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The King Kamehameha Tiki House, Sedalia, MO (other) |
harro
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Sep 05, 2005
Posts: 672
From: Australia / Argentina
|  Posted: 2008-02-04 09:15 am Permalink
awesome story and perfect photos and explanations to match!! well done silverlines and 8ft.
so is it ever used? What did the owners think of your investigation and what plans do they have for the place?
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10561
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-02-04 09:34 am Permalink
They should get a copy of Tiki Modern to see what a fine tradition their A-frame perpetuates. Maybe that way you can wow the owners into sharing some of the old photos and material with you. It usually worked with the BOT, the initial "what do these weirdos want?" attitude was replaced by smiling recognition and appreciative comprehension. .....I wonder if it was ever used for Shriners meetings!
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Johnny Dollar
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 2916
From: Baltimore, Maryland, PNG
| Posted: 2008-02-05 11:24 am Permalink
amazing!
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mymotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 18, 2007
Posts: 454
From: Bellingham WA
| Posted: 2008-02-05 5:31 pm Permalink
What a gem! I hope we can have a tiki event there. That place looks like fun.
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Tikisgrl
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2005
Posts: 861
From: Lowell, Mass
| Posted: 2008-02-05 6:01 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-02-04 09:15, harro wrote:
awesome story and perfect photos and explanations to match!! well done silverlines and 8ft.
so is it ever used? What did the owners think of your investigation and what plans do they have for the place?
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Can we come over for a barbecue? Seriously, is it for rent? What Harro said more info please.
Amazing photo's, thank you all so very much for going exploring! Can't wait to see and hear more about this place.
Tikisgrl
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rugbymatt
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Jun 03, 2005
Posts: 1201
From: Sacramento
| Posted: 2008-02-05 6:09 pm Permalink
M-WETT
Mid-West Expeditionary Tiki Tour
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sneakyjack
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 25, 2004
Posts: 988
From: NYC Area
| Posted: 2008-02-05 6:45 pm Permalink
agreed excellent work! - I wonder too - is it used / rented summers only? What did the owners thin of this mission? - Got more pics please post. Nice job!
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Otto
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 770
From: NorCal
| Posted: 2008-02-05 11:11 pm Permalink
that is a truly incredible find and good sluething work all around!
you guys gotta throw a Midwest event there now to support it
an annual event like I did at Palm springs tropics motel
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Kenike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 24, 2003
Posts: 1201
From: McKinney, TX
| Posted: 2008-02-06 08:02 am Permalink
This blows my mind. Amazing how something so truly remarkable can fly under the radar for so long. Gives me hope that there's more out there somewhere.
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SilverLine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 608
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2008-02-06 08:10 am Permalink
Thanks everybody! It was an increadible opportunity. Yes, the location is available for rent. The owner books a lot of weddings there these days, and I think a midwest Tiki weekend there soon is almost a promise. The owner had never heard of people like like us and was interested to learn more. To quote Bogie in Casablanca, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship!"
Here are a few more pics . .
This is the little alcove under the east loft area.
These guys are located on either side of the entrance inside.
There are paintings and art throughout.
Here's 8-FT with an interesting carved/painted shield located up in the east loft.
A better shot of the huge clamshell supported by metal warriors.
A better shot of the lava rock waterfall.
Lots of little points of interest everywhere.
Outside, crouching tree . . hidden Tiki!
Me and 8-FT leaving the King Kamehameha Tiki House . . we WILL return!
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closettiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 23, 2007
Posts: 294 | Posted: 2008-02-06 08:54 am Permalink
this is a great topic
i enjoyed the whole trip
its amazing how the the whole thing unfolded from a simple ebay posting..ive followed it since that first posting
kudos for all the hard work in uncovering a gem
i hope to see more on the place......theres got to be some photos out there from its glory days
perhaps we could send a TIKI TEAM ...door to door throughout the surrounding area to search photo albums
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10561
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-02-06 09:04 am Permalink
The subject of Tiki amateur photography from family photo albums is dear to my heart -You know they are out there, but how to find them, how to get to them?
Charles Phoenix has found a few good examples, but he had to sift through tens of thousands of slides in thrift stores. I once put a flyer up at the Anaheim Museum show looking for such photos, thinking in that area there would be lots....not ONE person reacted.
...but not to further detour from the subject at hand:
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10561
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-02-06 09:33 am Permalink
Great photos again guys. I see you are using a tripod, a must for getting crisp interior shots without flash.
I also see that they have the TAHITIAN LOVE MASK ! That thing is my favorite hokey Tiki item from the Paul Marshall catalog (which only had cheap and cheesy offerings to begin with  ). Behold the awesome Polynesian Pop poetry of its description:
THE Tahitian idol? Aaah, that one.... This thing looks more like King Agamemnon's golden death mask than anything even remotely associated with Polynesian art  !
Funny thing is that this mask decorated Perry Mason's office in the early B&W "Ironside" TV episodes, it hung behind his desk. Now considering that Raymond Burr not only owned his own South Seas island, but was such good friends with Eli Hedley's daughters that he was planning to produce a bio pic on the "Original Beachcomber" himself, shouldn't he have known better?
[ This Message was edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-02-06 10:04 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10561
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-02-06 10:02 am Permalink
But I am getting off the subject here again....
Quote:
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On 2008-02-03 22:36, 8FT Tiki wrote:
....The building and grounds were all designed and built by Mr. William Parkhurst.....He had traveled to Hawaii on several occasions and sent back lots of souvenirs and art...
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When I hear relatives telling that "Hawaii" story, I am often hesitant to accept that as the whole truth. For people who have no idea of American Tiki culture, the original sources of objects are often forgotten over time, and ...where else would this stuff come from, right?
That's why I have encountered things like Witco fountains that the 2nd or 3rd generation owners in all earnest claimed to be from Hawaii.
In this case though, I am entirely convinced that the above genealogy of the inspiration that led to this Tiki temple is truthful. The absence of any restaurant industry lamps and decor, and the use of King Kamehameha as the principal logo suggest that Mr. Parkhurst indeed was gleaning his ideas straight from Hawaii.
One curious fact that supports that is that Kamehameha almost NEVER was used as an icon of Tiki culture on the mainland, while he was often rendered in HAWAIIAN Polynesian Pop:
And looking at the A-frame, it reminds me most of Don The Beachcomber's at the International Marketplace:
(even if the 4-pointed star lay out is considerably different)
And there is one more precedent that happened in Waikiki: Henry Kaiser dredging out a lagoon for his Hawaiian Village Hotel.
And so it appears that (since it was never a restaurant to begin with) we have a completely independently created Tiki temple here.
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Ojaitimo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 04, 2006
Posts: 1283 | Posted: 2008-02-06 1:24 pm Permalink
Thank you Silver Line and the rest of you Tiki Central Kansas City Urban,Suburban, Rural archeology team,
as Gomer Pile used to say,"Thank You,Thank You, Thank You!
Great photography of a great place. Looking forward to seeing pictures from future TC events there.
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