
Annie, I hope you will have the luck to get these back. If anybody deserves these most, it is your family.
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Surfinannie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 13, 2004
Posts: 16
From: Annie Ellis
| Posted: 2005-07-03 11:38 am Permalink
Just got the whole story from my mother re: Latitude 20. There was an original Lat.20 in Torrance. Hop Luie Woo, owner, then moved to Vegas and wanted to have one there. My father did many Restaurants for Hop Luie, in Vegas, Florida, and over seas. He carved all the Tikis at all the Restaurants, and ones at Hop Louies house, etc. When Hop Luie died Minnie Woo, his wife, changed the name to Madam Woos, and changed the whole flare of the Restaurant. She called my father who went up with a moving truck and got tons of stuff out of the interior. ie: Old carved ships wheels etc. She wanted to keep the Tikis. There is a Restaurant in LA that was Hop Louies also, named after him, "Hop Louies". It passed on tho the nephew who I have now left a message for to see if we can't track down who owns the property. Hop Louie was all a Senior V.P. at Caesars Palace for Foreign Relations. He would go to Hong Kong, China, etc. and bring in big wigs from over there to gamble! He was also V.P. of ALL the Treasure Islands all over Biscain Bay, etc. So there is a little history on all the Latitude 20's. If anyone can help me get these Tikis back I would appreciate it. The pole Tiki in the picture under MrSmiley's listing, is almost identical to one my dad carved for our house 50 years ago, I have a picture of it, as it rotted. If any of you would like to see my dad's Tikis, Look in "The Book of Tiki" by Sven, on page250 the three at the left corner are all my fathers. Andy Bumatay taught my dad to carve in early 1950's. Sven mistakingly put that ANDY(Andres-liked to be called Andy by the way!)which he knows now were my dad's. The Tiki on the left of the three still is in perfect condition at my mother's house here in Malibu, CA. (His name is The Silent Man)The Tiki MUG, was made from one of my dad's Tikis, and is another story. My mother would KILL for one of those, if any of you Tiki Mug collectors have one and want to sell it!! My # are 310-457-2366 or 310-980-7200. Mr Smiley,Seamus, Kiara can you contact me??
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Surfinannie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 13, 2004
Posts: 16
From: Annie Ellis
| Posted: 2005-07-03 11:44 am Permalink
i called Sven at home, he is out of town for another month, so I emailed him. I have put in a call to Building and Safety in Vegas, have left a message for Hop Louies nephew....My mom thinks the property may still be in the Woo family, all the sisters live in San Fran, trying to track them down...I have emailed Otto, but gotten no reply, yet. Thanks for any and all help on my dads Tikis. Peace, Love, Annie Ellis
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Surfinannie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 13, 2004
Posts: 16
From: Annie Ellis
| Posted: 2005-07-03 11:47 am Permalink
Sorry about the capitals used...i am not yelling...just excited.......very emotional about my fathers Tikis. Thanks, won't do all caps anymore!Surfinannie
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2005-07-03 11:50 am Permalink
Wow! Thanks for all this fantastic history, Surfinannie. If I can think of some way I can help, I will, in the meantime, I sure am rooting for you.
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DawnTiki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Sep 01, 2002
Posts: 1673
From: next stop Hulaville!
| Posted: 2005-07-03 1:41 pm Permalink
Now I wish I hadn't listened to my Mom, she talked me out of going and trying to salvage the tiki. If I had, I would have been proud to have been able to have helped get him back to where he belongs, with your Mom. If it's been taken, I hope somehow it finds its way back to your family. Best of luck and thanks for sharing some of your special family memories and history with us.
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Doctor Z
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 01, 2002
Posts: 1603
From: The Hale Moana Lounge, Torrance, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-03 2:18 pm Permalink
Y'know, the TikiPugs live there in Vegas - I wonder if they're on to this yet. (If'n any body can wrangle a big tiki out of a place, it's TikiPug himself!!)
