Andy Chase

Pico Rivera, California
Next to the Paradise Island Apartments.

Once the initial excitement of finding an actual tiki in the wild wore off, it was sad to see the general disrepair of the building and the whole area in general.

I was amazed a few months later when I found a tiki-themed Hawaiian shirt with an image of this very tiki on it - right down to the slant.

12/30/2001 - 15130 Whittier Blvd
Whittier, California

12/30/2001 - Jack's Whittier Restaurant
13221 Whittier Boulevard • Whittier, California

Although the coffee shop itself has lost any Googie character it may have once had, the Jack's sign has held up nicely over the years.

12/30/2001 - Dal Rae Restaurant

9023 Washington Boulevard • Pico Rivera, California

Opened in 1958¹, the Dal Rae looks like a great restaurant inside and out; See the Dal Rae web site for photos of the dining areas.

¹ The Dal Rae Story. Dal Rae Restaurant. 31 Jan 2002. <http://www.dalrae.com/about.htm>

12/30/2001 - Tastee Freez

127 N. Asuza Ave • Covina, California

I believe the orange A-Frame design pegs this as one of the original Tastee Freez restaurants, but never having had them around central Massachusetts (at least, not that I knew of) I can't say for sure.

12/30/2001 - Covina Bowl

1060 West San Bernardino Road • Covina, California

Closeup of the bowling alley's stylish sign.

12/30/2001 - 15130 Whittier Blvd • Whittier, California

The first Muffler Man I've seen in greater Los Angeles who is actually holding a muffler.

12/30/2001 - Covina Bowl

1060 West San Bernardino Road • Covina, California

Although Covina Bowl's decor is not tiki-themed, a pseudo-polynesian influence is definitely evident in the high, peaked roof over the entrance to the alley.

12/30/2001 - Chicken Box - "Broasted" Chicken

330 East Whittier Boulevard • La Habra, California

This road sign doesn’t feature the slogan displayed in brush script on the restaurant itself, "Broasted Chicken"

I didn’t get any Broasted chicken (World’s Finest) to go, so I can only speculate as to what’s involved in the "Broasting" process.

12/30/2001 - La Habra Flower Shop

2274 West Whittier Blvd • La Habra, California

Although the signs and color scheme look like they jumped right out of a 1960's episode of Dragnet, the sharply angled, jutting roof looks more like a product of the 1950's.