Tahiti Apartments - Follow-Up

Last month I posted an entry on the blog about the Tahiti Apartments in Torrance, California. When the complex opened in 1961, the advertising indicated that the interior of the complex was also decorated in a South Seas theme.




Last weekend, my friend Boris, a local Southern California tikiphile, visited the Tahiti apartments to investigate the current state of the complex.




The Tahiti Apartments (March 2012).

The two 10' entrance tikis have long since rotted away.





The Tahiti Apartments courtyard (March 2012)


No trace of the tikis or Samoan canoe that once existed here. The pool has even been filled in and planted over.


Thanks for your urban archelogy expedition Boris!

The Crow's Nest - Pt. Loma, California

I'm on the road again, and this week I found myself in San Diego, my favorite tiki town. I had the chance to stop in last night and enjoy a few Mr. Bali Hai Mai Tais at the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island. This was my first visit back to the Bali Hai after the remodel a few years back, and I was pleasantly surprised with the nice job they did updating the place.

On occassion, I get emails from readers asking me if I have a favorite building, or if I can point out a prime example of Polynesian Pop Architecture. My immediate answer is yes, I have a favorite and I got to visit her again today, lovely as ever.

The Crow's Nest Yacht & Ship Brokerage















The Crow's Nest exhibits several different classic elements of tiki architecture. I love this building, its got a great color scheme, it has a shake shingle roof, it has tropical landscaping, its small and intimate, its located on the ocean and finally it is surrounded by other Polynesian Pop Architecture found all across Shelter Island.













The Crow's Nest: 2515 Shelter Island Drive, Point Loma, California