Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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George Robert Carter

George Robert Carter was born on December 28, 1866 in Honolulu, his mother was Sybil Augusta Judd (1843–1906,) daughter of Gerrit P. Judd, and his father was businessman Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter.

“His grandfather was Oliver Carter, an American sea captain engaged in the whaling industry, who first came to Honolulu during one of his whaling voyages in the late twenties or early thirties of the last century, and settled here in the thirties.”  (Hawaiian Star, May 28, 1904)

“Carter went to school first in Nuʻuanu Valley … later he attended St. Alban’s College (forerunner to ʻIolani) and attended Fort Street School (which eventually became McKinley High School.)”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

From the Honolulu schools Carter went to Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, and graduating there in 1885, entered the Sheffield Scientific school of Yale University where he finished a three years’ course in 1888.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

 “Carter, always took a healthy interest in athletic sports and while at Yale was a member of the Varsity football teams of ’86, ’87 and ’88 and was also a member of the Yale boat crews of ’87 and ’88.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

He formed a rowing club with a few friends, including a friend from Hawaii Hiram Bingham III (my great uncle.) (Yale-edu)  (Hiram Bingham III married into the Tiffany fortune, taught history and politics, and on July 24, 1911 rediscovered the “Lost City” of Machu Picchu – and, reportedly, was the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character.)

Carter married Helen Strong, daughter of Eastman Kodak president Henry A Strong on April 19, 1892. They had four children: Elizabeth (born August 25, 1895), Phoebe (born September 27, 1897), a daughter who died on June 17, 1903, and George Robert, Jr. (born November 10, 1905).

In 1895 Carter returned to Hawaiʻi to become the cashier of C Brewer & Co., where his father had been a senior partner from 1862 to 1874. From 1898 to 1902, he helped organize and manage the Hawaiian Trust Company, and was managing director of the Hawaiian Fertilizer Company. In addition, he served as a director for Bank of Hawaii, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin.

Carter was elected to the Hawaii Territorial Senate, representing Oʻahu, in 1901. While a territorial senator, he was sent to Washington as an unofficial agent to discuss territorial matters with President Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt later appointed Carter Secretary of the Territory in 1902 and then Territorial Governor in 1903, succeeding Sanford B. Dole who resigned to become a federal judge (Carter was Governor from 1903 – 1907.)  (Yale-edu)

In 1905, during Carter’s administration, the current system of county governments was created; the five county governments (Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi and Kalawao) took effect on January 1, 1906. (Oʻahu County later became the City and County of Honolulu in 1909.)

In the late-1920s, Carter built ‘Lihiwai’ (water’s edge) with 26 major rooms and over 26,000-square feet under roof, it is reportedly “the largest and finest private residence ever constructed in Hawaiʻi (with the exception of ʻIolani Palace.)”  (NPS)

Two waterways (an ʻauwai and Nuʻuanu Stream) flow through the property, thus the property’s name.  You cross the ʻauwai over a coral bridge.

Completed in 1928 (and occupied by the Carters from 1928-1945,) the home was designed by Hardie Phillip (he was the architect for the Honolulu Academy of Arts (built at the same time (1927-28), and the C. Brewer and Co. Building (1929.))

The entire building is built of shaped bluestone set in concrete and steel reinforced cement, and all the perimeter walls are 2 – 3-feet thick with the exception of the end walls, which are 6-feet thick.

Originally, the building was connected to two smaller structures — by a breezeway on the eastern side and by the porte-cochere on the western side (these structures were separated in 1957.)

The roof over the front portion of the house is a double pitched hipped style roof made of flat Spanish terracotta tiles. The beams in the attic that support the roof are all steel I beams, and the hand carved eave beams (and supporting wood) are all teak. One concrete chimney rises from the roof and serves all 3 interior fireplaces.

The floors of the vestibule, downstairs foyer, upstairs foyer, upstairs hallways, and upstairs rear balcony are made of stone. The drawing room floors are ʻōhiʻa (ʻŌhiʻa lehua) parquet, and the formal dining room, music room, and upstairs bedrooms and guest suites have ʻōhiʻa strip flooring; slate is in other rooms.

