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Portland Kon Tiki and other defunct Portland tiki bars |
TikiMaxton
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 556
From: Portland, OR
|  Posted: 2004-06-09 4:21 pm Permalink
I'm looking for information (menus, ads, postcards) on Portland's old Kon Tiki, as well as any other defunct Portland tiki bars for a project I'm working on. If you have any materials from these and would be willing to share scans and information, please contact me offlist.
Mahalo in advance for your assistance!
TikiMaxton
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Aloha-Brah
Member
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 9
From: Vancouver, WA usa
| Posted: 2004-06-19 1:02 pm Permalink
Hi, I don't have what your looking for, but I have this cool red plastic box with writings that says Aloha room, Heathman Hotel (portland,ore) has a deck of cards inside it and has pictures on the card of the Aloha room, looks to be 50's-60's.. Know anything about that Hotel? Thanks
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TikiMaxton
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 556
From: Portland, OR
| Posted: 2004-06-19 1:31 pm Permalink
I do know about that place. The Heathman is still there, but the Aloha room is sadly long gone. I have a couple of postcards from there. Not really tiki, but kind of Mondrian/Modernist Hawaiian. i would have liked to have gone there...
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2004-06-21 11:16 pm Permalink
From the 1957 restaurant guide book "Be My Guest In The Pacific Northwest" by Bill Spiedel. Jr. :
We in the Pacific Northwest have practically adopted the Hawaiian Islands as our own. Both the convenient overnight flights and the luxurious five-day cruise lure thousands of vacationers.
It is not surprising then to find the handsome Aloha Room, in the Heathman Hotel, filled with smartly dressed Portlanders- many of them leaving for or arriving from "The Islands" and celebrating the occasion in the sophisticated Polynesian-Hawaiian atmosphere of the Aloha Room.
The room is bedecked with articles representing the best of South Seas culture, which were acquired by Mr Heathman in his travels for use in the room and for sale in the adjoining gift shop.
Decor centers around a full-length mural, in resplendent tropical tones, depicting the arrival of King Kamehameha at a festival of the sea- "The Hukilau". The beautiful flower lei is seen everywhere as it is the age-old symbol of "Aloha".
General impression of the room is aquamarine with the dominating mural on your left as you enter, and a multicolored sheen of water cascading into a miniature tropical garden behind the bar.
As you become accustomed to the subdued lighting you commence to notice some of the finer details such as gracious, friendly waitresses dressed in sarongs- black, translucent tabletops inlaid with gold ferns and shells- hurricane lamps on carved wooden bases- brilliant red Anthirium and Ginger, flown in each week from the Islands, together with Vanda orchids which are presented to the ladies.
I do not wish to create the impression that the room is laden with bric-a-brac from the South Seas. What might be thought of as souvenir items are found across the hall in the Lanai Room- a combination gift shop and cocktail lounge. In the Aloha Room itself the South Seas atmosphere is deftly achieved by using accessories of museum-like quality.
The Aloha Room is very popular for after-theater and after-symphony parties- Portlanders are enthusiastic theater and symphony patrons.
Exotic South Seas cocktails, served in equally exotic containers, are one of the many enjoyable features. The menu offers a selection of curried, Hawaiian and Polynesian dishes which are served on trays of carved monkey-pod wood, surrounded by condiments and kept hot at the table. Another favorite is the Hawaiian Fruit Salad, served in a fresh pineapple hollowed out in the shape of a canoe.
Many guests have developed an avid taste for these featured Hawaiian and South Seas dishes. However, for those who prefer less exotic fare, the menu includes delicious entrees of a more familiar nature.
All in all, the Aloha Room is delightfully conductive to adventures in dining...and if you can't get away to Hawaii at the moment this can be a pleasant substitute.
* * * * * * * * * * *
I posted this on Tiki Central before, but after a fruitless search it seems it must have been on Ye Olde Yahoo Tiki Central. At the time I did an internet search for the address of the Aloha Room as given in the book (731 S.W. Salmon) and only came up with a reference to senior housing. I posted that information which wound up at a certain Tiki bar review site and into the book based on that site. Oops. Don't trust the internet for your homework, kids. The Heathman Hotel is alive and going strong (tres swank) and according to the friendly concierge I once spoke with they have absolutely no history of the hotel on hand. We can only hope the bits and pieces of the Aloha Room wound up in numerous Rose City basement bars and rec rooms.
PS: "Be My Guest In The Pacific Northwest" is a great book for anyone interested in NW restaurant history or restaurants of the late 50's. Bill Speidel's writing is so detailed it's pretty much the next best thing to having gone there. "Guest" is a companion book to Speidel's 1955 "You Can't Eat Mount Rainier!" (and later "You Still Can't Eat...") which featured recipes from NW area restaurants. Both books have great line drawing illustrations by Bob Cram. Some of the drink recipes made it into Beachbum Berry's "Intoxica" as did a few of Bob Cram's illustrations (uncredited, I think).
