Buildings | Page 65 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 1, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Fire Department

Formal fire prevention and firefighting date back to Roman times. During the middle ages many towns and cities simply burned down because of ineffective firefighting arrangements and because of the building materials used at the time, mainly wood.

Following some spectacular losses, some parishes organized basic firefighting, but no regulations or standards were in force. The Great Fire of London, in 1666, changed things and helped to standardize urban firefighting. (Fireservice UK)

Following a public outcry during the aftermath of that, probably the most famous fire ever, a property developer named Nicholas Barbon introduced the first kind of insurance against fire.

Soon after the formation of this insurance company, and in a bid to help reduce the cost and number of claims, he formed his own Fire Brigade. Other similar companies soon followed his lead and this was how property was protected until the early 1800s.

Policy holders were given a badge, or fire mark, to affix to their building. If a fire started, the Fire Brigade was called. They looked for the fire mark and, provided it was the right one, the fire would be dealt with. (Not the right mark; folks let it burn.)

Many of these insurance companies were to merge, including those of London, which merged in 1833 to form The London Fire Engine Establishment. (Fireservice UK)

No organized fire protection system existed in Honolulu until November 6, 1850, when the city’s first volunteer fire brigade was formed.

WC Parke formed Honolulu’s first Volunteer Fire Brigade (the same day a fire broke out and eleven homes were destroyed.) Reportedly, King Kamehameha III took an immense interest in the department. When the alarm went off, the reigning monarch shed his coat, rolled up his sleeves and helped right alongside the other volunteers.

The Privy Council authorized the procurement of “sixty buckets, painted and marked ‘FB Engine No. 1.’ and place the same at the disposal of the Foreman of Fire Engine to No.1, until the organization of the Fire department …”

“… when they shall go into the custody of the officer to be designated to have charge of the Fire Apparatus of Honolulu, and that the Minister of Finance pay the cost of the same out of the public Exchequer.” (Privy Council Minutes, December 9, 1850)

Shortly thereafter, “the Minister of the Interior (is) hereby required to confer with the forman of the First fire Company of Honolulu as to the necessary building required for the protection of the fire apparatus of the Government and for the meetings of the fire Company …”

“… should it be found necessary that a new building be erected for the purpose aforesaid, that the Minister of the Interior is hereby instructed to cause the same to be erect a suitable lot, at cost not exceeding $1000, and in case a lot is not now owned by the Government, to purchase or lease such an one as may be required.” (Privy Council Minutes, December 27, 1850)

Thus, on December 27, 1850, Kamehameha III established the Honolulu Volunteer Fire Department, and the 1851 legislature enacted the ordinance into law.

In August 1851, a second-hand fire engine was purchased through public subscription and became the property of Engine Company No. 1. Within ten years, the city had four engine companies, including No. 4, which was composed exclusively of Hawaiians.

Kings Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V and Kalakaua were all active members of Company No. 4, with Kamehameha V, as Prince Lot, playing an instrumental role in its foundation and Kalakaua served as the company’s secretary.

Thus, the Honolulu Fire Department is perhaps the only fire department in the world to have the distinction of including monarchs as active members. In 1878, Engine Company No. 5, a Chinese company, was formed.

The volunteer fire companies, each with their fifty plus membership, were active and influential factors in various municipal activities, including politics. One of the first acts of the Provisional government was the disbanding of the volunteer fire companies and the creation of a full-time paid fire department.

The Fire Department was to “consist of a Board of Commissioners, consisting of three members, who shall be appointed by the Minister of the Interior with the consent of the Executive Council, and who shall serve without pay ; a Chief Engineer, who shall be appointed by the Board of Commissioners.”

