Opened in 1973.

This old school restaurant was also known by the names "Harbor House" (a previous name) and "Pete's Harbor" (the name of the harbor where the restaurant resides). The entry was flanked by two large, old wooden tikis that were a bit rotted and termite ridden, but were still gorgeous. The entry was covered by thatch, and the building had a nautical feel. The tiki apparently ended by the time you were inside, though.

The restaurant closed for good at the end of 2012, the property fated for redevelopment.

Element Home Furnishings was established in 2004 and offered a wide array of tropical furniture and decor, including tiki bars and tikis.

They used to be directly across the street at 723 Soquel, but moved some time around 2011-2013 and the old location is now a restaurant supply store.

The final location appears to have closed @2020.

Established in 1934.

The Galley is Santa Monica's oldest bar and restaurant, and features decor from 1935's Mutiny On the Bounty (the production of that same movie also inspired the legendary Christian's Hut in Newport Beach).

The Galley is more nautical than tiki, but features a South Seas Bar with lots of bamboo and pufferfish lamps.

Another highlight of The Galley is a large collection of World War II era propaganda posters.

House of Tiki was owned by Wes Johnson, and sold new merchandise, including aloha wear, tiki mugs, home decor, and of course tikis. This was the second location for House of Tiki, having moved from its original location (used from 2003-2008) to this location within a WWII quonset hut in December 2008. House of Tiki closed in September 2009.

Kona opened in 2007 in the space that had been Sam's Seafood for decades. Much of the decor was retained and refreshed, with improvements being made most notably in the quality of the food offering and some softened lighting. They adapted the exterior Sam's swordfish sign by changing the lettering.

Kona had several dining rooms with slightly different decor. The "Hidden Village" back rooms were available for special events, and had the most elaborate Polynesian theming, with huts, a fountain, and a bar. The dining room at the front had painted murals and a fountain.

In 2009, Kona closed and reopened under new ownership as Don the Beachcomber (no connection to the historic chain). Don's closed in 2018.

Ming's is a Chinese restaurant with an attached bar area that is semi-Polynesian themed. There is a heavy use of lauhala mats, and all the lamps are made of tapa & bamboo and look like they are probably from Orchids of Hawaii. There are dark wooden masks throughout, but they look like generically-exotic Indonesian imports of recent manufacture. Tiki mugs are behind the bar. The restaurant has a dramatic Chinese facade that looks like it has been there for many decades; the bar feels like it acquired its Polynesian bent in the late '60s or mid-'70s. The restaurant itself apparently dates back to the 1880s.

And now the sad news: Ming's was purchased by a new owner around 2002; this new owner's immigration status precludes him from having a full liquor license, and now Ming's serves only beer and wine. The bar area is still intact, but no longer in active use.

Edwin Tan's Chinese Gardens took over the space that was previously Trader Island, sometime around 1970. Later, it became the Imperial Palace Inn. In the mid 80s, the location operated as Mandarin Garden. In 2008, the building housed the Scorpions Sports Bar & Grill. By 2013, the building was vacant and has remained so through 2020.

The Edwin Tan's iteration of the space retained some of the tiki poles and decor but many of them were painted in much brighter colors by successive owners.

Franklin Lanes was a well-preserved midcentury bowling alley, with a newer addition of a Tiki Lounge, created relatively recently by the owners, who were Fort Lauderdale transplants and Mai-Kai fans. The tiki lounge featured lots of thatch and bamboo.

The bowling alley closed Wednesday December 27th, 2017.

Pacific Ocean Park was a theme park on a pier extending into the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. At the very end of the park was Mystery Island, a South Seas-themed area with a volcano and a train ride.

Dedication on July 10th, 1958. Actress Mitzi Gaynor (from the film, South Pacific) was there to drop a lei into the waters and do the hula. See below...

It opened to the public on Saturday, July 28, 1958 with an attendance of 20,000. The next day, it drew 37,262, outperforming Disneyland's attendance that day!

Pacific Ocean Park closed in 1967, and was demolished in the mid-'70s.

Opened @ June 8th, 1958 when they started advertising in the Santa Ana Register.

Themed motel just south of Disneyland. This site is now Eden Roc Inn & Suites.

The Waikiki Motel had a prime location, just south of Disneyland (the park is even painted into the background of the Waikiki Motel's postcards). The building is gone, this site now holds the Desert Palm Inn & Suites.

For many years, the Aku Aku Motel (also known as the Aku Aku Motor Inn) had a glorious A-frame entrance but it was demolished in October 2006, and now no traces of tiki remain. A few years later, the name was changed to Best Western Woodland Hills Inn, and now any hint of its tiki history is gone.