Is the Tonga Room Landmark-Worthy?
The Tonga Room in the Fairmont Hotel has been a center of kitsch in the city for decades, delighting many a visitor (especially the young ones) and working as a much-needed counterbalance to the string of hip restaurants and bars on which a local can occasionally get burnt out. But with all the talk lately of its possibly imminent demise, one architectural expert was spurred to nominate the room as a San Francisco landmark, arguing that it is "the best example of the Polynesian Pop style ever built in San Francisco." John King's article in last week's Chronicle goes on to recount a bit of the history behind "Polynesian Pop" and the evolving decor of the Tonga Room in particular, but we wanted to pose the question at its base to our design-savvy readers: do you consider the thatched roofs, pool, palms and tiki statuary of the Tonga Room to be landmark-worthy? Let us know after the jump.
under Home+Design, Lily Gahagan, city landmarks, restaurant/bar design, tonga room
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