The property was originally 10-acres, all professionally landscaped, but the estate was subdivided and sold in 1945 after the death of Helen Strong Carter. Today, the property includes the original house on a little over 1-acre.

Carter died February 11, 1933; he is buried at Oʻahu Cemetery.  (Lots of information from Yale-edu and NPS.)

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Hulihe‘e Palace

Hulihe‘e Palace is Kona’s only existing royal residence and one of three palaces in the United States.  (The other two are ‘Iolani Palace and Queen Emma’s Summer Palace, both on O‘ahu.) 
 
Hulihe‘e, built in 1838, was the residence of Governor John Adams Kuakini and a favorite retreat for Hawai‘i’s royal families.
 
The Palace was constructed by foreign seamen using lava rock, coral, koa and ōhi‘a timbers.  Kuakini oversaw the construction of both Mokuaikaua Church and Hulihe‘e Palace and these landmarks once shared a similar architectural style with exposed stone.
 

After Kuakini’s death in 1844, the Palace passed to his adopted son, William Pitt Leleiohoku.  Leleiohoku died a few months later, leaving Hulihe‘e to his wife, Princess Ruth Luka Ke‘elikōlani.  It became a favorite retreat for members of the Hawaiian royal family.

Flanked to the north by Niumalu and to the south by Kiope Fish Pond, Hulihe‘e Palace was also the site of the observation of the Transit of Venus (when the planet Venus crosses between the Earth and the Sun) in 1874 by British astronomers, one of the most important astronomical observations of the 19th century (helping to calculate the distance between the Sun and the Earth.)
 
When Princess Ruth passed away in 1883 leaving no surviving heirs, the property passed on to her cousin, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.  Princess Bernice died the following year and the home was purchased by King David Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani.
 
Extensive remodeling by King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani in 1884 transformed the original structure to suit the Victorian tastes of the late 19th century (with stucco and plaster, widened lanai, and much to the interior décor.)
 
Early description of Hulihe‘e Place (Hawai‘i Nei, by Mabel Clare Craft Deering – 1898:)
 
”There is a fine royal residence there, now the property of the dowager Queen Kapiolani. It is a big house with a wide hall and immense rooms. The kitchen and servants’ quarters are detached, and there is an open lanai a little way from the house where Kalakaua gave famous luaus and hulas, and where his celebrated red chairs were set in rows.”
 
“The house is marked by the tabu-sticks set up at the doors, sticks with white balls at the top, in imitation of the old days when balls of white kapa at the top of the sticks marked the residence of the king, within which common people could not go on pain of death.”
 
“Inside, the house is a marvel of polished woods. There is a table of satiny koa, the mahogany of the Pacific, the” royal tree,” fit to make you weep. This table stands in the center of the drawing-room, and around the walls are elaborate carved chairs, vases, and fine pottery from China and Japan. There are portraits of Kalakaua, Kapiolani, and Liliuokalani, as well as busts of royalty. At the windows are exquisite lambrequins of the finest kapa I saw on the islands, painted in patterns, and some of it extremely old.”
 
“The big dining-hall across the vestibule has a fine carved sideboard, and on it are a number of koa calabashes, polished, and marked inside with the crown and royal coat – of- arms, etched with a poker. These calabashes all have covers, and were designed for pink poi.”
 
In 1925, Hulihe‘e was purchased by the Territory of Hawai‘i to be operated as a museum by the Daughters of Hawai‘i. (My mother was a Daughter.)
 
Most of the furnishings were originally in the Palace during the Monarchy.  Hulihe‘e Palace was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1973.
 
Hulihe‘e Palace contains a fine collection of ancient Hawaiian artifacts, as well as ornate furnishings that illustrate the lifestyle of the Hawaiian nobility in the late 19th century.  Intricately carved furniture, European crystal chandeliers and immense four-poster beds fill the rooms.
 
Hulihe‘e Palace reveals the Hawaiian nobility’s passion for western fashions and is a reminder of Kailua’s past as a favorite royal residence.
 