“There shall be three or more fire companies under pay, in the discretion of the Board of Commissioners, and such other volunteer companies as the Commissioners shall deem fit. The general care and supervision of the department shall be under the direction of the Board of Commissioners, who shall also have power to issue such general rules and regulations for the government of the department as they shall deem necessary.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 28, 1893)

Each volunteer company had its own fire house and held regular meetings. The most substantial of the early firehouses was Engine Company No. 5’s brick station on Maunakea Street. Erected in 1886, it replaced a frame building destroyed in the first Chinatown fire. Subsequently, the brick station was consumed in the Chinatown fire of 1900.

Due to the expansion of the city and the need for more adequate quarters, as the volunteer stations were not designed to stable horses or serve as dormitories for the men on twenty- four hour duty, new stations replaced the earlier ones.

In 1897, the original Central Fire Station was erected on Beretania and Fort Streets, consolidating Engine Companies 1 and 2, and in 1899, a frame station was constructed on “the plains of Makiki” for Engine Company No. 3.

In 1901, the Palama Station was built to replace the Maunakea Street Station. With the development of Kaimuki as a suburb, a frame station was built there in 1913. (NPS) (Lots of information here from NPS ands Nucciarone.)

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Fire tower and Engine House No. 2-PPWD-8-8-011

February 12, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The Crowning

Although Kalākaua had been elected and serving as King since 1874, upon returning from a trip around the world, in 1883, it was determined that Hawaiʻi’s King should also be properly crowned.

“ʻIolani Palace, the new building of that name, had been completed the previous year, and a large pavilion had been erected immediately in front of it for the celebration of the coronation. This was exclusively for the accommodation of the royal family …”

“… but there was adjacent thereto a sort of (coronation pavilion and amphitheater,) capable of holding ten thousand persons, intended for the occupation of the people.” (Liliʻuokalani)

On Monday, February 12, 1883, the imposing ceremony of the Coronation of their Majesties the King and Queen of the Hawaiian Islands took place at ʻIolani Palace.

The weather for the three previous days had been anything but favorable, it having rained incessantly during that time more especially on Saturday night. The roof of the amphitheatre not proving impervious to the drenching rain, it was made so by an additional covering of corrugated iron, all of which was put on betwixt a.m. and a.m. on Monday.

At break of day change of weather occurred. The sun shone forth with its wonted brilliancy. The reeds were spread over the line of march, and by o’clock the school children were marching towards the rendezvous.

At the appointed hour the procession started, and entering the Palace gates, the schools and societies took up the respective positions assigned to them.

“The Honorable President of the Legislative Assembly then took the King’s Crown and raised it up before the people and placed It In the hands of the Chancellor, saying : ‘I present this Crown to the rightful King of these Islands, approved by Acts of the Legislative Assembly in the Legislature of the Kingdom assembled of the years 1880 and 1882.’”

“The Chancellor then placed it in the King’s hands, saying: ‘Receive this Crown of pure gold to adorn the high station wherein thou hast been placed.’”

“The King then raised up the Crown and placed it upon his head.”

“The Chancellor then took the second Crown and placed it in the King’s hands, who rose and placed it upon the Queen’s head, who reverently bowed her head on receiving it, the King saying: ‘I place this Crown upon your head, to share the honors of my throne.’”

“The Crown is composed of a fillet or band of gold one inch in width, set, on each edge, with 192 small diamonds. Midway in the fillet set many rubies, save at the back, where there are set in the place of the emeralds and rubies 6 kukui nut jewels of a deep reddish black, highly polished.”

“At the front and back, and on each side, the fillet is surmounted by a golden Maltese cross, in the arms of which are set forty-eight diamonds, each arm having three. In the center of the cross in front of the crown is a magnificent diamond of about six carats weight, and on the sides others a little smaller.”

