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South Pacific Polynesian Restaurant & Gardens, Hallandale, FL (restaurant) |
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
|  Posted: 2010-06-06 4:35 pm Permalink
Nibblegribitz,
I am calling you NB from now on. Again, thanks for sharing all of your Florida history, sound like your have some stories to tell! Would love to hear more about your experiences during the hey-day of Florida tiki and see some family photos.
I came across this menu that confirms the South Pacific morphed into the Sun Wah Imperial, they used the same cover and drink images.
DC
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nibblegribitz
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 30, 2008
Posts: 29 | Posted: 2010-06-10 7:09 pm Permalink
Next on the list of 'wanna be' was the Luau Restaunt on the 79th St Causeway, Miami Beach.
That's where I got my first job playing Polynesian music and being in a show.
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2011-03-30 8:18 pm Permalink
A nice early photo of the South Pacific from flickr.
Cool surfboard sign.
Close up of the tower.
DC
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TikiTomD
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Sep 20, 2009
Posts: 629
From: Flagler Beach, FL
| Posted: 2012-01-01 7:46 pm Permalink
Last night at Ohana Luau’s New Year’s Eve Party in the Hawaiian Inn (Daytona Beach Shores, FL), Wailana McFall shared several family photos. Wailana leads the group of Polynesian performers there called “Silhouettes of Polynesia.” Her dad was Prince Benjamin Pokii Hele Loa I Ko Aina Kelii Waiwaiole, an actual member of the Hawaiian royalty before statehood. He organized and led a group of performers called “Silhouettes of the Tropics” that appeared mainly at the Bali Hai on Northport, Long Island, but also elsewhere, including at the Hawaiian Inn in Daytona Beach and at the South Pacific in Hallandale, Florida. In this photo, he is sitting with his family inside the South Pacific, circa 1966...
Wailana, about 2 years old, is shown sitting in front of her mother, Darlene Dawn Wharton Waiwaiole, on the left. I met Wailana’s mother last night and she gave me the information for this photo. Sitting on her father’s lap is her brother, Kelii. A step-sister is on the right.
Here is an old ad for the South Pacific...
The Miami News August 3, 1963 (page 35)
This note from the Google News archives indicates that the South Pacific opened in December of 1959...
The Miami News November 15, 1959 (page 54)
This article suggests it closed in May of 1975 (didn’t find any evidence that it reopened)...
The Miami News May 7, 1975 (page 32)
Hollywood stars evidently dined there, as in this article...
The Miami News November 5, 1964 (page 18)
Beautiful young ladies served in the South Pacific...
The Miami News March 2, 1961 (page 13)
-Tom
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2012-01-02 09:55 am Permalink
Very interesting, Tom. Maybe with time you can find more material, and post it in the Polynesian Floor Show thread:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=41154&forum=1
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2012-03-03 09:33 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-03-08 11:48, Dustycajun wrote:
The back of the Sun Wah matchbook lists another location in Boynton Beach, Fl. Wonder if that one had any Poly Pop going on? Have not heard of it before.
DC
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To answer my own question, I found this ad for the Sun Wah in Boynton Beach that showed some polynesian drink imagery.
DC
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2012-06-11 4:03 pm Permalink
Picked up this slightly different oversized postcard from the South Pacific.
It has this funny cartoon Tiki and a decidedly Chinese looking dinning room.
Also saw this ad from the South Pacific online
With a fuzzy photo of another one of the dinning rooms.
The mural on the right in the photo looks like the waterfall on the menu.
And last, a souvenir photo from Arkiva Tropika showing a great scene in another room.
I love the middle-aged woman on the right side holding what appears to be a GIANT keg-o-rum coconut drink!
DC
[ This Message was edited by: Dustycajun 2012-06-11 16:05 ]
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TikiTomD
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Sep 20, 2009
Posts: 629
From: Flagler Beach, FL
| Posted: 2012-06-26 10:16 am Permalink
Nice work, DC, on correlating available information regarding the South Pacific mural!
I found this South Pacific ad in the Google news archive that corroborates the information I previously posted on Prince Pokii ("Prince Pokki" in the ad) as an entertainer at the South Pacific, including the timeframe...
The Miami News May 31, 1966
Quote:
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On 2012-01-01 19:46, TikiTomD wrote:
Last night at Ohana Luau’s New Year’s Eve Party in the Hawaiian Inn (Daytona Beach Shores, FL), Wailana McFall shared several family photos. Wailana leads the group of Polynesian performers there called “Silhouettes of Polynesia.” Her dad was Prince Benjamin Pokii Hele Loa I Ko Aina Kelii Waiwaiole, an actual member of the Hawaiian royalty before statehood. He organized and led a group of performers called “Silhouettes of the Tropics” that appeared mainly at the Bali Hai on Northport, Long Island, but also elsewhere, including at the Hawaiian Inn in Daytona Beach and at the South Pacific in Hallandale, Florida. In this photo, he is sitting with his family inside the South Pacific, circa 1966...
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-Tom
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TikiTomD
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Sep 20, 2009
Posts: 629
From: Flagler Beach, FL
| Posted: 2012-07-15 6:34 pm Permalink
The following South Pacific ad establishes the opening date of this Polynesian restaurant as December 25, 1959. Note the Maori Tiki in the ad whose origins were discussed earlier in this thread by bigbrotiki...
The Miami News December 24, 1959 (page 51)
The second part of the ad underscores the extent of Mai-Kai influences alluded to in the earlier posts of bigbrotiki, Kailuageoff, Dustycajun and nibblegribitz...
Quote:
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On 2005-02-04 21:13, bigbrotiki wrote:
My my, that was quite a place. A rambling group of huts and structures, it was obviously inspired by the nearby Mai Kai (like every other Polynesian joint in the area).
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From the second part of the ad, we can see that the South Pacific architect and the Mai-Kai architect were one and the same, Charles McKirahan...
-Tom
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2012-12-07 4:30 pm Permalink
Just in time for the Holidays, a Christmas Day Luau buffet with a Hawaiian floor show from the South Pacific.
DC
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2013-01-16 8:56 pm Permalink
I managed to find a Miami Beach guide book that had the South Pacific ad I posted earlier. Some better scans:
The renderings.
Photo of the sign. I had never seen the figure of the carved Maori Tiki at the foot of the South Pacific sign before. And what is that little character with hat to his left?
The dining room with that waterfall mural. The waiter on the back left looks like the same guy from the Mai Kai card posted earlier.
The entertainment.
A nice historical ad.
DC
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