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The Mess

Early Honolulu was not a city of Clubs; although residents of various nationalities had started several, their existence has not been of long duration. The British, Germans and Americans each had their respective club houses.

In 1852, the British first opened their “Mess” rooms (it was not called a “Club” back then;) it started in a one-story wooden building off of Maunakea street, which was reached by a lane leading to the rear of the premises known as Liberty Hall (also known as Bugle Alley.)

The original Mess consisted of fourteen members; they were Stephen Spencer, WA Cooper, SH Cooper, Robert Moffitt, Dr Richard H Smythe, James E Chapman, JK Dallison, William Webster, John Janion, Charles Gordon Hopkins, H Fosbrooke, James Almon and Thomas Harding.

William L Green was the head of the Mess; he was prominent in official, civic and social life, and was for a time acting British Commissioner and Consul General, and President of the Chamber of Commerce of Honolulu.

The Mess was what might have been termed “movable” property; about 2-years after its Maunakea Street location, it moved to an old building on Alakea Street, and moved again to a building on Adams Lane.

In 1861, the Mess moved from Adams Lane further up the road to a 2-story building (that had been originally built for a club house) facing on Union street.

Mess membership declined down to only 4 in 1865; through the persistent efforts of two of these four members, the Mess was kept together and in a few months later had regained its strength.

By July 1867, the Mess had more members and was renamed “The British Club.”  Member subscriptions were sought, so the club could purchase its own premises.

Fifteen members (some of Honolulu’s notables of the day) subscribed to the purchase fund: Stephen Spencer, Archibald S Cleghorn, H Prendergast, Robert Moffitt, J Bollman, Thomas Cummins, James I Dowsett, Wm L Green, John Ritson, HA Widemann, John Montgomery, Robert Stirling, John O Dominis, Dr FW Hutchinson and Dr Robert McKibbin.

A charter of incorporation under the name of “The British Club” was granted in 1879; charter members were Thomas Cummins, Henry May and Archibald S Cleghorn.

Club life in the earlier days was somewhat different to what it is now; the club house was used as a home where members spent their evenings in a social manner and receiving their friends.

This club has had the honor of entertaining several distinguished and prominent visitors during its existence; among them was the Duke of Edinburgh, who visited Hawaii in 1869.

Kings Kamehameha IV & V were frequent visitors to the club; Kalākaua and his brother Leleiōhoku, were reportedly members, as were members of the diplomatic corps.

At one time, a faction of Club members considered selling their property and leasing the “Paki” premises, formerly the home of Bernice Pauahi Bishop and Charles R Bishop (also known as the Arlington Hotel.)  The move was overruled.

Later, the Club purchased the former Cleghorn property on Emma Street (Princess Kaʻiulani, daughter of the Cleghorns, was born there in 1875.)  Another prior owner was James Campbell, who bought the home from the Cleghorns and lived there for a number of years.

The Club later merged with the University Club (1930.)  Organized in 1905, the University Club was an exclusive association that admitted members who had graduated from recognized Universities, including military academies.

The club was “an organization that would tend to cement the business interests of Hawaiʻi,” it soon evolved into a business center that provided meeting, reading, entertainment and dining room facilities to its members and to groups with business connections.  (ASCE)

In 1961, a new club house was built; it was designed by Vladimir Ossipoff (he received a Hawaiʻi Society AIA award for its design.)

To keep the Club going, while at the same time constructing the new structure, they built the new around the old (losing only one day of Club operations during the final construction/move.  The lawn and terrace mark where the old club house once stood.)

Starting as a Gentlemen’s club (for whites,) the racial policy was scrapped in 1968 (Philip Ching and Asa Akinaka joined the club;) in 1983 (under a threat of legislative action,) the Club voted to admit women (in 1984, Andrea L Simpson was the first woman member.)

Oh, in 1892, “British” in the club’s name was changed to “Pacific.” At that time, the older members of the club were outvoted by the newer and later members. (The members at the time of the renaming it “The Pacific Club” had representatives of several nationalities.)  The Pacific Club is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States west of the Mississippi River. (Lots of info here from Thrum.)

