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Maori Village, West Palm Beach, FL (other) |
Big Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2007
Posts: 1913
From: SoMass
|  Posted: 2011-03-29 3:59 pm Permalink
Did the restaurant actually have doors like that?
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2011-03-29 5:33 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-03-29 13:56, uncle trav wrote:
Any way we can get a good closeup of the rendering from the menu???
...and thanks for sharing!
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I second that! This is what makes Tiki Central so great...
Quote:
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On 2011-03-29 15:59, Big Kahuna wrote:
Did the restaurant actually have doors like that?
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I am sure it did! Look at the war club door handles:
The concept of making two profile Tikis into one whole figure was actually used in authentic Maori meeting houses:
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pa'akiki
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 26, 2005
Posts: 70 | Posted: 2011-03-30 04:56 am Permalink
here is the close up.
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1532
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2011-03-30 09:14 am Permalink
Thanks for the closeup. Looks like the rendering had all of the required elements for a classic Tiki palace. Great Polynesian inspired architecture, gas torches, a large moai, bridge over a stream at the entrance. large carved idols. I would say it is the total package. Is that a Lono carving on top of a high pole to the right of the main entrance? One of the news articles stated that the restaurant complex covered a city block. We need to find photos of the place just after it opened.
[ This Message was edited by: uncle trav 2011-03-30 09:22 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2011-03-30 2:55 pm Permalink
Splendid! That moai looks Barney West-ish to me. And it's unclear what the entrance looked like, door-wise...which anyway could have changed completely from rendering to reality (a fact we have to consider when ogling over all those Tikis, too). I love the way this place showcased different architectural styles: Tiki Mod - Maori - Papua New Guinea: Like a little "Polynesian Cultural Center" And then, despite its name, addresses the customers in Hawaiian in the menu. 
Could you possibly indulge us with a closer, legible scan of the "The Beginning of Our Story" text? Does it mention any info about the owner's inspirations, or is it pure Polynesian pop poetry?
Has anybody seen any mugs or matchbooks from this place? Postcards...INTERIORS !!!?
[ This Message was edited by: bigbrotiki 2011-04-29 17:12 ]
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Bahama Don
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Posts: 53
From: Florida/Bahamas
| Posted: 2011-04-29 4:00 pm Permalink
I know that location very well. The last place that was there was a very rundown Chinese restaurant. I do remember it being Gilligans back in the 80's, but not for too long. I always had suspected it of being a Tiki place originally, but never knew for sure. The a-frame roof was long gone, and a flat roof took its place before the 80's.
Originally it was just adjacent to the "International Bazaar" which was a huge marketplace from the 50's that was uber-cool in styling. The Bazaar was pulled down years ago to make room for the Port of Palm Beach, but the Restaurant stayed and changed hands many times. I remember thinking that it looked like a place that could really give you a good case of food poisoning!
The neighborhood there is really bad, it is the part of West Palm Beach that is always shown on the TV show "COPS". I used to own a property just down the road from there, on 49th street, so I know the neighborhood very well. I dont recommend spending too much time doing on-site research, unless you are very well armed...... (but you can go down the street and see the famous Kentucky Fried Chicken that was selling crack out of the drive in window.....)
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2011-04-29 5:15 pm Permalink
Well, we have Tiki temples that became strip clubs, biker bars...why not crack houses?
(authentic abandoned Maori meeting house)
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Tiki2Go
Member
Joined: Apr 29, 2011
Posts: 4
From: South Florida
| Posted: 2011-04-29 5:27 pm Permalink
Wow - I live about 20 minutes from there!! Who knew?? Only 40 years too late... Very cool stuff
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Bahama Don
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Posts: 53
From: Florida/Bahamas
| Posted: 2011-04-29 7:09 pm Permalink
Just to show how cool the neighborhood was around this restaurant, here is a shot of the Trylon International Bazaar, which was a block up the street, to the north.
It actually had a very Poly feel to the buildings, as they had the A-Frame roofs, and lots of palm trees.
There were actually alot of really cool bars and restaurants along this stretch of US Hwy 1 back in the 50's and 60's. Unfortunately most were leveled over the last 20 years.
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howlinowl
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 20, 2008
Posts: 67 | Posted: 2011-04-30 09:51 am Permalink
Bahama Don, was this location at one time called "Shanghi"?? I used to live in North Palm Beach, just a few miles north of here. My parents and I ate there a few times in the '80s. Dad used to work at the Port, and it was somewhere close.
I remember the International Bazaar, but it was already closed by the time I moved there in the '80s. Had that tower thing that you used to be able to go up and site-see.
Also, somewhere up or down US1, there was "Carlson's Bar" that my grandparents co-owned with my grandmothers sister and husband back in the '50s. I always wanted to go check it out, but like you said, the neighborhood was a bit iffy (still is) so I never did. I got a bunch of glasses from my grandmother's sister's attic after her husband passed that I always wonder if they came from there.
howlinowl
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Bahama Don
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Posts: 53
From: Florida/Bahamas
| Posted: 2011-04-30 8:35 pm Permalink
I believe Shanghi was one of the names that the Chinese place had over the years. I recall it being open in the early 90's under another name, but cant remember what it was??
I remember seeing Carlson's Bar in some old land plats or something similar. It seems to me it was just north of the port area, possibly where the freight containers are stored now? I did some research on the area, as the property I owned was once the Golden Lion" restaurant, back in the 1930's and later the "Savoia" Italian restaurant. I remember there were alot of really cool places on that stretch of US, including some big "show" nightclubs. Would have been cool to see it back then.
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howlinowl
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 20, 2008
Posts: 67 | Posted: 2011-04-30 9:23 pm Permalink
Hmmmm... Cool. Then it probably was this place that I ate at back then. Don't remember any tikis inside back then. From what I can recall, it was pretty much a chinese interior. Maybe some bamboo, but I'm not sure. We only ate there a handful of times. I'm sure my dad probably got take-out there more often as it was close to work.
Your comment about the big show nightclubs brought back a memory of a story my mom told me. Somewhere along there was a burlesque club....not a strip club like today but the old style ones. One of the acts was a woman who had real long hair and would strip in a tank of water, all the while keeping her "goodies" hidden behind her long flowing locks.
I never pictured the area as being anything than what is was when I saw it. I always just thought that Carlson's was just a neighborhood watering hole. The glasses I have are heavy, Blue with white "Olympic"-type figures on the sides. Some still have a bit of gold around the top edge. I had written off the idea that they came from the bar, as they seem to be very high quality for use in a bar, but there are so many. I'd post a pic, but don't want to de-rail this thread anymore than I have already.
howlinowl
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Hurricane Hayward
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: Jun 07, 2008
Posts: 392
From: 16 miles from The Mai-Kai
| Posted: 2011-05-03 11:52 pm Permalink
I recently stopped to check out the site and indeed nothing remains at 5706 Broadway except a few proud palm trees that may or may not have ties to the lot's exotic past.
I'll quiz a few locals to see if they (or their parents) have any physical evidence.
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10566
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2011-05-05 5:28 pm Permalink
The same fate as the original Don The Beachcomber's and the original Trader Vic's. 
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3936
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2012-11-21 10:42 pm Permalink
The parking lot reminds of that old Joni Mitchell song...
Here is an ad for the Maori Village that features Hal Aloma and his Islanders. They also added a Tokyo Steakhouse.
I got a postcard somewhere from that Trylon International Bazaar that Bahama Don posted from down the street. Will have to add that.
DC
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