Images of Old Hawaiʻi

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance
    • American Protestant Mission
    • Buildings
    • Collections
    • Economy
    • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
    • General
    • Hawaiian Traditions
    • Other Summaries
    • Mayflower Summaries
    • Mayflower Full Summaries
    • Military
    • Place Names
    • Prominent People
    • Schools
    • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
    • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Collections
  • Contact
  • Follow

December 17, 2023 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Queen’s Surf

“Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most life-giving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of Oʻahu; there is something unexplainable and peculiar in the atmosphere of that place, which seldom fails to bring back the glow of health to the patient, no matter from what disease suffering.” (Queen Liliʻuokalani)

The Queen “derived much amusement, as well as pleasure: for as the sun shines on the evil and the good, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust, I have not felt called upon to limit the enjoyment of my beach and shade-trees to any party in politics … While in exile it has ever been a pleasant thought to me that my people, in spite of differences of opinions, are enjoying together the free use of my seashore home.”

Because of her nearby homes, they called the coastal area in this part of Waikīkī Queen’s Surf Beach.

In 1914, Mr & Mrs WK Seering of the International Harvester Co in Illinois built a home there.  A couple decades later, Fleischman’s Yeast heir, Mr CR Holmes, bought the home (he also had other Hawaiʻi property, including Coconut Island in Kāneʻohe Bay.) (ilind)

During WWII, the house was used for military retreats and other military uses.  Admiral Nimitz, General Douglas McArthur and staffs spent time there.

After World War II (and following Holmes’ death,) the City & County of Honolulu bought the property and leased it to the Spencecliff Corporation restaurant chain; it became their flagship property and operated it as the hugely popular Queen’s Surf Restaurant and Nightclub.

Sterling Edwin Kilohana Mossman (February 3, 1920 to February 21, 1986) headlined at its upstairs Barefoot Bar.  A man as versatile as he was talented, literally led a double life. A detective with the Honolulu Police Department during the day, after dark he was one of Hawaiʻi’s most popular entertainers. His diversified careers earned him the nickname “Hula Cop”. (TerritorialAirwaves)

The Barefoot Bar was ground zero for this new brand of local comedy. Mossman was the ringleader, along with the likes of Lucky Luck, a zany radio personality, and Kent Bowman, known as KK Kaumanua.  They told stories, sang songs and, when a celebrity from the Mainland happened to come by (and they did a lot), they became part of the show.  (HonoluluMagazine)

Mossman sang and did comedy and included a lot of others in the evening’s entertainment.  The footprints of many of these Island and internationally known entertainers lined the stairway up to the second floor bar.

For a while, downstairs, at the Surf Lanai, Kuiokalani (Kui) Lee sang for the crowds – inside and out of the restaurant.  During the day, the beach was crowded with sun bathers; at night it was full of Island residents listening in on Kui Lee’s long list of local favorites (he’d turn to the ocean and sing a final song to the folks on the beach.)

Born in Shanghai, China, the third child and only son of Hawaiian entertainers Billy and Ethel Lee, Kui Lee was a prolific songwriter.  Folks like Don Ho, Elvis, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams recorded and performed his songs: “I’ll Remember You,” “One Paddle, Two Paddle”, “She’s Gone Again”, “No Other Song”, “If I Had To Do It All Over Again”, “Yes, It’s You”, “Rain, Rain Go Away”, “Get On Home”, “The Days Of My Youth” and “Lahainaluna.”

“Kui was very brash, very positive about his songs,” said Kimo McVay, owner of Duke Kahanamoku’s nightclub from 1961 to ’71 and manager/promoter of Don Ho from 1963 to ’66. “He gave them to Don, and Don, of course, made them hits. When Don became a star because of that material, a national star, that’s what launched Kui. And Kui became the star of Queen’s Surf.” (star-bulletin)

Here is Kui Lee singing Days of My Youth (a reminder for me of growing up in the Islands, and the one time I was able to sit on the beach and listen to Kui Lee perform – unfortunately, Kui Lee died of cancer at the age of 34 in 1966.)  Click HERE for a YouTube for one of Kui Lee’s songs.

Queen’s surf also offered a regular lūʻau on the property.

The stories vary on the cause, but later there was a lease dispute with the City and the Queen’s Surf and the neighboring Kodak Hula Show were evicted, the Queen’s Surf was torn down (1971) and the Waikīkī beachfront area was turned into a public park.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Filed Under: Buildings, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Waikiki, Oahu, Queen Liliuokalani, Spencecliff, Hamohamo, Queen's Surf

December 11, 2019 by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Spencecliff

Their father, Spencer Fullerton Weaver Sr, was one of the nation’s leading architects in the 1920s. Known as Major Weaver; among many other projects, his firm designed the Waldorf-Astoria, the Hotel Pierre in New York City, the Biltmore Hotels in Los Angeles and Florida, and the Breakers in Palm Beach.  He designed and owned the Park Land and Lexington Hotels in New York.

Their mother, Emily Maloney Stokes Weaver, was a noted tennis player; she won two national indoor tennis doubles championships in 1914 (with Clare Cassel) and 1918 (with Eleanor Goss Lanning.)

The family lived in an apartment on Park Avenue, New York and had a country estate known as ‘Spencecliff,’ in East Hampton, Long Island, NY.  (washington-edu)

But that ‘Spencecliff’ is not the basis for this story – this story is about the partnership of brothers Spence and Cliff and the Hawaiʻi business they founded, Spencecliff Restaurants.