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Sliver of a Building

In 1841, on the makai side of the road (Merchant Street,) from Nuʻuanu to Kaʻahumanu Street (now the breezeway through the Harbor Court,) were empty lots, with blocks of coral for fences near the corner of Merchant and Fort streets, on the makai side of the street, were the premises of Mr. William French.  (Maly)

French first came to Hawaiʻi in 1819.  He settled in Honolulu and established himself as a leading trader. Financial success during the next decade made French known as “the merchant prince.”  He also had property in Kawaihae, on the Island of Hawaiʻi.  There, in 1835, French hired John Parker as bookkeeper, cattle hunter and in other capacities.  (Wellmon)

John Parker later purchased 640-acres (1850,) then another 1,000-acres (1851) and leased land in the Waikoloa region from Kamehameha III – these formed the foundation for the future Parker Ranch.

By 1840, French made numerous shipments of live cattle to Honolulu. These cattle were fattened in the pasture close to Waimea then driven to Kawaihae and transported to Honolulu to supply the numerous whaling ships that visited the port each fall.  (Wellmon)

French’s Honolulu premises extended from Kaʻahumanu to Fort Street, surrounded by a high picket fence with some hau trees standing just within the line of the fence. The building was quite a sizable one of wood, with a high basement and large trading rooms above. Mr. French was one of the oldest residents and a person of considerable influence.  (Maly)

The property was sold to James Austin, who sold it in 1882 to James Campbell, who owned the adjacent land on the Diamond Head side (fronting Fort Street.)  He built the “Campbell Block,” a large building that included uses such as storage, shops and offices.

Merchant Street was once the main street of the financial and governmental functions in the city, and was Honolulu’s earliest commercial center.  Dating from 1854, the remaining historic buildings along this road help tell the story of the growth and development of Honolulu’s professional and business community.

A great deal of the economic and political history of Hawaiʻi was created and written by the previous occupants of these buildings. Ranging from banks to bars and post office to newspapers, they have paid silent witness to the creation of present day Hawaiʻi.  (NPS)

Today, we still see these remnants of the past:  Melchers (1854,) the oldest commercial building in Honolulu; Kamehameha V Post Office (1871;) Bishop Bank (1878,) now known as the Harriet Bouslog Building; The Friend Building (1887 and 1900,) the site of the Oʻahu Bethel Church established in 1837; Royal Saloon (1890,) now Murphy’s; TR Foster Building (1891,) forerunner to Hawaiian Airlines;  Bishop Estate Building (1896;) Stangenwald Building (1901,) the tallest structure in Hawaiʻi until 1950; Judd Building (1898;) Yokohama Specie Bank (1909) and Honolulu Police Station (1931,) one of the earliest police forces in the world, dating to 1834.

Then, in 1902, near tragedy struck when “One of the hardest fights in the history of the Honolulu Fire Department was experienced Saturday afternoon, when a fire broke out in the middle of the Hawaiian Hardware Company’s warehouse.  For two hours the whole block bounded by Merchant and Queen, Fort and Kaahumanu streets, was in danger.” (Hawaiian Star, August 25, 1902)

“The fire is said to have been caused by an accident with gasoline in the warehouse. An order for gasoline for Young Bros. launch had been received and was being filled.”  (Hawaiian Star, August 25, 1902)

The Campbell Block survived (at least that fire.)

Then, on October 11, 1964, the Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser noted, “Office-Parking Building Planned by Campbell Estate on Fort Street.”

Plans called for a combined office and parking structure to replace the 2-story Campbell Block on Fort and Merchants Streets; this new building was considered an important part of the redevelopment of downtown Honolulu.  (Adamson)   The new building was completed in May 1967.

So, the Campbell Block is gone … well, sort of.

You see, a fragment of the Campbell Block remains.  It was interconnected with the adjoining Bishop Estate Building and removing it all would harm its neighbor; so, a part was retained in-place.

