Talk about humble and unassuming. A man builds a painstaking recreation of some elements of Disneyland’s Fantasyland in his basement, uploads a less than two minute-long video to YouTube, and all he says is, “This is a short video about my Fantasyland basement.”
But there you have it. An as-yet-anonymous maker known only as Travis shows us his basement with “facades that recreate attractions like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or restaurants like Pinocchio’s Village Haus,” according to The Disney Blog. Thankfully, the blog spoke briefly with Travis and found out that he’s been building out the basement according to his fantasy since 2006. Working from thousands of Disneyland photographs, many of the elements, such as copper lamps, were created entirely from scratch. For the stone-look building facades, he cut foam blocks to size, then covered the blocks with mortar for an authentic, textured stone look and feel.
It’s the part of the I Love Lucy TV series that stands out in so many viewers’ minds: Hollywood and the Beverly Palms Hotel. For three seasons, Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel lived in Manhattan. There were location changes between apartments, Ricky’s Tropicana Club, various stores, but mainly they stayed within the New York area. Then in season 4, Ricky gets a movie offer and about halfway through that season they all pile into a car and drive to Hollywood.
Where they stay is the fictional Beverly Palms Hotel. A brief exterior shot shows the car passing the porte cochere of the Beverly Palms, today the Avalon Hotel.
When you enter Ricky and Lucy’s room, you enter a foyer. This is the real room:
And this is a replica of the Beverly Palms Hotel, located at the Lucy museum in Jamestown, NY.
Here is the room as a whole.
And the replica in Jamestown, NY.
Then a close-up of the sofa with Lucy and Ethel.
And the porch and Hollywood photo backdrop. In the backdrop, you can see the Knickerbocker Hotel. On March 4, 1966, William Frawley, who lived at the El Royale Apartments at 450 N. Rossmore Avenue, had left a movie theater near the Knickerbocker and collapsed in front of the Knickerbocker, where he died.
In July 1960, Los Angeles’ World’s Fair Market (not to be confused with today’s World Market) advertised a complete luau themed tiki set. “The World’s Fair has created a Hawaiian atmosphere complete with all the tropical settings of the South Seas,” said the ad, listing twelve items that you could place in your own backyard and indoors to give your house an instant Polynesian feeling.
By 1960, the tiki craze of the late 1950s was at its absolute peak. Here are ten of those twelve items re-created as close to 100% as possible from current sources. To abbreviate your search, you can also check out Jerome Coudrier’s TikiMaster.com. Based in Kailua, Hawaii, Tiki Master has an impressive range of all products tiki-related.
World’s Fair Import Market, Garden Grove CA
Tiki Torches
Tahitian Torch 1960
Barbados Tiki Brand 4-Pack Torch
The Tiki Torch is the natural place to start–and the easiest. Tiki Brand Torches are found everywhere during summer months. Tiki no longer offers the exact model that they sold in 1960, but they do have an even better-looking one–the Barbados Bamboo Torch 4-Pack–available on their site.
Back-Then Cost: $0.99/each
Current Cost: $4.00/each
Tiki Idol Head
Vintage Tahitian Idols
Emsco Resin Tiki Head
Tiki heads, too, are prevalent. Most today are cast in resin and look far more like real stone than the old ones. You’ll find this one, Easter Island Granite Resin Head Statue, at Home Depot.
Current Cost: $60/each for the Home Depot tiki head. Tiki Master heads begin at $119.
Samoa Basket Chair and Beaded Bamboo Curtains
Vintage Samoa Basket Chair and Beaded Bamboo Curtains
Papa San Chair Rattan
That’s right; you’ve already figured this one out. What’s called a Samoa Basket Chair is today called a papa-san chair. Don’t go for the usual cushioned papa san chair (though they are comfortable!). Go for the more authentic vintage-style Braided Rattan Papasam Chair from Wayfair.
Back-Then Cost: $2 per pole for 2″ diameter by 12′ long bamboo poles
Current Cost: $9 per pole for 2″ diameter by 10′ long bamboo poles
Hanging Rattan Monkeys
Vintage Hanging Rattan Monkeys
Apparently, rattan monkeys were a big deal in mid-century U.S. culture. No more. Since you will not find any rattan monkey knock-offs today, you’ll need to search Etsy for actual vintage rattan monkeys.
