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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop For fans of Polynesian Pop, stepping into an authentic Tiki bar is like riding a time machine back to the 1950s or 60s, and although there’s little trace left of the Stardust Hotel & Casino’s famous Aku Aku Polynesian-themed restaurant & cocktail lounge (or any other vintage Vegas Tiki bar for that matter), there are fortunately two really Read more...
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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop If you’re a Tikiphile then you won’t want to miss “Tiki Caliente,” an annual 4 day event that brings the hip vibe of cool island living to the desert. Every Spring (in mid May) you can gather with like-minded enthusiasts and immerse yourself in Polynesian pop culture; a retro vibe that was made popular in the post-war U.S. when Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Through a nondescript breezeway off N. Palm Canyon Drive, between Destination PSP and a bar & grill, you’ll discover an overlooked outdoor oasis of mixed-use retail, residential, and office space that has seen better days. Currently vacant, this pedestrian friendly outdoor courtyard – which occupies a large area between Palm Canyon & Indian Canyon Drives – is Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses The Alexander Construction Company (run by father & son team, George & Robert) almost single handedly changed the face of Palm Springs between 1955-1965, building nearly 2,500 post & beam mid-century modern homes and doubling the city’s population in the process. These houses have since been dubbed the “Alexanders,” a majority of which were spearheaded by architect William Krisel Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Founded in 1907 and relocated from Thomas Square to its current Manoa Valley location in 1912, The University of Hawaii campus at Manoa expanded dramatically during the post war boom years leaving behind a legacy of mid-century modern construction by noted architects like Vladimir Ossipoff, I.M. Pei and Alfred Preis, among others. To put it mildly, this campus is a spectacular Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Established as the Nevada Southern University in 1957, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus boasts well over a dozen handsome mid-century modern buildings, and although the campus has grown to over 330 acres since then, these modernist structures are all within easy walking distance of each other and can be viewed in about an hour. If Read more...
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Mid-century modern structures The USS Arizona Memorial marks the final resting place for many of the 1,177 sailors killed aboard the battleship USS Arizona during the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The memorial structure itself, designed by modernist architect Alfred Preis and dedicated in 1962, is an exquisite 184-foot long bridge of sorts that seemingly floats above the submerged hull of the ship, Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Located on the windward (eastern) side of Oahu near Kaneohe, the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, best known for its 1960s replica of the 11th Century Japanese Byodo-In Buddhist Temple, was founded by real estate magnate Paul Trousdale (Racquet Club Garden Villas, Trousdale Estates) in 1963 and is the final resting place for thousands of island Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings If you’re a fan of circular buildings – and what self respecting modernist isn’t? – then you’ll want to check out the Varsity Building on University Avenue. Designed by Honolulu modernist architects Wimberly & Cook, this 5-story concrete Brutalist beauty was built to house the First National Bank when it opened in 1963 and is one of Read more...
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Mid-century vintage diners Restaurants come and go, especially in Las Vegas, which is why true diner culture connoisseurs can appreciate a little mid-century authenticity. Unlike the Vegas kitsch of the stand-alone Peppermill Restaurant & Fireside Lounge, these “lunch counters” are old-school and can all be found inside other establishments, which was the norm back in the day. We’ve listed the following from Read more...
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Vintage diners & restaurants With the shuttering or bulldozing of iconic restaurants and diners over the years, like Don the Beachcomber, Huddle’s Springs and the Town & Country Restaurant, only a handful of true “vintage” Palm Springs eateries remain. Our picks are listed in no particular order … just click on addresses below for Google map locations. Keedy’s Fountain & Grill (73633 Read more...
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Mid-century restaurants Although the vast majority of Honolulu’s mid-century Polynesian-themed restaurants, drive-in diners and Tiki bars have long since been torn down, there are a handful of establishments still thriving after all these years. We’ll be adding to this list, but for now here are half a dozen or so that we like and one we wish hadn’t been turned Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings With the demolition of The Riviera Hotel & Casino in 2015 and the Tropicana in 2024, only three original mid-century properties remain on The Strip. Many have been rebuilt and remodeled over the years – several times – but some of their bones are still there and worth a visit, if not to stay at then to Read more...
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Mid-century/googie buildings Housed in what used to be the Tramway Enco Gas Station, designed by noted modernist architects Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers in the mid 1960s, the Visitors Center‘s unique hyperbolic paraboloid roof is a not-so-subtle reminder that Palm Springs isn’t just your average desert resort town. Home to arguably the highest concentration of mid-century modern architecture in North Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses The Vista Las Palmas neighborhood began as Las Palmas Estates in the late 1950s when the Alexander Construction Co. (run by father & son team, George & Robert) employed architects William Krisel (Palmer & Krisel) and Charles Dubois (responsible for the many so-called Swiss Miss A-frames, among others) to design over 300 “Summit Homes” that would be nestled into Read more...
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The 1960s was a period of rapid growth for the hospitality industry in Honolulu. With expanded air travel came more visitors and larger hotels, many of which were designed with tropical modernism in mind. Although this list isn’t anywhere near being complete, these are some of our favorite larger hotels, architecturally speaking, anyway, with corresponding photos above. We’ll continue to Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings The 1950s and 60s saw rapid growth in Honolulu and many of the residential buildings that went up in and around Waikiki at this time are considered to be of the tropical modernist variety. If you wander the streets between the Ala Wai canal and Kalakaua Avenue you’ll come across several low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise mid-century modern Read more...
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Mid-century modern tours There are multiple tours and tour operators in Palm Springs, most of whom offer walks around neighborhoods featuring mid-century modern architecture. For our money the Palm Springs Historical Society is the most comprehensive and they have 7 different tours to choose from! If you want to learn about movie stars’ homes, there’s a tour for that. If you’re an Read more...
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Mid-century walking tours Las Vegas has a variety of niche tours that cater to just about everyone but for our money it’s Las Vegas Pop Culture Tours that satisfies. Created by Babs Daitch (one-time social secretary to Frank Sinatra) and Richard Hooker (former Urban Arts coordinator), their signature 90-minute Fremont Street Walking Tour makes a great primer for anyone wanting Read more...
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Vintage Chapels Nothing says Las Vegas better than a quickie marriage (or a quickie annulment) and there’s no shortage of wedding chapels here in which to do so. If you’re looking for the perfect vintage or retro spot to share your vows there are four chapels that jump to the top of the list (from north to south)… click on Read more...
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Mid-century vintage signs Few signs in the world are as immediately recognizable and iconic as the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. Located on the median at 5100 S. Las Vegas Blvd. just south of Mandalay Bay, the sign – which is of classic Googie & Atomic Age descent – was designed in 1959 by Betty Willis (Stardust Casino and Moulin Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses On (or adjacent to) N. Sunnyview Drive. between Simms and E. Molina roads in North Palm Springs sit seven unique, early 1960s homes designed by noted modernist architects Donald Wexler & Richard Harrison and built by the Alexander Construction Co. Their innovative vision; to make affordable desert housing for the masses from prefabricated all-steel and glass components that Read more...