Apple Valley Ranchos Park - Apple Valley, California

Desert tiki, it's my favorite tiki sub genere!

There's just something about Polynesian Pop culture elements set in the desert sun and extreme heat with not a drop of water in sight. The tikis are out of place and don't belong, but it works. There were a handfull of desert tiki hotspots back in the day, including Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Tucson.

Just outside of San Bernadino, California, up in the high desert along Interstate 15 to Las Vegas, is the community of Apple Valley. Here you can find Apple Valley Ranchos.





The mobile home park is not much to look at from the road and the sign is obscured behind the bushes....






But if you take a closer look behind the bushes you will find the hidden tiki.






The tiki is in a small wood shingled A-frame and is still in great condition. The paint is not peeling so you can still clearly see his original simple design.


Inside the complex there is not much happening. Very few hints or details remain of any type of Polynesin architecture that may have once existed.

Kwan Yin Apartments - Westminster, California

The Kwan Yin apartment complex in Westminster, CA is a beautiful example of a classic Southern California modern dingbat. While not tiki in theme, the developer still stayed in the exotic genere for decor, but instead, opted to go with a Chinese Modern look.







The two tone color scheme used throughout the complex is simple but very appealing and the complex is still well maintained.




Beautiful font selected for the name on the front of the building.




How about this entrance.....it's fantastic! It looks like a piece of modern sculpture. Check out that round gate door that swings on a pivot, beautiful!









In the interior courtyard maintains the two tone color scheme, has plenty of lush landscaping and is clean and well kept. But of course, your eyes are instantly drawn to the butterfly A-frame structure. Too bad they had to put up the child safety fence around the pool, it really spoils the view.

Disneyland Hotel Tahitian Terrace 2.0 – Update 9/10

Work has begun on the transformation of the Hook’s Pointe Restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel. The restaurant is being transformed into a new eatery with Tahitian architecture reminiscent of the original Tahitian terrace restaurant previously located inside Disneyland. I ran a six part series here on my blog a few months ago detailing the project and what we might expect the final product to look like inside and out.

Today we have a few pictures detailing the start of the project. Images are from the excellent Disney website MiceAge and their Disneyland Resort Project Tracker.




Construction fencing is in place and scaffolding begins to rise around the old Hook’s Pointe restaurant.





A corner of the dining room portion of the building.





Croc’s Bites on the left and The Lost Bar in the background.





Croc’s and The Lost Bar. The Master Plan shows that these two buildings will be demolished to make way for the new themed pool.