Opened in 1963, the Talisman Motor Inn had multiple restaurants for fine dining and entertainment.
The plan for the Talisman Motor Hotel was imagined after a trip to Japan with a vision of a Japanese steak house, garden, and overall design for business, modern banquet facilities, weddings etc. The hotel had their main dining room “Raffles” and their own tiki bar “The Beachcomber Room”. Within a few years The Beachcomber Room was relocated to the lower level and the original space was used for meeting rooms. The new “Beachcomber Lounge” did very well as a live music venue from April 1976 until it closed in 1991.
The Beachcomber Room's interior design was by Mary Orenstein of Toronto in a “Tahitian Style” featuring statues of Polynesian Warriors, a war canoe over the bar and South Pacific weapons. The band rested on “tons” of lava rock imported from California. It also included a 90ft. Polynesian mural.
This Beachcomber Mural Painting was created by Alexander Von Svodoba, an Austrian painter and mosaic artist. Von Svodoba was commissioned to create a ninety-foot mural in “rich tropical colours depicting a South Seas theme”. The mural was apparently removed and most of it destroyed when the Beachcomber was relocated.