Finding "LaMo"

I don't have much experience exploring Ft. Lauderdale, aside from several trips to the Mai Kai and one afternoon on Los Olas, the ritzy shopping boulevard. So my trip Hukilau allowed for just a little more exploring of the area, although I must say in my brief stay it was tough to get a feel for the place. Staying in a large hotel on the beach, I ventured out once on foot and by car a second time as we went to breakfast at a local diner. What I found on my quick walk, I'll call LaMo, for Lauderdale Modern, an homage to the acronym MiMo used to describe Miami Modern architecture.

A short horseshoe-shaped road starting at the Bahia Cabana Motel and ending at the Yankee Clipper, yielded some great mid-century commercial buildings; all of them appeared to be either apartments, condos or motels. I'm not sure how many will survive once the economy recovers and waterfront property values soar again, but the discoveries I made make me want to come back to Ft. Lauderdale and dig a little deeper.

These wonderful relief panels are part of the Bahia Cabana Motel. To see the same design in color, click here.

I loved the architectural details on this building

I'm afraid the future of the complex behind these decorative bricks is not bright
as the entire property was deserted behind a chain link fence.

I loved the colors of these plastic panels and tiles on the Blarney Castle Motel

The decoration on this monolithic column is a wonderful mosaic - I love the hanging stairwells too!

I'm curious about what might be under the paint at the Sea Beach Plaza –
might these two figures be made of mosaic tile as well?

This festive kiosk was in the parking lot of our hotel -
while it is not vintage, it was full of character!

While certainly not "LaMo", this taxidermy shop I stumbled across had plenty of vintage charm.

Finally Lester's Diner seemed like a great unpretentious spot for a good Ft. Lauderdale breakfast

Mermaids, the Wreck Bar & the Yankee Clipper

After World War II, Florida experienced one of those growth spurts it's famous for, as many GI's moved their families south to the Sunshine State. One of those vets was George W. "Bob" Gill, who built six properties in Ft. Lauderdale including the Yankee Clipper Hotel, an enormous beachside building that looks like an oceanliner washed up on the shore. Well kinda.

Vintage postcards show the Yankee Clipper during it heydays

The Clipper as it appears today

The 1956 structure, which today is part of the Sheraton Hotel chain, was the first in the area to host a large scale Polynesian revue, according to the hotel's mermaid-in-residence, Medusirena Marina. When the shows stopped in the 1960s, many of the performers moved onto Ft. Lauderale's legendary Mai Kai, according to Marina. Fortunately, the Yankee Clipper's Wreck Bar, a lounge created to look like an old Spanish Galleon, endured.

When I first learned of the Wreck Bar, I heard that there was a chance of it going the way of the Dodo during the hotel's renovations a couple years ago. But that didn't happen and if the crowds squeezing into the tiny bar during Hukilau are any indication, the future of this dark little bar looks bright. The tikiphiles were all there to see the show, for the Wreck Bar is one of only a handful of surviving "porthole" bars with windows into a swimming pool just behind the bar. And in this pool, live mermaids put on acrobatic, alluring shows like you used to see in movies like "Where the Boys Are".

Marina is the star of the show, and this half fish/half human performer is responsible for the resurrection of this lost art, and she is truly an artist, combining "aquatic theatre, dance and spectacle." She has a "pod" of aquatic performers, and for the performance I witnessed it included three mermaids, three pearl divers, a pilot (or boat captain) and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Obviously they were pulling out all the stops for this large, appreciative audience.

Marina in red surrounded by her pod

By the time Mrs. Ephemera and I got to the Wreck Bar, it was too full for two more, so we went topside and enjoyed being "backstage" throughout the bulk of the show. Marina was like a circus ringmaster directing her pod and I was amazed at how long they could all hold their breaths underwater (no Newt Perry breathing apparatus for these mermaids!) I squeezed into the bar towards the end of the performance and captured a few below-the-surface images, but the sheer volume of appreciative fans made it tough to get into position.

Beauty and the Beast

In the tiki community, Marina is a widely known, and I have enjoyed her entertaining Facebook posts for about a year. So it was an honor to meet her and hear her speak about her craft the next day. Stay tuned for part 2.