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Tiki Archeology - The Aloha Lounge |
Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
|  Posted: 2003-01-14 5:55 pm Permalink
Fellow Brethren,
Last week I made one of those finds that as a postcard collector, is as sweet to me as those Steve Crane mugs are to you mug collectors - An actual family photo that someone took in front of an old Tiki Bar back in the day. And better yet, it's a place I've never heard of before - the ALOHA LOUNGE. It's a small black & white kodak photo, but I've enlarged it here.
Unfortunately, there are absolutely no identifying marks on this picture. No writing on the back, no date-stamp, no address or street names in the photo itself. A complete mystery to me.
Based on the shorts and the haircut, I would guess this dates from the 1970s or slightly earlier. Would you agree? Also, it has the feel of a California or Florida location to me. The pilings might indicate a bar that takes it's decor from a nearby ocean. That's just my feeling though. It just doesn't look Hawaii to me, but I could be wrong.
Big-bro, is this another Andres Bumatay tiki?
If it is, then what states did he sell his tikis in? The tiki looks so sharp and freshly-carved. It might give a clue as to when the photo was taken.
There's another tiki panel on the door to the right of the young man:
Does anybody recognize it, or know the maker?
I searched the internet a bit and came up with a couple "Aloha Lounges", but none of them look likely to me. Still, I haven't seen them mentioned here on Tiki Central, so here are the links. Maybe some of you can check them out:
First, THE ALOHA LOUNGE - "New York City's original gay lounge. Often imitated, never duplicated":
http://www.glounge.com/feature/events/pride/alohaLounge.html
http://www.glounge.com/feature/events/pride/luau.html
 
Then there's the stunning ALOHA LOUNGE at the Camelot Resort hotel in North Bay, Ontario. Have any of you Canadians visited this place yet?
http://www.camelotresort.ca/pool.htm
And finally, the ALOHA LOUNGE at the Outrigger Reef hotel in Waikiki. (Have you ever been here, Gecko?):
http://www.restaurantswaikiki.com/Aloha_Lounge.htm
But I'm going to hazard a wild guess that none of these places are the ALOHA LOUNGE pictured in my photo.
The photo looks great in my postcard album nonetheless, and I'm ecstatic to own it, but if any of you can help me identify it exactly, then I'd be even happier. Thanks for the help.
Sabu
[ This Message was edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-10-29 00:02 ]
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cynfulcynner
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 1800
From: Ocean Beach, San Francisco
| Posted: 2003-01-14 6:04 pm Permalink
Who's the guy in the picture?
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2003-01-14 6:10 pm Permalink
Again, I have no idea. I purchased this from a dealer in old photos and he didn't remember where it came from either.
Sabu
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Basement Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2002
Posts: 3587
From: Jawja Province, Isle of North America
| Posted: 2003-01-14 6:46 pm Permalink
I'd give the little finger of my right hand to the cleaver for abs like that gay guy on the far right...
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10560
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2003-01-14 7:58 pm Permalink
GREAT picture. That's exactly the kind of amateur snaps I am looking for, too....
How does one GET to them!? Knock on people's doors?
Can't you click/zoom like in "Bladerunner" into the payphone on the left and get the address?
I am quite certain that that FANTASTIC Tiki was carved by Andres Bumatay (BOT p 250)
The best way to go about this place is ask the two wise men at Oceanic Arts, cause that place (and the guy!) looks very South Cal.
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Tiki Diablo
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jun 24, 2002
Posts: 1888
From: socal
| Posted: 2003-01-14 8:09 pm Permalink
Hey there Sabu, It kind of looks like this place was at some beachfront hotel. Can you see a logo or something on the phone booth? Maybe I watch too much CSI.
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2003-01-14 8:51 pm Permalink
Chiki,
If I blow the photo up very large, I can clearly read the word "TELEPHONE" across the top of the pay-phone. Any other smaller writing or logos are all washed out in the sunlight. (I watch a lot of CSI too).
Quote:
| I'd give the little finger of my right hand to the cleaver for abs like that gay guy on the far right... |
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Amen to that, Kahuna!
Sabu
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2003-01-17 2:33 pm Permalink
There was also...