“A splendid carbuncle glows in the center of the cross at the back. Between the crosses are short curved bars forming twelve points, from which spring taro leaves in frosted gold, beautifully veined, and each on holding a diamond in its center.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 17, 1883)

“The taro leaf motifs adorning the crown’s fillet referenced the chief as the source of life. They denoted the role and responsibility of the chief as the progenitor of the people and the land, the chief’s descent from the gods, and the divine course of life.” (Kamehiro)

“Between the points are set twelve other fine diamonds. Springing from the fillet, over the crimson velvet cap of maintenance are eight bars of gold, whose surfaces are studded with half-round knobs, as in the crown of France.”

“These eight bars diminish in width, and finally unite at the base of globe of dark red enamel. These eight bars are emblematical of the union of islands of the group under one rule.”

“The globe that they uphold is banded horizontally with a circle of pearls, and another like band passes over the upper of the globe. Surmounting the whole is a golden Maltese cross, in which set four brilliant diamonds.”

“The Queen’s crown is precisely similar, except that it a trifle smaller. Each crown contains 521 diamonds, 54 pearls, 20 opals, 8 emeralds, 1 large carbuncle, and 6 kukui jewels.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 17, 1883)

In addition to the Western-style style crown, he received a sword, ring and scepter; Kalākaua was also presented with traditional items belonging to ruling Hawaiian chiefs: the feather cloak of Kamehameha I, the kāhili (standard) of Pili, and the pūloʻuloʻu (kapu stick) and lei palaoa (whale tooth pendant.)

A couple days later (February 14, 1883,) Kalākaua unveiled the King Kamehameha statue on the grounds of Aliʻiolani Hale (now the home of Hawaiʻi’s State Supreme Court.)

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King Kalakaua’s crown, scepter, and sword used during his coronation ceremony-PP-36-13-002-1883

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Mrs. Lahilahi Webb (1862-1949) setting up the royal crowns-PP-37-1-012-1936

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February 9, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Keʻelikōlani

Keʻelikōlani’s heritage was controversial. She was the poʻolua (“two heads”) child of Kāhalaiʻa and Kekūanāoʻa. (Johnson)

Her mother, Pauahi, was said to be carrying the child of Kāhalaiʻa when she married Kekūanāoʻa. Kekūanāoʻa claimed Keʻelikōlani as his own in court, and the matter was officially settled, though it would be debated again in later years, even by her own half-brother, Lot. (Nogelmeier)

After Pauahi’s death, Kekūanāoʻa married Kīna‘u, and they became the parents of Lot Kapuāiwa, Alexander Liholiho, and Victoria Kamāmalu, making Keʻelikōlani a half-sister to these three.

Her mother died during her childbirth (February 9, 1826,) and she was raised by the Kuhina Nui and favorite wife of Kamehameha I, Kaʻahumanu. (Kaʻahumanu died six years later; she was then sent to live with her father, Kekūanāoʻa, and her stepmother, Kīnaʻu.)

Keʻelikōlani was an important figure during her lifetime, known for her high rank in the Kamehameha lineage, her social position as a governor and woman of means, and for her character as a woman of dignity, both strong-willed and kind.

She was held in high regard by the general populace, and treated lovingly or respectfully by the ranking chiefs, government officials, and the people of her time.

She was a great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V. (Nogelmeier)

As a Kamehameha descendant, Keʻelikōlani was part of the royal family and the court for as long as the Kamehameha dynasty ruled. Following the death of Kamehameha V, William Charles Lunalilo ascended the throne by election in 1873.

A Kamehameha through his mother Kekāuluohi, Lunalilo proclaimed the royal family to consist of himself, his father Kanaʻina, Dowager Queen Emma and Keʻelikōlani. His official royal court included these four, along with the king’s treasurer, H. G. Crabbe. (Nogelmeier)

When mentioned in the press, Keʻelikōlani was usually listed as Ka Mea Kiʻekiʻe, Ke Ali‘i Ruta Keʻelikōlani – Her Highness, Chiefess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. Foreigners knew her as “Princess Ruth.” (Nogelmeier)

At the age of sixteen, Keʻelikōlani married William Pitt Leleiōhoku. While serving as governor of Hawai‘i Island, Leleiōhoku died, only twenty-two years old. Their surviving son, William Pitt Kīnaʻu, died at the age of seventeen in an accident on Hawai‘i. (Silva)

Keʻelikōlani’s second husband (June 2, 1856) was the part-Hawaiian Isaac Young Davis, grandson of Isaac Davis, a British advisor to King Kamehameha I. The two had a son (1862,) Keolaokalani, whom Keʻelikōlani gave as a hānai to Bernice Pauahi. Keolaokalani died in about 6-months and Leleiōhoku died of pneumonia in 1877.

