Tiki Time!
Set of 4.
In collaboration with the artist Scooter, we bring you Tiki Time, a tribute to the 1960’s Tiki Gardens in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Bring home Oro, Kahona, Lono & Frank to add a little tropical tiki to your everyday drinkware.
Carefully hand-printed in small batches with durable, non-toxic epoxy ink on genuine Libbey glasses. Sold as a set of 4 in our custom gift box.
100% Made in the U.S.A.
Dishwasher Safe, Handwash Recommended
Size: 5 5⁄8” H x 2 7⁄8” W
Capacity: 12.5 fluid ounces
The story behind the Tiki Time art:
These iconic statues were part of the legendary Tiki Gardens in Florida. Their names are Oro (teal), Kahona (orange), Lono (green) and Frank (gold). As guests would walk around the gardens, they would encounter these large statues along with lush tropical vegetation, beautiful streams and exotic wildlife like monkeys and birds.
I wanted to come up with a piece that felt like it was literally hanging on the actual wall of the tiki bar at Tiki Gardens back in the 1960’s.
One of the most legendary and iconic Tiki themed attractions in the 60’s was the AMAZING Tiki Gardens. In 1962, ‘Trader’ Frank and Jo Byars opened a small garden on about four acres adjacent to their Signal House gift shop on Gulf Boulevard in Indian Rocks Beach. When the gift shop burned down in 1963, they rebuilt the shop and opened an expanded garden in 1964. Eventually, following a 1969 expansion, the complex would encompass several gift shops, the south seas themed gardens complete with exotic birds and monkeys, and Trader Frank's Restaurant, on more than twelve acres.
Unfortunately, in 1986, the Byars sold Tiki Gardens to a pair of foreign investors who ultimately seemed unsure what to do with the attraction. They sold it to Pinellas County in 1990. The buildings were demolished, and tikis sold, with much of the property being turned into a not so exotic beach access parking lot. These tikis are about celebrating Tiki Gardens in its prime and the legacy created by the Byars. It was the inspiration for many other tiki attractions and even Disney World! I really wish I could have visited it when it was open!
