This pre-tiki establishment was open at least as early as 1952, but probably even earlier right after WWII.

Advertising proudly proclaims it is "G.I. owned and operated."

Decor and theming probably didn't extend much past the impressive sign out front.

Built in 1961, this complex has 42 units and is 2 stories tall.

Pop Polynesian features include a lava wall, outrigger beams, an A-frame entrance, and a pool hut (originally with large outrigger extensions, but now long since cut away).

Smaller photos below from 2002 provide contrast to larger 2025 background image.

Most recently, the building has had a severe pruning of all its palms and tropical foliage and many of the outrigger beam extensions have been cropped. This, combined with a much lighter paint job than in previous years makes the property much less "exotic", but it still survives and with the original name intact as of 2025 (see background image).

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 Trade Winds was opened during the war, in December 1944. He kept the same monkey theme that worked for him at the Zamboanga.

This was actually the second Tahitian Hut opened in San Francisco.

It was open around 1947, soon after the original location on Broadway closed that same year.

Opened at least through 1966 and the outside mural and sign are still visible today as of 2025.

Built in 1963.

Comprised of 37 units. The property is a two-story, garden-style building situated on .75 acre of land near the northeast corner of Tampa Avenue and Saticoy Street.

The building is rather spartan in appearance and other than the cool lettering on the front, there is little to distinguish it.

This is why the apartment was chosen as the filming location of the 1984 film, "The Karate Kid" featuring Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi.

The director wanted a bleakness to show why the Daniel LaRusso was so miserable in his new home. They emphasized this by taking the apartment's otherwise well-kept swimming pool and emptying out most of the water and leaving some dirty water in the bottom with an abandoned children's inflatable. Today, the pool is looking good again, but due to the cutting back of vegetation around the complex, it looks bleaker than ever.

Opened in 1964 or 1965 and closed in 1967.

This location was home to Skipper Kent's until at least June 1964.

In 1965, the Bora Bora Club was owned by SF nightclub tycoon George Lavery (43). After a night of hard drinking, a violent fight broke out between Lavery and his newlywed socialite wife, Gail Woodfield Lavery. The young wife shot and killed her husband during the altercation - the deceased had apparently threatened her with bolt cutters during the fight.

The Bora Bora club survived this incident long enough to host the one and only Don Ho in his first mainland appearance(!) in November of 1965.

The Bora Bora was also notable for two giant Barney West tikis on premises:

1) The first one, we have no photos of it on premises at the Bora Bora, but several photos from after the Bora Bora closed and it made its way south to the Redondo Beach Pier (see photo below). Eventually it would come to have a reputation as a "Bad Luck Tiki". The Bora Bora used this as their logo tiki and it was featured on their menu cover.

2) The other Barney West tiki we have photos of being used as a stage decoration at the Bora Bora for live performances. It was famously displayed at Barney West's Tiki Junction in years prior (see photo below).

This Pago Pago location (so many unaffiliated locations share the name) was known for its detailed mural on the front of the building.

It was a pre-tiki establishment that thrived in the late 40s and early 50s, serving Chinese and American dinners and "enchanting nectars of the South Seas".

It was certainly one of Marysville's most popular nightclubs. This was, in part, due to their bartender, Louie Ajuria. The chefs at Pago Pago were John and Katie Lim, prominent members of Marysville's Chinese community who were instrumental in developing and continuing Marysville's Bok Kai Festival after World War II.

Many years later, this space was home to Gigi's Nightclub (1990-1996), to the Pub and Grille, to Crocodile Grundies, to Martini's 227 (from 2003-2009), and lastly to Knockouts Sports Bar & Grill (2011).

The historic building that housed the original Pago Pago was destroyed in a fire on September 24th, 2011.

Opened around 1952 by a Portuguese man, named Johnny Quaresma (known as "Johnny Christmas" by those who couldn't pronounce his last name and it stuck as a nickname) - the same person who started the Zombie Hut.

The Hawaiian Hut in West Sacramento was a well-established night club restaurant that was very popular in the Sacramento area. When you entered the night club, patrons were greeted by a glass-encased shrunken head. The restaurant was known for an activity in which patrons would race across the dance floor on three legged rocking horses. The senior Johnny Christmas sold the Hawaiian Hut to the Stathos Bros. and the club continued for several years at the same location. The shrunken head was part of the sale.

This was an early pre-tiki bar, restaurant, and nightclub.

Frank Champagne's Tropic Room, at 1306 Strand in Hermosa Beach, was open at least as early as 1948. Frank also appears to have run the bath house right next door.

Additionally, Frank (who was born in 1898 and 50 years old at the time) was president of the aquaplane race association in Hermosa beach, which seems to have been an annual event drawing thousands of spectators each year.

So, Frank was a prominent businessman and personality in the community. Third photo below shows Frank with arms outspread in front of the bath house at 1307 Strand.

At some point shortly thereafter, however, Frank Champagne's Tropic Room appears to have underwent a name change to the Hermosa Tropics.

It is unclear when the establishment closed.

Today, as of 2026, the location is occupied by condos.

Opened March 17th, 1955 by John J. Allen.

The Blomberg Center was a mixed-use space with offices and shops that faced out on a central court.

The Lanai later became Danny's Garden Restaurant @ 1963.

At some point the Blomberg Center was renamed "The Lanai Shops" and the restaurant space housed a successive variety of other restaurants, including Ming Garden, World Seafood & Sushi Buffet, and lastly, The Hong Kong Islander which had an arson fire in 2023 which has seemingly closed the location indefinitely.

"Malahini" translates to "stranger" or "newcomer" in Hawaiian.

This 35-room-motel opened at least as early as 1969.

The motel is a 7 minute drive south of where Oceanic Arts used to be, so it is a good guess that the tikis shown in the postcard photo were acquired there.

By at least as early as 2011, the motel was converted to the "Friendly Hills Inn" and all previous signage and tiki decor was removed. However, the structure is still intact and remains much the same.

In 2019, the Whittier City Council passed a law that would force this motel and at least three others in the area to close in 20 years, by 2039.

Neighbors blame the small motels along this corridor for a proliferation of crime. So, the Friendly Hills Inn's days may be numbered...

Newspaper advertisements show this business ran from 1964 - 1981, first selling nautical and Polynesian goods and in later years becoming a night club.

They initially opened in 1964 at 4042 Lincoln Boulevard and then moved to 4110 Lincoln Boulevard @1969.

However, 1970s era matchbooks using the same logo advertise that this location was a nite club that offered dining and dancing as well.

They made the transition to a night club in 1971, operated by Rudy Onderwyzer, former manager of 'Shelly's Manne Hole' in Hollywood (a renowned jazz club).

A cheesecake photo from the Marina Del Rey Historical Society marked "1972" (background and below) shows a girl in cut-off jean shorts on a bamboo bridge with mounds of glass fish gloats piled to the side, a shell swag lamp and other lamps above her head with sales tags, and, in the shadows beyond it looks like band equipment and a tapa cloth hanging on the wall.

The question remains as to whether this was a store that became a night club or a store that moonlighted as a night club. With the piles of tagged merch, it doesn't look as though this was the cleanest transition...

This location later became Hop Singh's in 1981 (and ran until 1987).

Today, as of 2026, there is nothing left save some storage facilities behind industrial fencing.