Otto's Birthday

[Otto <otto@tikinews.com>]

(Sorry if you are receiving this email and cannot attend, I have no 
way of separating my email list)

When: Friday night, 12/29, 7 pm til one of us passes out
What: Drinks at the Tonga Room
Why: Otto's birthday is 12/28

Happy Hour starts at 5pm and goes til 8pm so you might want to come a 
little early to partake in the $6 appetizers and almost half price 
drinks.

For those of you in the East Bay, feel free to join us in the bar 
area of Trader Vic's, Emeryville for an after dinner drink at about 8 
pm. Don't be late as Vic's stops serving at about 9:30 on weeknights 
and closes at 10
(Baby Doe and I will be there earlier for dinner)

For those of you who have not been to the Tonga before OR wanna know 
a little more
about this joint here is an article on The Tonga Room from Tiki News issue #11.

The Tonga Room by Baby Doe

Another foggy cool night in San Francisco, we slid through the fanciful
Fairmont hotel lobby and into The Tonga Room to catch a drink before
Happy Hour is officially over. Somehow one PipeLine turns into two,
and everything is getting a little bit fuzzy. I turn from my seat at the
bar toward the tropical storm that has erupted over this exotic
restaurant, and I am reminded that this isn't the usual watering hole.
But what is the history of this place? How did The Fairmont Hotel end
up with the best Tiki joint in town? As a Tonga Itch is ordered for me,
I make a promise to myself (say this in slurred speech) "I'm gunna
get to the bottom of The Tonga Room mystery". Early the next day,
well not that early, I set out on my new mission.

Long before the Tiki Gods cast their spell on the Fairmont Hotel.... it
was 1906 and the hotel was ready to open its doors to the well-to-do
and famous when the San Andreas Fault caused the earth to shake for
47 seconds. The earthquake left the hotel intact except that by noon the
following day the Fairmont was gutted by the menacing fire that had
engulfed the majority of San Francisco. Due to "good construction" the
Fairmont still stood. Serving as a symbol of a reborn city The
Fairmont was able to open exactly one year later.

The home of the future Tonga Room (the corner of Powell Street and
California) was first the Norman Hall, which boasted being "the
largest banquet room east of Chicago". In 1929 it became the hotel's
swimming pool The Terrace Plunge. In September of 1945
The Plunge closed to be re-opened as a restaurant, The S.S. Tonga. This
restaurant was in a maritime style. Elements of the decor included:
cloud and sunset effects painted on walls, a simulated ship built beside
the pool, and a promenade deck to overlook the water. At this time no
dancing or musical entertainment was offered. It was not 'til the late
1950's that Hawaiian music, the scent of gardenias, a floating raft for
live bands, and simulated tropical storms graced what was now called
The Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. The bar featured exotic tropical
drinks such as the Tonga Tabu, Honolulu Cocktail, and Tonga Red (all
of which are no longer available). But still the Tiki Gods were not
present. The Tonga Room would go through one more faze before
becoming the Polynesian Paradise it is today. In the 60's the maritime
shipboard ambiance was abandoned for a more exotic influence.
Angular swirl patterns on the walls, bamboo sticks, palm trees,
chinese lanterns, and a lowered ceiling gave the Tonga a Modernist
Chinese atmosphere. (see attached photo)

In April of 1967 Oceanic Arts worked with Howard Hirsch &
Associates on the re-designing of The Tonga Room. By December of
1967 Oceanic Arts started to supply most of the decor and completed
the job by 1968. Oceanic Arts describes some of the supplied decor as:
"A couple dozen glass floats, rattan chains, heavy ropes, rice thatch,
thatch panels, a 7' hand carved Tongan Tiki, and a 9' hand carved
Tongan Tiki". Easter Island style shakers and Tiki bowls were also
used from this time until the early 90's (Unfortunately, they
eventually met their demise at the hands of thieves). Today new
Orchids of Hawaii mugs are being used, as well as, rendered on menu.
The backside of the menu boasts that the Tonga Room dance floor itself
was built from the remains of the SS Forester, a four masted lumber
schooner that once traveled between San Francisco and the South Seas
Islands.

Usually I bypass the Fairmont lobby when going to the Tonga Room. I
prefer walking on Powell Street toward California where there is
mural on the hotel wall stating: "Paradise is just around the corner-
The Tonga Room". As I turn the corner I know the Tiki Gods are
smiling.
Attachment converted: Tiki Powered:Tonga.JPG (JPEG/JVWR) (00040B3A)



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe tikievents" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *