There’s a terrific little exhibit at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel that you really should see.Maybe you’re a resident of Oahu, in which case you should shrug off your aversion to driving into Waikiki and make the trip this one time because you want to, and not because you have to attend a party or a meeting or a wedding or a conference.
Maybe you’re planning a trip to Hawaii? Well, you’ve got time to catch the exhibit as it’ll be on display through Dec. 31 of this year.
Maybe you’re looking for a nice place to have lunch or dinner. I tell you what … dine at the Royal, where I did yesterday, at the Surf Lanai. Great food, great ambiance, great view of Diamond Head (ask for an outside table).
The exhibit I’m talking about is in the Coronet Lounge, at the opposite end of the large hallway from the Regency Ballroom. There, in large format black-and-white photographs, are pictures (mostly candid) of movie stars from the glamorous Golden Age of movies.
Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby, Clara Bow, Edgar Bergen, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy … they all traveled to Hawaii on Matson Navigations’ luxury liners, the Lurline and the Matsonia. And, they all stayed at the Royal Hawaii Hotel, aka “The Pink Palace.”
I took a dozen pictures of the photographs … here are a few to whet your appetite:
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| Shirley Temple at Aloha Tower, 1937 |
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| Bing Crosby behind the scenes during filming of "Waikiki Wedding," 1936 |
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| Bette Davis aboard the SS Lurline, 1937 |
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| Clark Gable and Lady Sylvia Ashley aboard the SS Lurline, 1949 |
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