Eli Kai Apartments - Part 1

The South Bay of Los Angeles is littered with tiki apartment complexes. This is the Eli Kai complex in Torrance, California. From the street, the complex sports a nice A-frame. The building has an underground parking garage and the units start on the second floor.





It looks like there used to be a fountain that flowed down this lava rock facade on the front of the building.





Up the stairs, in the A-frame lobby, this tiki still stands because he is built into the structural column that helps support the second floor apartments.






But once you get into the inner courtyard you will find all of the wonderfully carved decorative outrigger beams. They don't come into contact with the public (e.g., no vandalism) and they are up out of the landscaping (e.g., no constant sprinklers to rot them away).








Here's a nice detail of one of the beams. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this entry for detailed shots of the tiki beams. They are all different!