A gifted artist and cartoonist, Val Valentine worked for the Fleisher Studio in Miami in the 1930s, illustrating the cartoons “Popeye” and “Betty Boop” and the animated feature “Gulliver’s Travels.” He also was the original creator of “Casper the Ghost.”

Valentine moved to Panama City Beach in the mid 1960s after working on several other notable attractions in Florida and other states, including Silver Springs in Ocala.

In 1965, Valentine purchased a struggling roadside animal display (Ross Allen's Alligator Show) and proceeded to construct a massive concrete volcano at its center, complete with billowing smoke and faux molten lava. The attraction was renamed “Jungle Land” and became one of the premier sights in Panama City Beach.

Jungle land featured several tiki masks, including a large moai with giant boar's tusks through its nose that graced the roofline at the front entrance.

Many photos show the "natives" of Jungle Land -- pretty young blonde girls in leopard print bikinis with spears in their hands.

Not long after Jungle Land opened, the park was purchased by the owner of Miracle Strip Amusement Park, for which Valentine also shared his talents, designing such attractions as Dante’s Inferno, the Abominable Snowman, the walk-through haunted house known as the “Old House” and Shipwreck Island Water Park.

Val passed away in 2015.

Jungle Land was eventually purchased by Alvin’s Island department store and became one of their dozens of locations, however, after it became apparent that bringing up the site to code would be cost prohibitive, it was announced in 2020 that it would be demolished and a new construction built.

Aku-Aku offered Polynesian food and comedians.

They also had locations in Newton and Cambridge, MA (both now gone).

Since 2004, this site is home to a Ninety Nine Restaurant, Starbucks, and a Rollstone Bank & Trust.

This apartment complex was built in 1961.

It has 47 units and the front features a very large A-frame. There is also a smaller A-frame pool house building in back.

Traveling from north to south along Rosemead boulevard, this was a frequent stop for tiki enthusiasts before hitting other landmarks like the Kahlua Apartments and Bahooka.

It was remodeled in 2008 and re-named "Huntington at Pasadena" to cash in on their proximity to The Huntington Museum, but before this, it was known as "The Outrigger" and had a unique tiki in front that was partially obscured by shrubbery.

Sven Kirsten, when referring to Tiki Archaeology, often showed a photo of this tiki completely covered in foliage with one hand sweeping the leaves aside to reveal a tiki eye peering out.

Opened October 22nd, 1970.

Billed as a combination of Chinese, Polynesian, and Mexican art. The building was designed by Hin Fon Yip, Vancouver architect.

Created by Ken Yuen (manager), Jack Yung (president and supervisor), and Donald Chang (chef).

Two hand-carved doors opened to a foyer of Inca stone forming an interior wall with water feature and a pagoda theme. You then entered the Tiki Lounge and dining room area with blue domed ceiling and twinkling stars.

The second separate dining room was Oriental themed.

Closed around 1988.

Built in 1974 and last renovated in 2015, the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa is set amid tropical gardens and bordering a lagoon. This upscale spa resort is 7 km from Bougainville Park and 8 km from Papeete Market. Polished rooms with balconies come with flat-screens, minifridges, and tea and coffeemakers. Suites add living rooms and terraces. Wi-Fi and room service are available, and kids age 15 and under stay free with an adult. In addition to a chic spa, amenities include 2 freshwater pools, 1 of which has a swim-up bar. Dining options include 2 posh restaurants, a lobby bar, the swim-up bar, and their Tiki Bar.

Tiki Bar is their main bar, located just next to Te Tiare restaurant. It is a popular rendezvous for hotel guests as well as local residents, and it hosts live entertainment from Wednesday to Saturday, creating a lively atmosphere.

*The Tiki Bar and the present-day InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa are not to be confused with the Tahara'a InterContinental Hotel which has been abandoned for many years and is much further from the airport.

Opened March 1963.

The Kon Tiki opened as part of the new La Louisiane Restaurant, owned by Rube Levine and Jimmy Sholtz -- featuring steaks, seafood, and Italian cuisine.

Rube and Jimmy retained Mr. Edward Chun, formerly of the Polynesian Room of the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Mr. Chun was nationally famous for his Cantonese specialties, and personally supervised the preparation of the Kon Tiki's Cantonese creations.

Later, La Louisiane became House of Chun, so presumably Mr. Chun took over the main restaurant as well.

This space was reputed to have become a gay bar in its later years.

Kon Tiki was open until 1990.