As you walk down Merchant Street, between Fort and Bethel (across from the Pioneer Plaza loading and parking structure access,) take a look at the (now obvious) sliver of a building; it was once the Campbell Block (and the area of the former establishment of merchant William French.)

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Muʻolaulani

Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani and then Princess Lili‘uokalani built houses on opposite sides of what today is Pua Lane in Kapālama – Ke‘eilokalani was there first with her home Mauna Kalama; Ke‘elikōlani’s Kapālama residence would be joined in 1885 by Princess Lili‘uokalani’s palace called Mu‘olaulani. (Kam)

Mauna Kamala was bounded by Asylum Road (now called Pālama Street) on the northwest, King Street to the southwest and what today is Pua Lane on the southeast. Kanoa Lane today bisects the Mauna Kamala site, though it did not extend to Pālama Street when Princess Ruth’s house was located there.

Lili‘uokalani bought her Kapalama property on December 3, 1884; it had been the property of Simon Ka‘ai (and another subsequent owner).

Sunday, March 29, 1885, Lili‘uokalani moved into her Kapālama home. She recorded in her diary that day: “This is the day that I am supposed to take possession of this house—I think that I shall call it Muolaulani.”

Mu‘olaulani may have been named in honor of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani. Mu‘olaulani is the name used for her in an 1861 set of songs titled “He Inoa Ka Haku o Hawaii,” listed with her half-brothers Kapuāiwa [Kamehameha V] and ‘Iolani [Kamehameha IV] and half-sister Kalohelani [Kamamalu]. (Kam) Likewise, an article in Ke Au Okoa (February 16, 1871) has a heading, “The birthday of Muolaulani”.

The residence consisted of two single-story wings forming an L-shaped footprint. The wing facing King Street featured a ten-foot deep veranda that stretched across the 100-foot wide front face of the building (around the same width as the Diamond Head face of ‘Iolani Palace) and a similar one on the back face.

The other wing, set at a right angle to the main wing, ran perpendicular to King Street. It, too, was 100 feet in length with a veranda facing southeast toward Diamond Head.

Soon after its opening, Lili‘uokalani composed a song in May 1885, simply titled “Nohea I Mu‘olaulani,” to praise her new suburban home:

He mea nui ke aloha
Ke hiki mai i oʻu nei
Meheʻo kuʻu lei kaimana ala
Kāhiko o kuʻu kino

Kuʻu lei popohe i ka laʻi
Nohea i Muʻolaulani
Ka beauty lā he mau ia
No nā kau a kau

This great love of yours
Has come here to me
It is like my diamond necklace
To adorn my person

My lei so shapely in the calm
Handsome at Muʻolaulani
It is a beauty, always a thing forever
For all seasons

The Hawaiian Gazette (May 27, 1885) notes the reception at Lili‘uokalani’s new home: “HRH Princess Liliuokalani held the first reception in her charming residence at Palama on the afternoon of the 21st inst. The band was stationed on the grounds and played a number of choice selections during the reception hours. The Princess received in person being however assisted, in providing for the comfort of the many callers, by Mrs CB Wilson and Mrs Junins Kaae.”

With the death of Mary Dominis (Lili‘uokalani’s mother-in-law) on April 23, 1889, Liliuokalani and her husband John Dominis moved from Mu‘okalani to Washington Place. Lili‘uokalani would occasionally visited/inspected the Mu‘olaulani property.

On one of those occasions, it was to meet with Robert Wilcox. The heading of a subsequent newspaper article implicates Lili‘uokalani in the Wilcox Rebellion, “Residence of Heir Apparent the Starting Point of the Rebel March”.

That article noted, “R. W. Wilcox, the leader of the revolution, and Albert Loomenn, the Belgian, Wilcox’s first lieutenant, were brought up inside Police Court this morning and charged with treason during the past three months, more particularly on July 29th and 30th.” (Daily Bulletin, August 2, 1889)

In a subsequent statement of AF Judd, Chief Justice of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, Judd noted, “Liliuokalani disavowed to me her knowledge or connivance with Wilcox’s plans, but the fact that the armed party under Wilcox assembled at her own house in the suburbs and started from there to the Palace, gives credence to the belief that she knew of it.”