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3153
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2005-07-05 11:51 am Permalink
Yes, as Otto's friend discovered the Tiki is gone from the old Lat. 20. I hope someone enjoys it!
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Surfinannie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 13, 2004
Posts: 16
From: Annie Ellis
| Posted: 2005-07-05 8:58 pm Permalink
Want to thank all for help on recovering the Tikis at the Old Lat. 20. Thank you Mr. Smiley for the phone call. I actually tracked down Hop Louie's (the old owner who my dad carved all the Tikis for) daughter. She put me in touch with a Mr Hamato who owned the property. He informed me he would have been glad to give me the Tiki my dad had carved but that it had been taken. Oh well, I tried. Hope whoever got it enjoys it in good health. My father always believed in never removing a Tiki unless in the proper way, so I wanted to go the legal route as Mr. Smiley had said. But life goes on and I got leads in the interum of other Tikis of his that I will check out. All the best to you all.Annie
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paranoid123
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 13, 2002
Posts: 374
From: New York City
| Posted: 2005-07-08 11:06 am Permalink
I just read this post for the first time. I just found out today, while talking to my dad that my great-uncle Hop Louie actually owned a bunch of tiki restaurants at one time or another, including this Latitude 20 in Vegas (and I found out through this thread, not my dad!!). But anyway, I left a small related story on this thread:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=15483&forum=1&3
I'm sorry that Annie couldn't get the tikis back to her mom, but I hope they've found a good home.
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Tiki Lee's
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 23, 2003
Posts: 772
From: Las Vegas
| Posted: 2007-09-15 01:12 am Permalink
Aloha!
I just found this thread while looking for some "ethical rules" for saving doomed tikis. Any help on THAT subject would be appreciated as I can't seem to find any threads that deal with that question yet.
Anyway, I know that this is a long dead thread and any stirring up the long settled muck may prove to be a mistake, but I know who took one of the two tikis from Hamada's/Latitude 20. It did not go to any antique mall to be sold, rather it was "saved" by a tiki fan and is now proudly displayed in his backyard.
Now, here's my ethical dilemma; I hate this guy because he ripped me off and betrayed my trust. Do I tattle on him? Or is that bad karma because of the reason I'd be tattling? Is Annie still around and would it be beneficial to get her hopes up again that she might actually be able to legally wrangle the tiki from this guy who I know will not give it up without a fight?
Thoughts and comments please!
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Bongo Bungalow
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 20, 2007
Posts: 1226
From: Indiana
| Posted: 2007-09-15 04:32 am Permalink
You confront the guy with the facts. If he coughs them up- good! If he doesn't- you walk away.
I had a situation like this with a carved walking stick I made. It was stolen. A year later I see a guy with that very walking stick. So I say to the guy, "What a unique walking stick you've got there!" And described every detail of the carvings, the meanings, etc., without having to look at the stick itself. He was taken aback. I told him that I knew it well because I carved it myself, and described exactly how and when it was stolen from me, then I shut up. After a long pause, the guy says, "Well, is your name on it?" I COULDA SLUGGED HIM! But, I didn't, I walked away. I can live without that carving, but I wonder how well he lives with himself.
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10558
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2007-09-15 07:41 am Permalink
Here's my personal rules on that:
1.) It is taboo to field collect artifacts from a site, however dilapidated, that is still in operation, or in turnaround to become a new gathering place to hail Tiki (the latter might be difficult to assess).
2.) Only after trying to make contact, and only when convinced that there is total ignorance of the value of Tiki artifacts, and that because of that they are threatened by extinction, is it OK to "save" a piece of Polynesian pop history.
3.) It is selfish to "protect" the knowledge of such site from other interested parties...yet understandable. But in my opinion, the more preservationists know about a threatened property, the better is the chance for something to survive. The need to "own" it should be secondary.
4.) It is pointless to seek to right wrongs that are committed against these rules, people have to live with themselves, Tiki temple theft more than likely yields bad luck Tikis!
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