Postcard from the Waikikian Hotel
I recently found this postcard from the Waikikian Hotel in Waikiki; it was one of the most dramatic examples of modern Polynesian architecture, designed by Pete Wimberley. It was one of the main tourist hotels during the height of the midcentury love for all things exotic and tropical and Hawaiian. This is a nice view of the lobby, but what I love best is what’s written on the reverse:
Reverse of postcard
2/ And here is the Waikikian – built like the prow of a nature ship – where I spend my final week in a “jungle suite” + my “half gone native” room mate with her Hawaiian boyfriend hovering. Now that I’ve moved to the centre of tourist activity “on the strip” I begin to be glad of the Waikikian week – believe it is rightfully the best surviving proponent of old Hawaiian hospitality – despite the bell boys who persistently put an arm across my shoulder + an obsequious manager who persisted in addressing me as Miss Jones! The “Jungle” tapers off to a bay lost beyond this picture – to the right beyond the glaring electric sign. Lobby illumination so “full of atmosphere” too dim to even read newspaper headlines.
It’s apparently #2 in a series of postcards used to log someone’s trip. It’s far more interesting than the typical “The weather is amazing here, I don’t want to come home!” business normally to be found on these old postcards.
- Waikikian Hotel, Waikiki [Critiki]
July 29th, 2006 at 2:14 am
modern yet exotic architecture indeed
July 29th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
the personal history part is what charms me the most….always has …..that touch of awe……the human connection……Iv’e been collecting and selling (hardly enough!) slices this for years…..it’s sort of a dance with a mysterious stranger…..and it’s got P izzazzzzzz !! Mahalo ! Greg
July 31st, 2006 at 5:36 am
Wow, that’s a photograph!? Unbelievable. I think it says “prow of a native ship.” I too love to get cards that are stamped (gotta have a real date) and with a little writing. If nothing else, it takes ma back to when people wrote instead of typed.
July 31st, 2006 at 11:14 am
Swanky, it’s actually two photographs composited together — the sunset comes from a different image. The cars that can be barely seen in the parking lot seem to indicate the photo of the hotel is from somewhere in the late ’50s or mid ’60s, but the compositing of the sunset makes the postcard look more ’70s or ’80s to me. Unfortunately, as you say, without a date on the card, it’s just impossible to say. Regardless, it’s a neat nighttime view of that fab lobby! Looking at the handwriting again, I think you’re right — “native ship” makes much more sense than “nature ship.” I though maybe she’d been listening to Eden Ahbez….
August 23rd, 2006 at 10:37 pm
I cried the day that I heard they were tearing down the Waikikian. To me this was the most interesting hotel in all of Honolulu…..the most historic looking.
The lounge was the best place to hear the locals sing and sip mai-tais.
The world is a sadder place for it’s loss…..all those young lovers looking for a truly romantic place.
I’ll be eternally grateful for this postcard that you published for all of us.
Regards,
Judy
October 6th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
I grew up at the Waikikian. Every year (sometimes two and three times a year) my grandparents, Midge and Richard, would bring my twin sister, Candice, and myself to The WAikikian where we would get our towels at the lagoon from Turkey, eat banana muffins and french toast with coconut syrup at the Tahitian Lanai, and walk down Waikiki to surf or just hang in front of the Rainbow Hilton swimming to the reef or catching crabs near the helicopter pad. I’m taking my kids there next month and will probably cry at all of the changes!!
November 27th, 2007 at 3:25 am
I stayed 10 days at the Waikikian in January 1962, my first visit to Hawaii, which triggered a love affair between me and the islands. I’ve been back 7 times since then, sparked by that memorable stay, but Waikiki has changed. There were fewer hotels then, but now it’s a concrete jungle. My 2nd visit was 32 years later in 1994 when the Waikikian was still around, and although I didn’t stay there I went there for breakfast poolside a couple of times, when they served their famous Eggs Benedict, spicy Portuguese Sausage, and Hash Browns made from scratch. A couple of years later, I saw them pull down that hiotel and I could have wept. Such is progress!
Back in 1962, my self-contained room, literally surrounded by tropical plantlife, was at ground level, and every evening at dusk while enjoying a drink on my lanai, a Hawaiian lady in a muu-muu would come around playing a ukelele and softly singing Hawaiian songs. And every evening I found a scented plumeria blossom on my pillow.
I particularly remember the Piano Bar, and the pianist who, I think, was blind.
Much water under the bridge since then.
The Waikikian was filmed in the movie titled “And the Sea Will Tell,” about a real murder that took place on Palmyra Island.
And what can I say about the Waikikian’s fabulous “sail” roof that covered the entrance lobby where one checked in.
That was the real Hawaii to me. Now, Waikiki seems to be losing its identity, its Hawaiianness. For newcomers, it may seem Hawaiian, but to me, who saw it before Waikiki fell victim to land developers, it will never be the same.
Honolulu Airport back in 1962 comprised several quonset huts where Customs check our baggage on trestle tables. Now, Honolulu International Airport is a large sprawl.
Despite this, I have gone back almost every other year since I retired. I can’t seem to stay away. Call of the islands, I guess.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I stayed at the Waikikian my honeymoon in 1972. I remember so well the authenticity of the polynesian architecture. There was a little flower shop in the corner of the lobby and a woman sat and strung plumeria leis. I would buy a bunch of gardenias every day, open them in a sink of warm water and put them in my hair every night. What a romantic I am and what a romantic place it was. I am so sorry that it has been torn down. A precious part of Oahu is gone for ever. Too bad.
July 4th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
My dad worked for TWA and took us to the Waikikian during my senior year in high school (1970)..remember a steak and shake joint across the street…the Ala Moana shopping center, riding a rental bicycle up into the preserve and getting lost…remember the Lania rooms and the lagoon…so sad its gone
September 17th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
My parents took me annually to the Waikikiian hotel on vacation for over a decade where my sisters & I learned the “hukilau” hula…words and all from Aunt Tillie & Mary who sang & played the ukulele nightly. They took the time to write words to several songs for us to take home one year. In 1981, we moved to Waikiki, where we lived just next door & went to the restaurant & bar almost daily. I missed Uku, the green parrot who greeted me until someone stole him. I miss my “hukilau ladies.” I miss Marian who played the piano in the evenings. I miss the bartenders…Hannibal, Danny, Larry & Tony. I miss the bold welcome & unconditional acceptance by all when we entered the “TL” (which the locals affectionately named the bar). My last trip to Honolulu was in 1994…before the Waikikian closed. I graduated high school in 1987 & always found a reason & the money to return to the place I called home…until the Waikikian closed. A large piece of my past has gone with the Waikikian. My heart still aches & my tears still fall whenever I think of the wonderful piece of paradise that is no longer. One thing is certain. I have my memories, my pictures & my videos, but I will never stay at a greedy Hilton hotel again.