Hurricane Cove, Avalon, Santa Catalina Island was a pre and post-war restaurant and bar (1937-1979), located at 305 Crescent.

It would be considered pre-tiki and followed in the footsteps of the Hurricane Bars in New York and San Francisco who also took their iconography and theme from the 1937 film, starring Dorothy Lamour.

Hurricane Cove once featured a huge semi-circle bamboo piano bar. It was originally owned by Oscar Griffith (1895-1974). David Renton, was the architect for the Wrigley Family and designed the structures on the Island per the Wrigley request, (including the Casino). The Wrigley family did not want any tropical themed structures, but Oscar and the owners of the Waikiki Hotel were able to prevail and had their businesses constructed the way they wanted.

Oscar had a band, Jimmy Lowe and the Sons of Hawaii, who played regularly at his place. Oscar had after hours for top named entertainers that played at the Avalon Casino Ballroom including Benny Goodman. Oscar had the place built per his vision which included a bamboo bar in 1938. He had lights, fans and audio to simulate a hurricane which were activated every hour. Oscar imported an expert in bamboo construction from California.

In 1957, Hurricane Cove was managed by Johnny Piacentini and Vince Scari.

Los Angeles attorney, Don Lake, who had done work for Oscar, Griffith purchased Hurricane Cove and had it remodeled.

More than 40 years after it first opened, Hurricane Cove was destroyed by a fire on March 4, 1979. So was the 20-unit Waikiki Hotel.

The Surf Rider opened in Bakersfield, California in June of 1961. It was the restaurant and lounge for the Wonder Lodge motor hotel. The motor hotel cost an estimated 2 million, and consisted of a 2-story structure with 120 suites and guest rooms, and a pool out back surrounded by manicured grounds.

Both Oceanic Arts and Ed Brownlee worked on the project with Oceanic Arts furnishing much of the interior and Ed handling the exterior decor.

The interior held 170 persons and featured a huge Tahitian fish trap on the ceiling, South Pacific murals, and plenty of carvings and other tropical decor.

This exterior featured Ed's own carvings based on New Ireland tribal art and an application of large abalone shells.

Black & White photos below are from earliest days of construction and Color photos are after total completion.

Later, by 1970, the venue was re-themed as "The Westerner".

This tiki bar soft opened in San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose on Monday, December 13th, 2021. Opened to the public on Thursday, December 16th.

Located in the former site of Peggy Sue’s 1950s-style diner.

Designer Notch Gonzalez transformed the venue with thatched-roof booths, bamboo railings and blowfish lights hanging from the ceiling. There are tikis everywhere, including a six-footer that Gonzalez carved in about a week.

Notch hearkened back to classic tiki carver Milan Guanko with his own versions carved in the recognizable Guanko style.

They serve Dr Funk's namesake cocktail (of rum, absinthe, lime, lemon, demerara syrup, grenadine and seltzer) alongside 12 original tiki tipples and eight classics.

There is also a limited food menu with coconut shrimp, Hawaiian ribs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc...

Opened in Culver City in June of 1963.

Owned by James B. Wong and Po Yuen Chau. It was named Bali Hai after the hit tune from the musical South Pacific.

Served Cantonese/Americanized Chinese food and tropical drinks.

The decor outside resembled a tiki hut with bamboo and dried palm trimming. Inside, there was a small wooden bridge, which led to the dining area, the long bar and the performing stage.

Tropic Isle was also at this same address, from 1961-1962, so Bali Hai basically took over after it closed and utilized the already tropical build-out.

Bali Hai closed in 1969.

As of 2022, this location appears to be a Vans shoe store or adjacent to where the shoe store currently stands.

The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States.

The property began as a quaint adobe boarding house called The Glenwood Cottage, built by engineer/surveyor Christopher Columbus Miller and on November 22, 1876, the Millers took their first paying guest. In February 1880, Miller's son Frank Augustus Miller purchased the hotel and land from his father. It became into a full-service hotel in the early 1900s. In 1902, Frank changed the name to the "Glenwood Mission Inn" and started building, in a variety of styles, until he died in 1935.

Miller's vision for the eclectic structure was drawn from many historical design periods, revivals, influences, and styles. Some are Spanish Gothic architecture, Mission Revival Style architecture, Moorish Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial style architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture, Renaissance Revival architecture, and Mediterranean Revival Style architecture.

During the 30-year construction period, Miller traveled the world, collecting treasures to bring back to the hotel for display.

In the early 1930s, in the rotunda wing, Miller established a "Court of the Orient" which was a collection of Asian influences and lasted after Miller's death for a few years until 1939 when this section was re-imagined as the Lea Lea Room.

The Lea Lea Room had tons of bamboo, a bar, tables, a dance floor, a band area, and all the trappings of the pre-tiki tropical nightclubs that persisted throughout the 1930s to 1950s.

One detail that is hard to miss are the Chinese Tiles with Buddhist Swastikas in their centers. Of course, this symbol goes back thousands of years before the Nazis appropriated it.

In any case, around 1985 or so, the Lea Lea Room was eventually remodeled and it was thought fitting to return the space back to its previous incarnation as the Court of the Orient.

A.F. (Gus) and Loreen Raigosa were a couple of Los Angeles area entrepreneurs who bought property in Newberry Springs (situated in the Mojave Desert about 150 miles from Los Angeles and 20 miles east of Barstow on Highway 66) and built a 7 acre lake (later expanded to 45 acres) at the beginning of 1960.