“I tried Wilcox for conspiracy to commit treason and had to discharge one Hawaiian jury for violent conduct while in the jury box. The second jury acquitted him in spite of his own testimony admitting all the acts which constituted conspiracy.”

“The testimony of that trial showed that Kalakaua was a party to the conspiracy, and only because he was afraid that it would not be successful he failed to go to the palace and promulgate the constitution.” (United States Congressional Serial Set, Volume 4052)

Lili‘uokalani later leased Mu‘olaulani. “Maj. A.G.S. Hawes, the British Commissioner, has taken Liliuokalani’s Palama residence for five years.” (Kam; Hawaiian Star, July 13, 1895)

In May 1897, Hawes would announce a major event: ““The Britannic Majesty’s Commissioner and Consul-General extends a general invitation to the celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday on May 24th from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at his Palama residence.”

The events in Hawai‘i celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, recognizing the sixtieth year of her reign, rose to a crescendo on Friday evening, June 25, 1897, when music and merry-making once again graced the rooms of Mu‘olaulani:

“The reception and ball given by the Commissioner were a proper end of the Jubilee festivities. . . “

“The Commissioner occupies the Palama residence of Queen Liliuokalani and the handsome rooms of that dwelling were decorated in a very artistic manner by lady friends of the genial host.”

“A magnificent floral structure, representing the crown of Hawaii in emblematic colors had been sent to the Commissioner by the retainers of Queen Liliuokalani, at her special request, and had a prominent place in the library …”

“Exquisite refreshments were served during the evening and when the doors of Mr. Hawes residence closed he was again voted by all his guests the host par excellence of Hawaii-nei.”

Hawes died and was replaced by WJ Kenny, Esq. who served as acting British Commissioner and Consul-General. The passing of Hawes also resulted in a renegotiation of the lease of Mu‘olaulani.

The Evening Bulletin reported on Friday, November 12, 1897, that Kenny would “likely occupy the premises of the late Commissioner Hawes at Palama. Negotiations to that end were practically concluded today. Mr. Hawes’ lease of the place will run nearly four years longer, it having been originally made out for five years.” Kenny allowed the Honolulu Cricket Club to use the Mu‘olaulani grounds to practice. (Kam)

Annexation of Hawai‘i to the US on August 19 1898 changed the status of the foreign consulates. William Robert Hoare was recognized as the British Consul at Honolulu. He continued to British tradition and took Mu‘olaulani as his home. His lease there ended on July 8, 1901.

In August 1901, The Honolulu Republican announced the new use for the property: “The old British Consulate, opposite the Dowsett homestead on the Palama road, is now being used as a Japanese hotel.”

Later, the “site of the planning of the Wilcox Rebellion of 1889 had become the rally place for Wilcox’s party in 1903. In early 1904, Mu‘olaulani, a gathering place for the Home Rule party, saw the formation of a new precinct club of the rival Democratic party ‘at the present abode of F. J. Testa at Muolaulani.’” (Kam)

By 1906 Mu‘olaulani was divided into fourteen separate residences and labeled as a tenement (back them “tenement” was used to refer to any property rented to multiple families). (Kam)

In 1911 the Hawai‘i Territorial Senate received a resolution from the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of Honolulu proposing: “that those premises situate at Kapalama, lying on the Waikiki side of Pua Lane, and known as ‘Liliuokalani Premises’, should be made a park for the use of people living in that locality.” The request was ultimately tabled by House of Representatives, ending any further consideration. (Kam)

Lili‘uokalani died at Washington Place on November 11, 1917, and Mu‘olaulani passed to her trust.

Instead of a park marking the location of the Mu‘olaulani, Building 2 of Mayor Wright Homes housing project sits on the former site of the Kapālama residence of Queen Lili‘uokalani.

A service station and building supply store now occupy the King Street frontage of the queen’s property and is still owned by her trust. (The inspiration and information for this summary came from writing by Ralph Kam.)

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