Tiki Culture and American History

The word “Tiki” conjures up imagery of tropical locales with white beaches, colorful beverages, outrigger canoes lounging on the shore, and the mystique of the South Seas. For Americans in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this meant an escape from the anxieties of the Cold War as well as an embrace of a foreign culture. Tiki culture and the Hawaiian chic of the mid-20th century is still a part of the cultural fabric of the United States as well as American contemporary history.


While the origins of “Tiki” culture can be found as early as the 1930’s, it is commonly associated with the 1950’s and early 1960’s, which was arguably its heyday. In the early 1930’s, the first “Polynesian” restaurant in the United States was opened in Hollywood. Named after Don the Beachcomber, the precursor to the modern Tiki bar spawned a chain of restaurants across the United States. The idea behind the restaurant was simple. To capitalize off of Hollywood’s budding interest in portraying locales that were deemed exotic, the restaurant would employ visual motifs to evoke a mood.

This advertisement for Don the Beachcomber's Bar both evokes scenery of a tropical paradise as well as entices visitors to partake in the libations and company offered at the lounge.

This proved to be popular enough that the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco introduced Polynesian culture. However, the advent of the Second World War, which had seen the deployment of thousands of men overseas, had also paved the way for the Polynesian craze by including the South Pacific as an ideal destination for vacations once the war was over and the economy improved.


By the late 1950’s, intercontinental jet travel became feasible for many Americans, including the families of servicemen who had been stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. In August 1959, Hawaii was admitted into the Union and became a part of the United States after being a territory since the 1890’s. This only made the allure of the Pacific more accessible to middle-class Americans who could visit a place that is considered exotic and yet American. For those who could not afford plane tickets to Hawaii, Tiki bars and restaurants offered them the experience for a fraction of the price. Such a concept was so in vogue that it became a fixture of cities and towns across the United States and even in foreign countries within a few years.

Scottsdale, Arizona, location of the Trader's Vic (circa 1950's)

"Pago Pago" has entertained Tucson residents since 1947. 

 

Even in the United Kingdom, tiki bars became popular in the 1950's and 1960's. Here is a tiki lounge and bar in England.

A cocktail menu for an old tiki bar in Scotland, UK.

Much like Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber, the tropical atmosphere of the Pacific was evoked in various locations with the trend of backyard luaus that hit the suburbs in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Even the entertainment industry capitalized on the Tiki craze with television shows and films depicting castaways, such as Gilligan’s Island, as well as beach-themed films. Elvis Presley had a string of Hawaiian-tinged hits and films that were popular in the early 1960’s. In fact, popular paperbacks often employed Hawaii as a suitable location for their stories.

Courtesy of the Bishop Museum exhibit, "Hawaii in Popular Imagination". I've always loved books, so this was a great thing to include and besides, I obviously liked the cover for "Too Hot for Hawaii".

Still a part of the Bishop Museum exhibit, but this shot includes a book I really enjoyed. I've been a fan of the Executioner book series since I was about 11 or 12, so it had to be included in this.

An entire musical genre of “exotic” sounds became popular around 1957 when Hawaiian bandleader Martin Denny recorded “Quiet Village” and other albums. Other musicians such as Arthur Lyman had also recorded “exotica” albums, often at the Kaiser Dome at the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki. In fact, the Hilton Hawaiian Village has a wall display of the hotel’s history as well as the musicians who have performed over the years.

The album that gave the genre its name. It was recorded at a Waikiki recording studio in December 1956 (not at the Henry J. Kaiser Dome at the Hawaiian Village as commonly thought) and released the following year. 

The roster of performers who have played at the (now-Hilton) Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki included artists such as Martin Denny (whose seminal interpretation of Les Baxter's "Quiet Village" had unleashed a new genre of music) and Arthur Lyman. This display can only be found at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu.

Walt Disney included a Polynesian motif in Adventureland when he opened Disneyland in 1955. He took the public interest in Polynesian culture a step further with the opening of the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland in June 1963, sponsored by United Airlines, which conveniently advertised their flights to the South Seas with this groundbreaking (and earth-shaking for those who are familiar with the finale) attraction.

1963 postcard of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland.

The Disney Company expanded upon the Tiki craze when the Tropical Serenade and the Polynesian Village Resort were both opened at Walt Disney World in October 1971.

1970 postcard anticipating not only the opening of the Walt Disney World resort, but the various amenities offered by the "Vacation Kingdom" such as the themed hotel-resorts.

Pure 1970's goodness at the Polynesian Village.  

However, the Polynesian craze started to fade by the end of the 1960’s with the increasing involvement of the US armed forces in the Vietnam War.   The televising of the horrors in that war diminished interest in the Pacific region, especially with an “exotic” locale such as Vietnam becoming a warzone. Another reason for the decrease in popularity of Tiki culture was that the increasing sensitivity to the plight of indigenous groups, which made the romanticism of Tiki culture seem insensitive. After all, Native American activism, which included the “Hawaiian Renaissance” of the 1970’s, was amplified by this time with the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 along with other incidents involving the fight for equality for Native groups.   In Hawaii, there are groups that believe Hawaii should be granted independence from the United States and believe they were forced to allow occupation and annexation by the United States against their will.  This rising sentiment does detract from the romanticism of the perception of Hawaii and its culture.


Being involved with Tiki culture, even at an amateur participatory level, is still often criticized as being insensitive to the very real plight of an entire group of people. There is no doubt that there was a certain level of ignorance regarding racial or cultural stereotypes in the past, especially regarding marginalized groups. However, Tiki culture as being practiced with nuance and an acknowledgement of the history behind it has led me to understand the differences between authentic Polynesian cultures and the romanticized perceptions of the past. With that being stated, it was only through two major trips to Polynesia that I gained an understanding of these nuances.


In the end, Tiki culture is very much a part of the cultural, if not social, fabric of contemporary American history and continues to exist even in the mid 2010’s.   The pinnacle of popularity of Tiki culture occurred in the post-World War II era, mostly during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Because so many World War II veterans experienced Polynesia during the war, it became more familiar to Americans.  In addition, jet travel made traveling to Polynesia much more attainable.  Once Hawaii became a state, Polynesia could be experienced while still being in the United States, which made it both an exotic escape and a domestic experience.  For those who were unable to travel to Polynesia, a taste of the Pacific could be found in theme parks, restaurants, bars, and parties at home on the mainland.
 

With special thanks to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, with their displays on Polynesian culture as well as the “Unreal: Hawaii in Popular Imagination” exhibit that debuted in July 2018.