Next came docks, cabanas, and barbecue pits. Tetherball and volleyball courts and a nine-hole golf course as well as swings for the children followed. Trees and shrubs were planted and a scattering of carved Tiki gods. They stocked the lake with bass, channel catfish, and bluegill and operated the site as a tropical campground with luaus.

The "Tiki Bird" plane with a tiki paint job and tropical pin-up art was another interesting draw.

The restaurant, itself, was decorated in "authentic Tahitian decor" and had two separate dining areas with red carpets, trimmed in bamboo, with Tiki masks, and a large carved tiki overlooking a waterfall effect. The bar served traditional tiki cocktails.

Eventually, the couple sold the property in 1972 and moved to the Bahamas.

Open at least as early as 1963.

Bora Bora was part of Restaurant Square, an area in Encino, California that accommodated three restaurants: Bora Bora, The Dolphin, and Bill Baileys.

The restaurant was owned by Bernard Gordon.

Bora Bora had extravagant Polynesian decor provided by Oceanic Arts. Perhaps too extravagant...

When the Bora Bora went bankrupt because it couldn't recoup the costs of its decor, Benson Fong of Ah Fong's simply moved in a Cantonese kitchen staff and started raking in the cash. Fong, Charlie Chan's "number one son" in the 1940s movie series, became the number one 1960s Cantonese king with five Ah Fong's restaurants located throughout L.A. County.

Today this location is home to Sadaf, a Persian Restaurant.

Opened November 12th, 2021 in the space formerly occupied by BurgerFi.

This is Napa's first tiki bar, run by Nat Komes and family, who have deep roots in Napa and are known for Flora Springs Winery.

The name of the lounge is inspired by their family history and Uncle Wilfred in particular. Flora Cabral and her brother, Wilfred, grew up in Hawaii. Flora later married Jerry Komes and they started Flora Springs Winery.

This location pays homage to Wilfred, who often played the ukulele and entertained guests.

Their signature tiki logo was inspired by The Tiki-Jo logo tiki which was carved by Eli Hedley in the late 50s.

Interior work was done by Ben Bassham (Bamboo Ben, who is the grandson of Eli Hedley) and Billy Crud (Crud Tiki Polynesian Design).

Opened October 19th, 2021, at the site of the former Larry's gastropub.

Belles comes from the Wish You Were Here dining group, the group behind the Eveleigh in Sunset Strip, Kassi Club (which closed and resurfaced in Las Vegas’s Virgin Hotels), and the Elephanté in Santa Monica.

The interior gives the feeling of being at a Hawaiian resort, bright and airy with high open ceilings, lots of bamboo and natural materials, and intimate clusters of couches and coffee tables for lounging in small groups. There is a large tiki carving and giant clamshell in front as you come in. The bar has several unique looking ceramic pendant lights with the appearance of large tiki mugs.

Not a lot of densely layered art or bric-a-brac like traditional dark-interiored tiki bars, but clean and upscale in appearance with a few signature pieces on each wall.

Belles focuses on Hawaiian izakaya (snacky bites) but also has a selection of sushi and main dishes as well. Their cocktail list has many traditional cocktails (margaritas, mules, old-fashioneds) and there is a house mai-tai, but they are not trying to offer a menu of traditional tiki cocktails. Other than the mai-tai, the other drinks with Hawaiian or tropical influences are frozen slushie drinks.

There is also a large outdoor patio space.

Opened December 3rd, 1946.

Joe Chastek was first introduced to Polynesia when he and a high school buddy stowed away to the Philippines when they were both 17. Joe was one of the first to open a club with the South Seas motif. His first pre-Tiki bar was the Zamboanga. His second was the Tradewinds. His third was Vagabond's House. The name came from Don Blanding's poem of the same name. Don and Joe were acquaintances.

The interior combined tropical motifs and decor from many countries, including the South Pacific, the Philippines, Africa, and Mexico. There was lots of bamboo, matting, totem poles, glass floats, etc...

Joe often threw luau styled parties but the signature dish on the menu was curry.

The building in which Vagabond's House was located is a prime example of the Spanish Churrigueresque style practiced in the mid-1920s by the firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements and perfected by its chief designer, Stiles O. Clements.

The building was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1983.

Several popular Wilshire restaurants have occupied the space, notably the Cafe Opera in the 1930s and early '40s and the Vagabond's House later. La Fonda opened in 1969 as a venue for mariachi music. After being open for nearly forty years, La Fonda closed in 2007. The restaurant reopened in 2016, and it once again regularly offers live mariachi music.

Located in a surprisingly welcomed proximity of just over 3200 feet from the North tarmac of the Los Angeles Airport, the Polynesian Village Apartment complex was the epitome of primitive, space-age bachelor pad living when it opened in 1962. Designed by prolific mid-century architects, Armet & Davis, the immersive environment featured a stylishly themed atmosphere, complete with 24/7 flaming gas Tiki torches and cascading lava rock waterfalls. Made in a series of three sister developments across Los Angeles county, the dingbat cubist apartment structures were adorned with redwood carvings by the renowned sculptor team of Andres Bumatay and Richard Ellis.

Torn down in 2003. Many of the tiki carvings were salvaged and some are on display at Max's South Seas Hideaway in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This Chinese Restaurant was located directly across from the Kuo Wah Restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Like Kuo Wah, Imperial Palace had its own cocktail mugs, many of which were patterned after ancient Chinese serving vessels.

The Imperial Palace was in this location up through at least the mid 90s. At some point thereafter, they moved around the corner to 818 Washington St., where they are still located as of 2021.

An episode of Season 4 of Beverly Hills 90210 was shot inside the old location, called "Emily" (a.k.a. The Pink Pearl).