Aloha Motel, 445 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ
Hukilau Island Grill / Aloha Lounge, 16th & O, Sacramento, CA
Aloha, Coral Gables, FL
Aloha Kai, 7329 Quivira Rd., Shawnee, KS (913) 962-8828
Aloha, Route 53, Hingham (south of Boston off of Rt. 3), MA
Jimmy Lums Aloha Lounge, 429 S. Dort Hwy., Flint, MI
Aloha, The, Rochester, NY
Aloha Taste Of Hawaii, 7133 A S. Yale, Tulsa, OK
Aloha Room, The Heathman Hotel at 731 SW Salmon, Portland, OR
Restaurant Aloha, 78 ouest de Martigny, St. Jerome, QC
Aloha Hut, Washington, DC
...any of these places could have had an attatched "Aloha Lounge"
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emspace
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 05, 2003
Posts: 875
From: Vancouver
| Posted: 2003-01-17 2:43 pm Permalink
Ah, Canadian Polynesia! My wife is from Ontario, I know she vacationed near that area as a kid, and I'm gonna ask her about Camelot as soon as she gets home from work. It may not be the place, but damn, what a nice lounge!
aloha,
emspace.
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2003-01-17 2:51 pm Permalink
The real treat is the Camelot Resort photo. That's one fab-looking bar.... How long did that last?!? And where does the hanging chair fall into today's Tiki world?
Thanks Sabu, once again we must bow down to some truly fascinating research.
Trader Woody
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Traitor Vic
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 02, 2003
Posts: 428
From: Greenville, SC
| Posted: 2003-01-17 3:07 pm Permalink
I'm not sure how the Hanging Chair has fit into Tiki Lounge Decor traditionally, but it looks like it might be time to create a new tradition, doesn't it? Wow! I haven't seen one of those in a while. And to think... In 1968 I probably could've bought 'em at the "World Bazaar" for about $30 a piece. Of course my Mom would've wondered why I was spending all of my allowance to buy a new chair every few months...
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2003-01-17 3:24 pm Permalink
Thanks, James, for all the tips. I'm going to agree with Chiki on this one - the building in the background looks like a hotel, so it appears the bar is part of some kind of beachfront hotel/resort.
Woody - As far as I can tell, the Camelot in Ontario is a currently-operating resort, and the photo is current as well. That's why I was curious to see if anyone has visited it recently. That lounge is very tantalizing.
I'm going to take the photo to Oceanic Arts per Bigbro's suggestion. Probably take a long lunch sometime next week. I'll let you all know the results.
Sabu
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2003-01-17 3:38 pm Permalink
Traitor,
You must have heard of those hanging chairs with an odd little hole at the base....
Strange tales have been told about the use of such chairs and for those of us that 'flowered' in the 80's, perhaps 90's, it all seems sadly exotic. "They really smoked that much reefer? Got laid all the time? And then sat down on a hanging seat waiting for the next lay, beer, or puff of pot?"
These wonderfully designed but usually poorly-executed chairs ended up being a kick up the pants to the squares. While the bands provided the tunes to get down to, furniture design provided the curves, curiosity and downright eroticism that helped accentuate the thrust of 60's/70's sexuality that allowed so many of us Tiki-philes to be alive today.
Trader Woody
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Geeky Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 15, 2002
Posts: 533
From: Las vegas
| Posted: 2003-01-17 4:20 pm Permalink
Hmmmmm, CSI, eh?
Probably afternoon rather than morning, sun shining onto the hotel's windows, which would make those West Coast shadows rather than East Coast, eh?
Casual dress, I agree that it seems very likely near a beach. he does not appear to be wearing socks or shoes.
The car to his left looks about, what, late '60s' into mid 70's?
Haircut kinda mid-early 70's? Seems to predate feathering.
Parking lot is out front, so not directly a beachfront place.
Wood/Bamboo slats on hotel railing looks very Hawaiian, maybe deep SoCal. The wood looks a little dry and sun bleached, so maybe more likely Cali than the Islands.
Can you see sunlight/window in the back? Doesn't seem to be deep enough into the building to have a window that close. Maybe just a "room on each side of a hall" type motel/hotel?
Also, the hotel seems to be only a two story.
We need Sherlock Tiki!
[ This Message was edited by: Geeky Tiki on 2003-01-17 16:40 ]
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PiPhiRho
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 977
From: Redondo Beach
| Posted: 2003-01-17 4:27 pm Permalink
Seeing that photo I was reminded of the entrance to the Malibu Don the Beachcomber, which was part of a small beachfront hotel. It has been so long since I have been there (it closed in 1986 or right around then) that I don't have a good recollection of the tiki in front. I don't know the history of that location. Could there have been an older tiki lounge there before it was taken over by Don? Certainly possible, but I can't say for sure.
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