This colorful Tiki menu cover was from a drinks list at the famed Kona Inn, Hawaii. Inside, the ‘bartender’s pride’ list offered potent cocktails, each with its own amusing caption, wines and other liquors.
The date of this illustration -1967 - would have been a time when many Americans were discovering Hawaii for the first time.
After becoming a US state in 1959, the advent of cheaper commercial air travel and the rise of surf culture made Hawaii a popular vacation destination. Elvis Presley's 1961 film Blue Hawaii also prompted travelers to experience the island for the first time- and come back year after year,
The 20-room Kona Inn was founded in 1928 by the Inter-Island Steamship Navigation Company and was the beginning of commercial tourism in Kona, a district that stretches almost two thirds of the entire west side of the island of Hawaii.
In its early days, it catered to the first of the island’s wealthy and adventurous tourists with a saltwater swimming pool, tennis courts and cocktail lounge – all with unbeatable ocean views. The architect of the rambling two story structure was Charles William Dickey (1871 -1942).
Kona Inn stopped housing guests in 1976 and became the Kona Inn Shopping village in 1980.
Since 1972, the Kona Inn restaurant has been a popular destination for tourists and the Kailua-Kona community.