And The House Of Paradise He Outfitted
“If tiki had a Michelangelo, it might just be designer William John Westenhaver,” Maureen O’Connell writes for the Sun-Times.
(And if the Sun-Times had an editor, they would have made those verb tenses parallel, but I digress.)†
“And if he had a Sistine Chapel, it could be the Hala Kahiki lounge in River Grove.
“Mr. Westenhaver was one of the foremost makers of all things tiki – carved chairs, tables, totems, idols, light fixtures, candle and menu-holders. His pieces – produced by Witco, the company he co-founded in Mount Vernon, Washington – once graced Polynesian-style clubs, hotels and restaurants across the country, built in a wave of post-war escapism redolent of rum, coconut and bamboo . . .
“Mr. Westenhaver, 91, a resident of Coupeville on Washington’s Whidbey Island, died Dec. 14 after a fall, said his son Kim.”
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Posted on January 18, 2017