Opened September 11th, 1955.

Built by Dan Compton and U.E. Uhiman. The hotel had 64 rooms.

The Bali Hi also had a restaurant, a coffee shop, a bar, and not just 1 but 2 heated pools.

Turquoise, cocoa and coral were the color scheme.

The main sign was very unusual with the hotel's name spelled out in large shells.

The main bar was called the "Tabu Room" and had a mural depicting a "Balinese dancing scene" according to a local newspaper article describing the grand opening.

Hawaii Kai was the grand dame of New York Polynesian restaurants. The location, over the historic Winter Garden Theatre, already had a place in Polynesian Pop history: it was the location of Monte Proser's Beachcomber, a Don the Beachcomber rip-off, in the early '40s.

The dramatic space opened initially as a partnership between Monte Proser and Joe Kipness as Lanai in 1961, but by November of 1962 it had morphed into Hawaii Kai with Joe Kipness now partnered with Art Schindler, who had owned the nearby Luau 400.

The dramatic interiors were created by Frederick Fox, a scenic designer for Broadway productions. The entry was at street level, and had lush greenery, waterfalls and capuchin monkeys. After receiving a lei greeting, visitors ascended a rattan staircase to the upper level, with three rooms:

The Okole Maluna Bar (Bottoms Up Bar) had a diorama of Diamond Head at Waikiki that constantly shifted from daytime to nighttime.

Adjacent to the bar was The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures -- this room had entertainment nightly, playing until 3 a.m.

The main dining room was where the nightly luau and Polynesian revue was held, variably called Hula Wei, Place of Meeting, or The Island Huts of Oahu. The space was large, with a stage, and thatch-covered booth "huts" along the edge of the room.

Hawaii Kai had a flair for flowery naming: beyond the colorful names for the rooms and of course the drinks, they were always coming up with new exotic-sounding titles for special giveaway items. The competition for tourist dollars was likely steep in Times Square, and in order to keep up there was a steady stream of creative bonus items one could acquire: A tiki teapot set titled "Ipo Aloha Lovers Tea Set", a skull mug titled "Goddess of Love", even a simple standard bucket mug became a "Royal Ali'i Goblet". Tiki lighters, lanterns, salt and pepper shakers, and of course good old tiki mugs: they couldn't give them away fast enough. Today the items are heavily collected, and often can be found still in the box they were sent home in.

Hawaii Kai's popularity waned, but it held on through the 1980s, and through the damage of a fire. It made appearances in a couple of Hollywood films (most famously a scene from Goodfellas takes place here). Hawaii Kai finally closed sometime during or shortly after 1989.

*NOTE: Cocktail menus below show that earlier drinkware included Spurlin/Beauce designed bowls and unmarked glassware but they later converted to Otagiri designed ceramic ware and marked glassware.

Built in 1961.

This dramatic example of classic A-frame-meets-Googie architecture, was designed by James Salter, working with the Ralph Haver architecture group.

It doesn't show up well in photos, but one exterior wall has a repeated pattern of the logo tiki masks. These painted masks were also used at Del Webb's Ocean House in San Diego -- shown in the Jerry Lewis film, The Big Mouth (1967) -- and can be seen painted on the Tropics Lounge in Wichita, Kansas.

It was torn down in 1997.

Don the Beachcomber's Chicago location was a legendary hotspot on the Chicago restaurant scene for decades. It opened on May 1st, 1940, and was open at least until the late '60s, probably later. It was in Chicago's Magnificent Mile neighborhood, about where the Four Seasons Hotel is today.

The building had a simple entrance, with a large neon sign in the trademark Don the Beachcomber driftwood sign shape. Inside, the restaurant had several rooms: the Tahitian Room and the Zombie Room were dining rooms, and the Cannibal Room was the bar. The bar had striking black posts carved with a stacked trio of Tahitian cannibal tikis. The whole restaurant was thoroughly encrusted with bamboo, and float lamps and beachcomber lamps were everywhere.

One of the key bartenders at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber, Mariano Licudine, eventually went on to lead the bar program at the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, bringing drinks in the Don the Beachcomber style with him that can still be tasted there today.

Mauna Loa was Mexico City's contribution to the mid-century world of glorious, immersive Polynesian restaurants. Through a classic A-frame entry, visitors were greeted by a central pool populated with live pink flamingoes, and were entertained by a full Polynesian floor show production.

Collectors are very familiar with the amazing graphics on the Mauna Loa menu and the variety of custom mugs and swizzles for this location as well.

This location now appears to be an office building.

*NOTE -- There was another more modern Mauna Loa elsewhere in Mexico City (at St. Jerome 240), that opened after the first (Hamburg 172) caught fire in 1966, and this newer one stayed open till 2002.

Bali Ha'i at the Beach opened in 1958 and was located near the entrance of the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, which was open from 1939 to 1983. It was known as Pontchartrain Beach-Combers before a lawsuit from Don the Beachcomber resulted in a 1959 name change to Bali Ha'i at the Beach.

The exotic experience began even before arrival at the restaurant. A bamboo-decorated “Sampan Taxi” would pick diners up from the parking lot and deliver them to the Bali Ha’i entry port, an impressive bamboo A-frame peak. There were also shuttles running from the restaurant to downtown New Orleans, complete with onboard Tiki drinks.

The bar menu was glamorous and theatrical. There was even a large carved volcano that dispensed drinks to customers.