She was also the adoptive mother of Leleiōhoku, brother to Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani and Likelike, and heir apparent, whom she had renamed in honor of her first husband. (Nogelmeier)

“Princess Ruth, daughter of Pauahi and Kekūanāoʻa, who had adopted Leleiōhoku, asked of the king (Kalākaua) if she herself could not be proclaimed heir apparent; and this suggestion was placed before the king’s counsellors at a cabinet meeting, but it was objected that …”

“… if her petition was granted, then Mrs. Pauahi Bishop would be the next heir to the throne, as they were first cousins. At noon of the tenth day of April, 1877, the booming of the cannon was heard which announced that I was heir apparent to the throne of Hawaii.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Keʻelikōlani died in 1883 at Haleʻōlelo, her large hale pili native-style home on the grounds of Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i.

At her death, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated that she “give and bequeath forever to my beloved younger sister (cousin), Bernice Pauahi Bishop, all of my property, the real property and personal property from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi, all of said property to be hers.” (about 353,000 acres)

This established the land-base endowment for Pauahi’s subsequent formation of Kamehameha Schools at her death. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop passed away a year later.

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Princes Ruth Keelikolani

Princess Ruth Keelikolani (right of center) with her son (seated to her left) Prince Leleiohoku II

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Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku II wearing uniform with the royal orders of Kamehameha I and Kalakaua I-(PP-98-8-014)-about_1874

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Princess Keelikōlani’s hale pili (grass house) in Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i. ca 1883_Hulihee_Palace-WC

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Keoua Hale, princess Ruth Keelikolani’s Victorian mansion in Honolulu

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January 20, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Ossipoff Meets Mid-19th Century

The Walter Irving Henderson House in Kona was featured in a 1958 edition of Sunset Magazine – they said, “The house is small but takes care of a large number of guests without crowding.”

It is a combination of classics – the first floor structure was built, circa 1864, as a small church or meeting house; in 1953, the deteriorated church was renovated and the second floor was added, for use as a beach house.

The first-floor stone walls were part of the original Kahului Church building, and were constructed in a style that was typical of the Kona District in the mid-19th century.

Lava rock was a plentiful raw building material in Kona, while other construction materials such as wood were not as readily available. Once missionaries arrived, and began to build permanent houses of worship, they found that building with stone was the most economical and expeditious means of constructing what they needed.

These buildings were constructed with local lava rock held together with lime mortar produced with coral, typically burned on site. In some cases, the stones used came from local heiau. (It is not known if that was the case here, though there are records of heiau nearby.)

It is also not known who built the Kahului Church. One of the most well-known builders of Kona’s nineteenth century stone churches was the Reverend John D Paris, an American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Protestant missionary who was first in charge of the mission’s Kaʻū area, and then the North Kona area.

Many church buildings constructed in the Kona area are attributed to Paris; however this is thought to be a former Catholic church.

The first floor stone walls were constructed circa 1864 when the land was granted to Kapae in Royal Land Grant #2961, and the Kahului Church building is believed to have been constructed.

It is likely that the readily available lava rock building material allowed the missionaries to build in a similar style to Paris. For example, this type of construction was also used in the larger St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kailua town.

An 1892 map shows Kahului Church, along with a nearby structure labeled “Makuakane” (which translates approximately to “father” in English, giving a strong indication that this was likely a Catholic priest’s house.)