Queen’s Surf (with its Barefoot Bar,) Tahitian Lanai, Coco’s, Tiki Tops, Fisherman’s Wharf, Senor Popo’s, Trader Vic’s, Kelly’s, South Seas, Ranch House … the list goes on and on.

It was a family operation, run by brothers Spencer (Spence) Fullerton Weaver Jr (May 18, 1911 – Aug 30, 1996) and Clifton (Cliff) Stokes Weaver (Jan 7, 1917 – Jan 23, 1992.)

After a couple visits to the Islands, the boys moved and later, intrigued by the fleet of hot dog trucks in Long Island, they got into the food service business with a half-dozen ‘Swanky Franky’ hot dog carts in 1939; then, later set up a stand at Ena Road and Ala Moana in Waikīkī.

Then came the Patio Restaurant downtown and the Snowflake Bakery; the Weavers also had a catering contract to feed five-thousand at Hickam.

After service in World War II, they formed the Spencecliff Corporation; it grew, and over the next few decades dominated the restaurant scene.

They opened the Sky Room (1948) at the airport terminal at John Rogers Field (now Honolulu International Airport.)   In addition to the pre-flight airport presence, Spencecliff catered the food to airline passengers on ten major airlines, including American, JAL, Canadian Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

At one time, the Spencecliff operation included 50-restaurants, cabarets, coffee shops and snack bars in Hawaiʻi, almost exclusively on the island of Oʻahu. It also operated two hotels, three bakeries and a catering service in Hawaiʻi and two hotels in Tahiti.  There were more than 1,500 employees.

Spence Weaver would later be inducted into the Hawaii Restaurant Association’s First Annual Hall of Fame in 2007.

One of the most famous of their operations was the Queen’s Surf (acquired in 1949.)  They converted the former home of heir to Fleischmann’s Yeast fortune, Christian Holmes (Holmes also owned Coconut Island,) and turned it into Queen’s Surf; the home was originally build in 1914 by WK Seering of International Harvester Co.

Later (1971,) the property was condemned and Queen’s Surf and the neighboring Kodak Hula Show were evicted and the Waikīkī beachfront area was turned into a public park.

In addition, to the nightclub, there were coffee shops – lots of them – as well as other family-favorites.

Spencecliff was renowned for taking care of its employees, many of whom served for decades.  Reportedly, each employee would receive personalized card and a birthday cake from the company bakery the day before their birthday, then were given the day off on their birthday.

All was not happy for the family; in 1958, Cliff’s 15-year-old son, Billy was killed in a tiger shark attack off the Mokulua Islands, on the Windward side.

Then their ownership in the restaurant operations came to an end.  In the mid-1980s, increased rents and high interest rates affected Spencecliff’s bottom line; on July 14, 1986, they sold the operation to the Japanese firm, Nittaku Enterprises Co, for $6-million.

Unfortunately, the new owners didn’t have the same understanding/appreciation for the operations and it slowly disappeared.

Gone are the familiar favorites we used to enjoy.  On the windward side, Tiki Tops was a family regular; and the ride over the Pali often took us to Fisherman’s Wharf (and its treasure chest for the kids.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2019 Hoʻokuleana LLC

TikiTops
Tiki_Tops
Tiki Tops
My mother, Helen Lind, with the Swanky Franky, one of the hot dog stands that began the Spencecliff restaurant empire.
My mother, Helen Lind, with the Swanky Franky, one of the hot dog stands that began the Spencecliff restaurant empire.
That's my dad on the right. And I'm guessing he's sitting with Cliff and Spence Weaver, Spencecliff founders.
That’s my dad on the right. And I’m guessing he’s sitting with Cliff and Spence Weaver, Spencecliff founders.
Spencecliff-Ad
Cocos
Cocos-
FishermansWharf
FishermansWharf-Kids_Menu
FishermansWharf-Kids-Menu-front-(mask)
Popos
Queen's Surf-Barefoot Bar
Queens_Surf
Queens-Beach-Queens_Surf
Ranch_House
Swanky_Franky-(Allen)
Tahitian Lanai
Tahitian_Lanai
Tops_Coffee_Shop-(kamaaina56)
Tops_Coffee_Shop
upstairs_bar_-_queens_surf-(ilind)
Waikikian-Tahitian_Lanai
Waikikian-Tahitian_Lanai-inside

Filed Under: Economy, Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Kodak Hula Show, Spencecliff, Queen's Surf, Billy Weaver, Cliff Weaver, Spense Weaver

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Lusitana Society
  • “Ownership”
  • ‘Holy Moses’
  • Mikimiki
  • Doubtful Island of the Pacific
  • John Meirs Horner
  • Prostitution

Categories

  • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
  • Hawaiian Traditions
  • Military
  • Place Names
  • Prominent People
  • Schools
  • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
  • Economy
  • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Mayflower Summaries
  • American Revolution
  • General
  • Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance
  • Buildings

Tags

Albatross Al Capone Ane Keohokalole Archibald Campbell Bernice Pauahi Bishop Charles Reed Bishop Downtown Honolulu Eruption Founder's Day George Patton Great Wall of Kuakini Green Sea Turtle Hawaii Hawaii Island Hermes Hilo Holoikauaua Honolulu Isaac Davis James Robinson Kamae Kamaeokalani Kamanawa Kameeiamoku Kamehameha Schools Lalani Village Lava Flow Lelia Byrd Liliuokalani Mao Math Mauna Loa Midway Monk Seal Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Oahu Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Pearl Pualani Mossman Queen Liliuokalani Thomas Jaggar Volcano Waikiki Wake Wisdom

Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2024 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Loading Comments...