In 1961, David Cohn, of Seattle, built a new South Seas-themed restaurant on Pier 51 in Seattle. He called it The Polynesia. The roofline resembled the long houses of the South Pacific islands. A few years later, he constructed an identical restaurant above the Spokane Falls and opened Spokane’s own Polynesia in 1965.

The open-air deck, with views of the Spokane River, the middle falls and the Washington Water Power Upper Falls generating plant, was just a few feet from the Great Northern railroad trestle that brought trains to the GN depot. Diners agreed the roar and rumble of the passing trains seemed to enhance the dining experience, rather than detract from it.

But the Polynesia wasn’t the hit Cohn thought it would be. A year after opening, he was forced to sell it off.

Today, and since 2004, the building is a seafood and steak restaurant called Anthony’s.

Tur Mai Kai opened June 27th, 1969. The building had a wide, dramatic A-frame shape, and the interior was elaborately fitted with lots of tiki poles, carved panels and posts, bamboo, and beachcomber lamps.

Their glassware and other advertising list this address as being in Kalamazoo, but by current (and perhaps even by the standards of the day) it is actually in Portage, just past the southern border of Kalamazoo.

The location later became Peking Palace in 1979, and the building was torn down in the fall of 2004. The site is now home to a Red Robin and a Carrabba's Italian Grill.

This Kona Kai was part of a chain of restaurants that included locations in Chicago and Philadelphia. This location was at the Plaza Inn (later the Hilton Plaza Inn), just a block from The Castaways.

There was also a second Kona Kai location at the Plaza Inn International by the airport that opened in June 1975 -- now the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel.

Both Kansas City locations closed in the 80s and both locations featured "signature" 8-foot tall tikis carved by Oceanic Arts in Whittier, California (the tiki at this location has somewhat wider nostrils -- a shorthand to tell them apart -- see last photo below). These tikis now reside in a private collection.

Most recently, this location had been the Holiday Inn Country Club Plaza Hotel, but it was bought and scheduled for demolition in late 2020.

Opened December 5th, 1963.

This was located in the Bel Air East (now the Ramada Inn at the Arch). The front entrance showcased at least 3 large tiki carvings by Barney West.

Closed in 1985.

Opened July 10th, 1961.

Pub Tiki had "1-1/2" incorporated into its logo tiki -- the reason for this is unclear, it has been rumored that this was their promise to pour drinks on the heavy side (1-1/2 shot where 1 was called for), or perhaps it was a reference to their 1-1/2 hours of free parking. There were other restaurants in this "Pub" chain, but this was the only Polynesian themed location. A non-tiki Pub location still exists in New Jersey.

Pub Tiki closed in 1977 upon expiration of its lease. For the next 35 years, clothing store Knit Wit, now at 1729 Chestnut, occupied the space; it is now occupied by Intermix, a high end boutique chain based in Manhattan.

Defunct nightclub & restaurant in Mexico City, with a floor show that opened after the first (Hamburg 172) caught fire in 1966.

This location closed in 2002.

Opened September 26th, 1959.

This restaurant was part of the Kon-Tiki chain owned by Steve Crane. It was in the Sheraton-Motor Inn, later called the Sheraton-Portland, in Lloyd Center, and featured three waterfalls. The site is now a Doubletree Hotel.

Closed in 1980 or 1981.

Some of the tikis from the Kon-Tiki wound up at the Jasmine Tree restaurant, including three large cannibal tikis. When the Jasmine Tree closed in late 2006, the tikis and other decor headed to another tiki bar in the area, Thatch, which later became Hale Pele.

Closed in 2009. Remembered for its 12-foot-tall moai at the entrance and for the sculptured look of the interior to look like a cavern overgrown with tree branches on ceiling and roots on floor. They also had hula shows and served drinks in coconut mugs.

Alaska Railroad 351 is a Pullman-Standard coach built in 1958.

Originally delivered to C&NW (Chicago & Northwestern Railroad) as a long-distance Gallery car.

The "Tiki Railbar" as 351 came to be called was one of two lounge cars in service for the 1997 Florida Fun Train, the other (352) was decorated in a 50s diner style.

The Tiki Railbar decor was not much more than some bamboo & thatch with a couple of fake palm trees.

Both cars (351 & 352) were acquired by Alaska Railroad alongside the rest of the FFT equipment in 1999. They initially maintained their original Florida interior and configuration, with only the exterior being repainted; in 2006, the cars were retrofitted to become café-lounge cars, with seating for 39-49 passengers.

So the "Tiki Railbar" appears to be no more, but car 351 is still running. The car appears to now be decorated with a curated mini museum of photos celebrating the Alaska Railroad's proud past.

Open from 2003-2006.

Today, as of 2021, the building at this address is mixed-use with a Starbucks on one side and a Verizon on the other, as well as a Dental office and a California Tortilla Restaurant. It appears that the Verizon matches up with the footprint of the old Kona Kai location.

From its 1945 opening to its 1984 closure, this Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

Ruby Foo’s was once a 6,000-square-foot spectacle where politicians rubbed shoulders with Broadway stars, where Maurice Richard slipped in through the back door, and where Pierre Elliott Trudeau ate duck à l’orange almost every Sunday.

This location was a mecca for the city’s business, social, sports, political and wise-guy elite —­ as well as a magnet for tourists who wanted to hobnob with the latter. Anyone who was anyone congregated there.

More than that, though, it happened to serve, in the minds of many, the best damned Cantonese cuisine this side of Canton. But what patrons remember most about the place isn’t necessarily the elaborate Cantonese main courses, or the roast beef served from that sparkling silver trolley, or even the drop-dead gorgeous cigarette girl sporting the sleekest Oriental-style dress years before such frocks were deemed acceptable in public places. No, it was the egg rolls and the garlic spareribs — ­ never really replicated.

The restaurant's Black Sheep Lounge also attracted a who’s who of performers, including Charles Aznavour.

Although this restaurant is gone, there is a "Hotel Ruby Foo's" at 7655 Decarie two blocks down. There is no Polynesian restaurant in the hotel.

The original restaurant structure was finally razed in 1988.

Opened in 1988.

Tiki Village is a tourist attraction on the west side of Moorea, the small island directly to the west of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

Here visitors can see Tahitian traditions and dances in a utopian tropical setting and dine on roast pig and other delicacies at their restaurant.