[ This Message was edited by: woofmutt on 2004-06-21 23:20 ]
[ And then on 8/17/08 woofmutt realized he posted "Lanai Room" as "Lania Room". Geez. ]
[ This Message was edited by: woofmutt 2008-08-17 10:02 ]
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lanikai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 15, 2004
Posts: 490
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2004-06-22 02:59 am Permalink
Quote:
| We in the Pacific Northwest have practically adopted the Hawaiian Islands as our own. |
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yea, dude. and we want it back!
_________________
malama ki'i kahiko
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bongofury
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Oct 15, 2002
Posts: 1473
From: Ventura County
| Posted: 2005-01-09 7:17 pm Permalink
I have a yellow cocktail stirrer with a hula girl figure on top. Aloha Room-Park Haviland Hotel is stamped on it. A google search turned up a little. Said it was a hotel in downtown Portland, but no address. Could this have been the same Aloha Room? Maybe the hotel changed names.
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TikiMaxton
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 556
From: Portland, OR
| Posted: 2005-01-10 11:11 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2004-06-21 23:16, woofmutt wrote:
It is not surprising then to find the handsome Aloha Room, in the Heathman Hotel, filled with smartly dressed Portlanders- |
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What would be surprising, in this day and age, would be finding a "smartly dressed Portlander". Apparently there was a time when folks in this town dressed well, but it was obviously a long, long time ago, in a world before Columbia Sportswear and Abercrombie & Thrift...
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Const Tiki
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 16, 2007
Posts: 22
From: Portland, Oregon
| Posted: 2010-08-04 3:32 pm Permalink
The Kon Tiki at the Portland Sheraton (now DoubleTree Lloyd Center) opened on September 27, 1959, three days after the hotel itself opened. The Kon Tiki closed in 1980 or 1981. The space is now conference rooms and the "business center" for hotel guests.
This picture showed up on lostoregon.org.
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TikiMaxton
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 556
From: Portland, OR
| Posted: 2010-08-04 4:48 pm Permalink
Thanks so much for posting that! This is the first paper I've seen on this place - it was around for so long, but it feels like it never existed based on the material you can find on it. Very cool.
Quote:
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On 2010-08-04 15:32, Const Tiki wrote:
The Kon Tiki at the Portland Sheraton (now DoubleTree Lloyd Center) opened on September 27, 1959, three days after the hotel itself opened. The Kon Tiki closed in 1980 or 1981. The space is now conference rooms and the "business center" for hotel guests.
This picture showed up on lostoregon.org.
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sputnikmoss
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2007
Posts: 275
From: Portland OR
| Posted: 2010-08-05 08:55 am Permalink
I have 4 chairs that came from the Kon Tiki when it closed down. It's a bad photo but the rattan is painted light yellow color and the vinyl is green.The original owners got them at the restaurant auction then used them for patio chairs.
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TikiMaxton
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 556
From: Portland, OR
| Posted: 2010-08-05 10:34 am Permalink
Sweet! I am in possession of (but not the owner of) one of the outriggers that came from Kon Tiki by way of the Jasmine Tree. It currently hangs from the ceiling of my bar. Its mate hangs above the bar at Thatch.
Quote:
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On 2010-08-05 08:55, sputnikmoss wrote:
I have 4 chairs that came from the Kon Tiki when it closed down. It's a bad photo but the rattan is painted light yellow color and the vinyl is green.The original owners got them at the restaurant auction then used them for patio chairs.
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3923
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-08-06 1:03 pm Permalink
[quote]
On 2010-08-05 10:34, TikiMaxton wrote:
Sweet! I am in possession of (but not the owner of) one of the outriggers that came from Kon Tiki by way of the Jasmine Tree. It currently hangs from the ceiling of my bar. Its mate hangs above the bar at Thatch.
[quote]
Cool, how about a photo of the outrigger?
Does anybody have info on the Bali Hai in Portland. I found an image of this matchbook a while ago and have not been able to find out anything else.
 
DC
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sputnikmoss
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2007
Posts: 275
From: Portland OR
| Posted: 2010-08-06 3:15 pm Permalink
Dusty! I had never heard of the Bali Hai in Portland. Here is what the Oregonian says on Sept 9, 1960.
"Tuesday, two hours before showtime, management of the Bali Hai was still hammering in the last few island influences in hopes of making their 4 o'clock deadline. Anita O'Day (songstress for 12 consecutive days at the Bali Hai) and fiance' sat in a corner and waited to rehearse. Miss O'Day, formerly with Woody Herman and Gene Krupa bands, didn't have much to say about any of it."
"At any rate, give or take an hour, the Bali Hai opened on schedule Tuesday evening to a packed house."
I will see what else I can dig up!
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3923
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-08-07 10:57 am Permalink
Sputnik,
Nice research, so the Bali Hai opened in 1960. Hope you find out more.
Here is a postcard I have from the Kon Tiki in Portland. Lots of Tikis out front.
You get a peak at the inside through the open door.
DC
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3923
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-08-07 12:16 pm Permalink
The description from the back of the card.
DC
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