The area, south of Linwood Boulevard to 34th Street, between Main and Gillham, was deemed blighted and ridden with crime in drugs in the late 1980s, and these buildings, as well as other homes, apartments, and commercial buildings, were demolished in the early and mid-'90s as part of the so-called "Glover Plan" to be replaced by the Midtown Marketplace development, a large commercial development anchored by big box retailers Home Depot and Costco.

Trader Ku's was a Polynesian restaurant and tiki bar owned by Peter Ku and open during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was located at 1575 Montgomery Highway in Hoover near the intersection with Braddock Drive.

The interior featured ship lights, hatch covers and other fixtures salvaged from six vessels: the U. S. S. Topeka, the Bowie, the Marvin H. McIntyre, the S. S. Grandville, the U. S. S. Sproston, and the S. S. Antares. Ku also offered furniture and home decor items crafted from hatches and other salvaged items.

The restaurant served both American and Polynesian dishes while the cocktail lounge featured various exotic drinks, including large cocktails served in earthen bowls with multiples straws for sharing. "Trader Ku's Grog" was a blend of Jamaican rum and tropical fruits served in a tall goblet.

This location is now MedCenter Hoover.

In Hawaiian, Ala Moana means "path to the sea" and this hotel is exactly that -- a resort located only a block away from the beach and the beginning of the Wildwood, New Jersey boardwalk.

It is known for its vintage moai neon light with flaming tiki torches.

This hotel and several others along Wildwood Crest are commonly referred to as being a part of the Doo Wop style of architecture, named after the popular music of its time, but this style is also referred to as Googie architecture in California and other parts of the country.

Built in 1977. The Polizzes took over the Ala Moana in 1999 by redesigning the interior and exterior of the motel. 18 winters were spent refurbishing the Ala Moana Motel to the modernized resort it is now.

At this same time, the Polizzes bought four adjacent houses to expand the Ala Moana Motel Resort. The four houses were turned into suites and special motel selections known as the Ala Moana Tiki House, the Quiet Cottage, the Beach House and the Coconut House.

Opened in 1962 by Manuel Santos. Designed and built by Lou Morey.

This motel had a wonderful lava rock wall front entrance with neon signs and tiki torches.

It was commonly referred to as being a part of the Doo Wop style of architecture, named after the popular music of its time, but this style is also referred to as Googie architecture in California and other parts of the country.

Before closing in the early 2000s, the owners appeared to be trying to restore things back to their original 1960s look.

Demolished in January of 2006.

The Ala Kai Motel was opened in 1963. Its original owners were Kurt and Gertrude Burghold.

It is commonly referred to as being a part of the Doo Wop style of architecture, named after the popular music of its time, but this style is also referred to as Googie architecture in California and other parts of the country.

It still has its cool neon sign with a surfing hula girl and the basic structure is the same. Fake full-size palm trees adorn the exterior. It also has a large pool.

However, other than these details, it is a basic family-style motel.

This Polynesian themed bar and restaurant was located within The Oaks hotel. The Oaks was a family business -- apparently two large 3-story houses joined together in the middle -- and resembling a boutique Bed and Breakfast -- but was gradually developed into a larger construction.

Olu Oaksu was a single room within the hotel -- it had lava stone walls, spears, masks, and other decorations and apparently was considered quite swanky when it opened.

Their menu logo was taken directly from the Kon-Tiki Montreal menu cover Tiki from 1958 -- a popular image later used by the Tiki-Ti in Hollywood and a few others.

Also about 1958, The Oaks started accepting long-term guests and this signaled a decline.

The property was sold a few years later, and leveled, and in 1962 the site welcomed a new Travelodge motel. Sometime in the 80s or 90s, the Travelodge was re-named as the River Inn, which later devolved and became a crash pad for drug users and an eyesore for the neighborhood.

The River Inn was then torn down in 2013 and a few years later the property was turned into a Pride Convenience Store location.

Established in 1984.

"Malahini" translates to "stranger" or "newcomer" in Hawaiian. However, despite the Hawaiian name and several Hawaiian touches, this is primarily a Chinese Restaurant. It is located in a strip mall and the interior's white drop ceiling, white walls, and green glass pub shades over the bar do little to enhance the island feeling either. However, it does have some nice touches, including some vintage Orchids of Hawaii swag lamps, some tiki masks on the walls, and several frosted glass panels that show palm trees and other island images.

Their website and current menu does not include a cocktail list.