The Cantonese menu brought new dishes to New Orleans diners, including moo goo gai pan, chow mein, rumaki and eggrolls. The new spices and sauces livened up familiar seafood, but American standards were also available for the less adventurous diners.

Bali Ha’i became the place for celebrations for decades – weddings and anniversaries, proms and graduations and, of course, the perfect first date. Private parties could book the Bora Bora Hut, the Lanai Hut or the Samoan Hut.

Although Pontchartrain Beach closed in 1983, the restaurant stayed open for a few more years. By 1988, the furnishings and memorabilia had been sold off to the public.

Two tikis and an A-frame gazebo with a sign from the Bali Ha'i have been relocated to Veterans Memorial Park in Kenner, LA. The Bali Ha'i signature mug was a copy of the logo mug from Tiki Bob's in San Francisco.

Located in the Athens Ledra Marriott, this was perhaps the last of a hotel-based chain that once rivaled Trader Vic's. This restaurant opened with the hotel in 1983, and as such the decor was not as dense as your more typical Polynesian restaurant from decades earlier, but it had several impressive pieces on display (including a unique giant-sized Solomon Islands Headhunter Canoe Prow carving). Overall, the restaurant had a cultivated sensibility of elegance and refinement.

The name of the restaurant was changed to Ledra Kai in 2015, but this was short-lived as the hotel closed a year later on May 31st, 2016.

The Polynesia cost $500,000 when it was built in 1961. Architect Raymond H. Peck designed the space for owner Dave Cohn. The Polynesia was situated on Pier 51 in downtown Seattle, overlooking Puget Sound; it must have had absolutely breathtaking views.

It closed twenty years later in 1981, when the government condemned the pier... they wanted more space to expand the ferry terminal (it's now part of the Colman Dock complex). The building with three A-frame roofs (minus interior fixtures & furnishings, which had been removed) was put onto a barge and moved to temporary site on the Duwamish River. Owner Cohn sought a new site for some time, and sadly, never found a suitable one. He eventually gave up, and allowed the Seattle Fire Department to burn the building down for practice(!).

Some of the furnishings for the Polynesia included banquettes carved by Witco, large carved posts (these posts were salvaged, uncarved, from the building that had existed on the pier before the Polynesia) by local artists Donald Keys and Donald Ingalls, and a life-size tiki carved from monkey pod from Manila.

There was also a sister restaurant in Spokane.

Aloha was opened in 1963 by Chwan Sheu and his sister Yu Tey Chi.

Sheu died in September of 2009, and was 83 years old.

During the period of 1987 to 1992, the Aloha was not run by the original Aloha family but they took the reins back over at the end and ran it at least through May of 1993. It does not appear to have lasted very long after that, however.

The restaurant now at this site is a Japanese steakhouse called "Sakura Home."

There was also an Aloha Motel located just up Monroe at 2729 (now the Clarion Pointe), and it appears to have been opened by the Sheu family who were entrepreneurs and opened at least two other restaurants and had a hand in helping many other Chinese immigrants to find work or start their own restaurants in the US.

A curious footnote - on January 5th, 1968, News Channel 8 WROC reported that a stolen tiki weighing at least 500 lbs had been found and returned to Mr. Chieu Shu (incorrect spelling or possible relative of Chwan Sheu), vice-president and general manager of the Aloha restaurant in Pittsford Plaza, who decided not to press charges against those found responsible. This video coverage is still available online.

Opened August 12th, 1967.

Once a rather lavish Polynesian palace (the construction cost was $1.6 million), the Mauna Loa is little discussed, but may have even been on par with the Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus or the Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale. It didn't last long, closing just a few short years after opening (bankrupted in 1971). The menus, mugs and serving items that came out of the Mauna Loa were uniquely beautiful, and thanks to its short life, rather rare.

The building that once housed the Mauna Loa has burned down, and the site is now the parking lot for the St. Regis hotel.

Opened some time in the 1950s (circa 1956 or so) by Robert Pantley.

Was owned & operated by Pantley's Motel Apartments, right on the ocean.

The Pagan Hut lasted into the early-mid 1960s. It then became known as known as the Surfpoint Inn. The Surfpoint seemed to run in to some trouble. In December, 1968, the tide came so far inland that it smashed the property windows and flooded the dining room. In October, 1977, the property was seriously damaged by a series of storms that hit the Oregon Coast.

Later, the motel became the King Surf Resort, and this restaurant became the Pikake Hut.

At some point in its history, the bar was known as the Pupule Lanai.

There was also a Pantley's Pagan Hut on SW 10th and Stark in Portland, OR (1960-1962) and a Pantley's Pagan Room in Bellevue, WA, which must have been related somehow.

The structures for Pantley's Motel Apartments and the Pagan Hut are gone, and timeshares are now on the spot.

The Honolulu, located on Route 9 in Westborough, was the Eli Witney Steakhouse until 1970 when it was sold to Hing Wah Inc. of Brookline and was remodeled and renamed Honolulu. The restaurant featured American, Chinese and Polynesian dishes.

The Honolulu had an unusual logo tiki with a pineapple for a head, with sort of bull horns. The tiki shows up on swizzles and tiki mugs from the restaurant.

Honolulu survived until the early 2000s, but now it is closed. The location has become Bertucci's Brick Oven Restaurant.

NOTE: There was a sister location on Route 1 in Norwood, also called the Honolulu Restaurant. Both locations are often printed on the bottom of vintage mugs. This second location appears to have been started around 1974 and closed some time before 2007.