DJPR | Online Residence

Via the LaughingSquid website, I’ve learned of this horrible news involving the Fairmont’s famed Tonga Room tikibar:

An alarm is going up amongst tiki-lovers and all those who appreciate San Francisco’s eclectic (hic!) history! The Tonga Room, the much loved tacky tiki bar in the Fairmont Hotel’s basement (California @ Mason in Nob Hill), is at great risk due to its owner’s plan to convert a large portion of the hotel into condominiums.

The plan would replace the existing Fairmont Hotel Tower with a new Residential Tower and in the process convert 226 hotel rooms into 160 condos. The Tonga Room is at the base of the existing tower.

As anyone who has visited the Tonga Room knows, the Tonga Room is a historic 1940s tiki bar, which features it’s very own pond, boat and…yes, rain:

Laughing Squid goes on to describe the history of the Tonga Room

“The Tonga Room is a unique San Francisco icon which has evolved over time with the city and the trends of popular culture. Its origins date to the 1920’s when what would become its centerpiece debuted as an indoor swimming pool called “The Plunge”, which by the 40’s was recast into the S.S. Tonga in the midst of a nautical and Asian-themed restaurant.

So what can we do? Make sure our voices are heard! Let the SF Planning Dept. know.

I’m not sure, but I’ve already sent my letter to the San Francisco Planning Department and I’m sharing the letter with everyone else so you can easily send off an email yourself:

Devyani Jain (Devyani.Jain@sfgov.org):

I have just read a recently posted article on LaughingSquid.com that the famed Tonga Room of the Fairmont maybe at risk under the Fairmont’s condominium development project. I learned that the deadline for feedback is sadly February 20th, but unfortunately I was not aware of this until today and I hope you will be able to include my feedback and the feedback of others San Franciscans in the SF Planning Department.

The Tonga Room is rare jewel of San Francisco and the tiki-bar history. As a lifelong San Franciscan resident, I have been there countless times since a child and well into today. The tiki-bar has been a part of San Francisco since the 1940s and while it has been an era away since the heydays of the tikibars, the Tonga Room remains as unique and eclectic as San Francisco itself. I understand that the Fairmont owns the Tonga Room and is free to make its own plans; however, the Fairmont should not only acknowledge but help preserve their cultural contribution to San Francisco.

While I am not opposed to new development and changes in San Francisco, what I am opposed is the needless destruction of San Francisco’s culture. I believe that the Fairmont management can invest in keeping the Tonga Room for the sake of San Francisco’s cultural heritage that will benefit the San Francisco community at large and the condominium’s future residents.

It is my hope that the San Francisco Planning Department will recognize that the Tonga Room, and other historical and cultural San Francisco institutions, are not only to be preserved but incorporated as integral parts of any development plans.

Thanks,

Daniel Riveong