 |
Tiki History - The Kalua Room, Hotel Windsor, Seattle |
Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
|  Posted: 2003-06-11 12:18 pm Permalink
Since we focused on Southern California last week, puamana and I decided to feature a long-gone tiki bar in her neck-of-woods this week - The Kalua Room.
I don't really know anything about this location except that it was located in the Hotel Windsor in Seattle and that it produced the nicest matchbook in my collection as well as one of my favorite postcards. I know puamana has a lot more paper from the Kalua Room and hopefully some more information as well.
Here's the matchbook; a nice little gem of graphic design:
And here's the postcard, showing a clamshell waterfall in the background. I love the bananas as well - I just can't tell if they're carved wooden ones, like they sell in Thailand today, or whether they actually brought in a real bunch for the postcard photograph:
Sabu
_________________
|
puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
| Posted: 2003-06-11 12:42 pm Permalink
Here's another postcard from the Kalua Room. I wonder if the leis were normally given away to restaurant patrons, or if it was just for the photo:
Following is a dinner menu from the Kalua Room:
No tropical drinks mentioned, ( must have been a separate menu, judging from the postcard photo). There were some nice little illustrations inside the menu, though:
Following is another matchcover... at one point, the Hotel Windsor was owned by Allied Hotels, Inc. , which also owned the Olympian and the Governor hotels in Olympia, WA. The back of the matchcover advertises a second location for the Kalua Room, which was at the Governor.
And last is an ad for the Kalua Room, from a 1957 Seattle Guide ( a weekly tourist flier featuring dining, dancing, theater, and sports info )
The Kalua Room / Windsor Hotel was on the corner of 6th & Union, just 6 blocks away from where the Outrigger was at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel. Today there's a large shopping and restaurant complex on the site where the Windsor stood.
[ This Message was edited by: puamana on 2003-06-11 12:53 ]
|
Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2003-06-11 1:05 pm Permalink
Well, that answers my question about the bananas. Puamana's postcard makes it look as though there were fresh bunches of bananas hung in the restaurant.
Here's a close-up of one of those mugs you can see in the postcard:
Midnight posted this to Mike's mug gallery back in January. Here's a link to the full description:
http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/marked/agt
It's very similar to the mugs from the Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale, and the Mauna Loa in Detroit:
http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/marked/aer
http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/marked/aad
Sabu
_________________
|
PolynesianPop
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2341
From: Corona, Ca
| Posted: 2003-06-11 1:39 pm Permalink
Seriously, you guys should write a book or something. Thanks for putting up this information & pics for us. I thoroughly enjoy reading these posts!
_________________
Poly-Pop *
Bartender, make mine a glass of WATAHHH!!!!!
|
dogbytes
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 2240
From: seattle, wa
| Posted: 2009-03-05 5:29 pm Permalink
a cocktail napkin!
_________________
|
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3930
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-06-24 7:12 pm Permalink
I just got a couple of these Tiki towels from Cost Plus that use the Kalua Room logo.
I thought I would also do a little Red X updating from the lost Sabu and Puamana days.
Here is the menu with the same tiki figure.
The matchbook
On the postcard you can zoom in and see the menu being held by the lovely patron.
There are also some smaller drink menus on the tables. I had never seen one of those before until I went to Mimi Payne's website Akiva Tropika today. There it was - cool.
They did not quite copy this image over to the plates and napkins at Cost Plus as noted by Bigbro.
Quote:
|
On 2009-05-12 19:37, bigbrotiki wrote:
And design-wise, for the plate and napkins they veered of the proven "3/4 Tiki on the side" composition, so they had to invent the other arm, which really doesn't fit with the original one. Tikis don't have pointy elbows like that. An those kinda hands...
They also flipped the image, and together with the added top and bottom parts, and the patterns on the side, this Tiki now looks more like a Roman column, plus with those sleepy eyes (from the original) he always reminded me more of a Frog, so forthwith I will lovingly call him the "Roman Frog Tiki"! 
|
|
DC
|
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3930
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-06-29 6:05 pm Permalink
Here is the other postcard I have from the Kalua Room showing the Orchid/Clam shell Waterfall in the background.
I also saw a matchbook on ebay that had a different Tiki than the signature logo and advertised the Tapa Room.
 
Finally, here is a photo of the Kalua Room that Sabu had posted that was mislabeled as being from the Trader Vic's Outrigger in Seattle.
DC
|
beadtiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 24, 2007
Posts: 929
From: Bothell, Washington
| Posted: 2010-06-30 11:49 pm Permalink
Looks like Seattle USED to be fun - too bad that joints gone. Check out the waitresses shoes! We've always believed in comfort over fashion here! Hell, folks wear jeans to the opera and ballet!
_________________
|
TikiPug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 778
From: Den of Sin / Pug's Pair-A-Dice
| Posted: 2010-07-01 08:45 am Permalink
Quote:
|
On 2010-06-29 18:05, Dustycajun wrote:
|
|
I'd kill for that sweet diver's helmet
_________________
Vegas BABY!
|
monkeyskull
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 08, 2004
Posts: 260
From: Seattle
| Posted: 2011-04-09 7:06 pm Permalink
"The local folk get a particular kick out of the two cinnamon, ring-tailed monkeys who regale the customers from behind the plate-glass of their air-conditioned cage." Bill Speidel, on the Kalua Room, in "You Can't Eat Mount Rainier" (1955)
|
tikicoma
Grand Member (2 years) 
Joined: Jan 16, 2010
Posts: 257
From: city of destiny
| Posted: 2011-11-28 11:08 pm Permalink
Entrance to the Kalua Room, photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives, December 15, 1953.
aloha, tikicoma,
[ This Message was edited by: tikicoma 2011-11-29 18:42 ]
|
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3930
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2011-11-29 08:10 am Permalink
Tikicoma,
Great photo find! So, the Tiki did exist in front of the entrance. And how about that Tapa design on the awning, don't remember ever seeing that before.
Makes you wonder if they had this other Tiki on the premises as well.
DC
|
bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2011-11-29 08:36 am Permalink
Yes, great find indeed! It not only confirms the logo Tiki status of this figure, but since the photo is dated 1953, makes the Kalua Room one of the earliest Polynesian joints to use the concept!
|
GatorRob
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 20, 2004
Posts: 1766
From: 3 hrs 33 mins to paradise
| Posted: 2011-11-29 3:42 pm Permalink
That's a great photo. Strangely, the Kalua Room tiki has always been appealing to me. Good to see it was actually on the side of the building.
Here's another modern item borrowing the tiki image, this time on a t-shirt I bought a few years ago. For this one, they oddly decided to give him a headdress and TWO drinks! 
|
tikicoma
Grand Member (2 years)
Joined: Jan 16, 2010
Posts: 257
From: city of destiny
| Posted: 2011-11-29 8:19 pm Permalink
Dug up more from the same site, same date.
Pre sea grass matting on the walls. Cool Chinese tiles though.
The "windows" seem to have evolved to plants from the earlier exhibits. Interesting to see the evolution of this restaurant from these photos and the postcards! Does anyone know when the Kalua Room opened? These pics from '53 look like they may be from the opening?
aloha, tikicoma
|