The structure was modified from the original one-story church form to its existing two-story appearance in 1953; the entire second floor and interior of the first floor were designed by celebrated local architect Vladimir Ossipoff.

Ossipoff’s design for the Henderson House was innovative, and created an extremely unique house that, though it does not look like most of his other work, nonetheless embodies the majority of his aesthetic and philosophy of design.

Ossipoff was a prominent architect in the Islands, working between the 1930s and 1990s. He was recognized locally, nationally and internationally for his designs. He is best known for his contribution to the development of the Hawaiian Modern movement.

This style is characterized by the work of architects who “subscribed to the general modernity of the International Style while attempting to integrate the cultural and topographical character of the (Hawaiian) region.” (Sakamoto)

The main portion of the first floor of the house is one large open room, and has a scored, finished concrete floor, painted plastered walls, and an open beamed ceiling that exposes the floorboards of the second floor.

The thick stone walls create deep niches at the door and window openings; the center-opening doors and shutters installed do not extend beyond the width of the walls.

The property perimeter has a dry stack rock wall, dating possibly to the early- to mid-1800s. This was when a government commission began requiring formal property boundaries be erected by the year 1862.

Walls of this type, comprised of stones fitted together without mortar to hold them in place, had commonly been constructed in pre-contact times for a variety of uses.

As early as Kamehameha I in the 1820s, dry-stack walls were used in the Kona area as barriers to prevent wandering cattle. As ranching grew in the later part of the nineteenth century, more walls were needed to contain the growing number of cattle.

In Kona building and repairing dry-stack stone walls was common until the 1930s, but diminished throughout the Territory of Hawaii with the greater availability of alternate materials for walls and fences at that time.

The house was recently reviewed for listing on the State Register of Historic Places and the National Register. (Most of the information here is from Jones, NPS.)

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Henderson House

Henderson House-Alii Drive

Henderson House

Kahului Landing-(HSA)-PPWD-5-3-019

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November 12, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaukahoku

“Kamehameha III, By the Grace of God, King of the Hawaiian Islands, by this Royal Patent, makes known, unto all men, that he has for himself and his successors in office, this day granted and given, absolutely, in Fee Simple unto John George Lewis, his faithful and loyally disposed subject for the consideration of Eight Hundred Dollars”.

Thus, in 1848, through Royal Patent No. 97, John George Lewis acquired 8.92-acres of land in the ili of Kaukahoku (the stars have arisen.) In the 1840s the land was separated from the city by nearly two miles of open land and tropical forest.

It was through this land that Kamehameha the Great marched during what would become the Battle of the Nu‘uanu in April 1795 (the last major battle before the unification of the Hawaiian Islands.)

(Coincidently, Kamehameha was aided by foreigners, including John Young and Isaac Davis, who provided the cannons and tactical know-how used in the battle.)

This land, a portion of a grant known as Kaukahoku was originally designated as Fort Land; that is, it was set apart for the use of the Fort, probably as agricultural land.

Sometime in the 1840s Kekūanāoʻa, Governor of the island of Oahu, leased this land to Henry A Peirce, an American merchant who had established a thriving business in the Hawaiian Islands. He named the property ‘Beleview.’ Peirce, however, soon left the Islands and the land was leased to Lewis. (Rivera)

In September 1843 Lewis notified the Hawaiian Government that at the end of the year he desired to buy the Government interest in the land for $500. The Government, however, set the price at $800 plus interest, which Lewis presumably paid. (HABS)

John Lewis, the son of Isaiah and Polly (Holmes) Lewis, was born in Hawaii and was a successful dry goods importing merchant in Honolulu. Lewis & Co later became Mitchell & Fales, Ship Chandlers, on Nuʻuanu street at Merchant street (Lewis left to become a Real Estate Broker and General Agent.) (Thrum)

Tradition claims that Lewis built the house at Kaukahoku in 1847. (HABS)

It was modeled in the Greek Revival style. It has a formal plan arrangement, wide central hall, high ceilings and floor-length hinged, in-swinging shuttered casement window.

It is one-story, over a basement, and measures about 73-feet by 51-feet. The roof is hipped over the main portion of the home and gabled over the rear lanai that was converted to a room.

Around 1850, Lewis went to Boston and engaged in business there. Before leaving, he sold the land to John Young II (Keoni Ana) for $6,000. (Young was son of John Young who assisted Kamehameha in his final battles for unification, including Nuʻuanu.)

Young gave the name Hānaiakamālama to the house (“foster child of the God Kamalama,” one of the ancestral gods his mother, a Hawaiian high Chiefess, Mary Kuamoʻo Kaoanahaeha, a niece of King Kamehameha I (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon) – also the name given to the Southern Cross.))

John Young II was an uncle to Emma Rooke who became Queen of the Hawaiian Islands at the time of her marriage to King Kamehameha IV in 1856.

Young gave the young royal couple the use of the home in Nuuanu Valley and they found it a pleasant respite from court life at ʻIolani palace.

At his death in 1857, Young willed the property to his niece, Queen Emma, and thus Hanaiakamalama came into her possession.

She and her family continued to enjoy the home for another five years until the death of her young son, and then her husband.

Queen Emma continued to use the home as a summer house until her death in 1885. Hānaiakamālama became a center of social activity as well as a restful country retreat. (HABS)

When the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Hawaiian Islands as part of the itinerary of a round-the-world tour, Queen Emma “gave an impromptu entertainment to a large number of guests at her residence in Nuʻuanu Valley.”

“The guests enjoyed themselves at croquet and other outdoor sports on the lawn until evening when the fine room prepared for the entertainment of the Duke of Edinburgh was thrown open and dancing commenced and was kept up until about 9 o’clock”. (Hawaiian Gazette, March 2, 1870)

Queen Emma left her property after her death to Colonel Cresswell Rooke of Broomhill, Colchester, Essex, England, a nephew of her hānai father, Dr TCB Rooke, and to Queen’s Hospital.

Col. Rooke visited Hawai’i in 1903 to settle the estate. When the property was divided, the Colonel waived back rents due him, which had been given to Queen’s Hospital (in exchange for several keepsakes.) (Hackler)

In 1890, Alexander Cartwright, executor of the estate testified that Queen Emma’s old home was “in need of extensive repairs, is old and untenantable, has been unoccupied for past five years.” The land and house were put at auction and were bought by the Hawaiian Government on August 27, 1890.

When the government tried to sell the property in 1906, strong public objections to the sale were made, many suggesting that the land be set aside as a park. The government reconsidered. (HABS)

A later concurrent resolution from the legislature was adopted in 1911, “that ‘The Queen Emma Place’ in Nuʻuanu Valley, City and County of Honolulu … be set aside and reserved as a Park, to be known as ‘Nuʻuanu Park’ …”

“… and that the Governor or other proper authorities of the Territory of Hawaii are hereby requested to take, without delay, the necessary legal steps to put into force and effect the purposes of this Concurrent Resolution.”

Hānaiakamālama was later saved from demolition by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi. Today, the Daughters preserve and maintain this residence and the Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona as museums open to the public.

The restored and furnished home of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Hawaiian monarchy.

The Daughters of Hawai‘i was founded in 1903 by seven women who were daughters of American Protestant missionaries. They were born in Hawai‘i, were citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom before annexation and foresaw the inevitable loss of much of the Hawaiian culture.

They founded the organization “to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawai‘i and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.” (My mother was a Daughter.)

The property is open to the public, daily 9:00 am–4:00 pm; closed major holidays; Admission (kamaʻaina:) Adult $6, Child 17 and under $1, Seniors $4; reservations required for groups of 20 or more.

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