Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa

We are happy to announce that Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA,) serving as the sponsor for the Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa Scenic Byway, has retained Hoʻokuleana LLC to assist in the application, designation and planning processes for the Byway through the Hawaiʻi Scenic Byway Program.

The Hawaiʻi Scenic Byways Program is designed to complement the National Scenic Byways Program, a nationwide effort to identify, promote, manage and invest in roadways that are the most significant in their region with regard to these scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archeological and natural qualities.

The purpose of the Hawai`i Scenic Byways Program is to formally designate Hawaiʻi Scenic Byways and to establish and implement Corridor Management Plans (CMPs) for our corridors.

The Hawaii Scenic Byways Program identifies and recognizes:
• roads that “tell a story” that is special;
• roads with outstanding scenic, cultural, recreational, archaeological, natural and historic qualities; and
• roads that will benefit from a coordinated strategy for tourism and economic development

First, the name – it is not only descriptive of the meaning and feeling of Waikīkī as we know it today, it is also a metaphor of Waikīkī in traditional (ancient Hawaiian) times, at multiple levels.

In ancient times, a ‘kauhale’ was a cluster of structures [a living compound.]  The traditional Hawaiian home was the kauhale (Lit., plural house;) this was a group of structures forming the homestead – with each building serving a specific purpose.

Literally, ‘Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa’ translates to ‘Waikīkī – Home of Hospitality.’  But, this context of “Home” can expand and also represent the community of Waikīkī.

Starting with Māʻilikūkahi, who ruled in the 1400-1500s (at about the same time Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic,) Waikīkī became the Royal Center for Oʻahu’s ruling Aliʻi.  It remained as such, through Kamehameha I.

The Royal Centers were areas selected by the Ali‘i for their residences and Ali‘i often moved between several residences throughout the year.  The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources (water, fishing, fertile land, etc) and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

The Scenic Byways program serves to identify “Intrinsic Qualities” along the corridor; these include Scenic, Natural, Historic, Cultural, Archaeological and Recreational.

These intrinsic qualities break into two clusters:
“Land” (Scenic, Natural and Recreational,) and
“People” (Historic, Cultural and Archaeological)

Sites and Stories of Waikīkī, as illustrated through its Intrinsic Qualities, help tell the stories of the Land (‘Āina) and its People from the earliest beginnings of Hawai‘i to today.  Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa will be incorporating several core story themes:
• Royal Residences
• Visitor Industry
• Military
• Natural/Geologic
• Socio-Economic-Political
• Side Trips

Although many of the sites and structures of Waikīkī from the ancient times are long gone, many of these pre-contact Hawaiian places, environment, people, history and culture still convey the sense of earlier importance through continued use of original place names for areas, streets, surf sites, symbols, etc and other references to these people, places and times.  Though gone, they are not forgotten and continue to express the ways of the past.

Through the telling of stories of Waikīkī (and a goal of the establishment of a Scenic Byway (and dream of NaHHA founder, George Kanahele,)) we help to restore Hawaiianness to Waikīkī in a positive, productive and respectful way.

The sense of place of Waikīkī lies within these stories, under the overarching contexts of “Aloha” and “Hoʻokipa” (Hospitality.)

“Waikīkī’s significance is as a place of history, not destination.” (George Kanahele)  Restoring some of Waikīkī’s historical and cultural integrity through Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa Scenic Byway will help to illustrate “I ka wā mamua, ka wā mahope” (The future is in the past.)

This is our third Scenic Byway opportunity.  We also assisted the Kona Sponsor of “Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast” with their Corridor Management Plan (the first approved in the State,) as well as helping the Kōloa Sponsor of Holo Holo Kōloa Scenic Byway with their permits and CMP.

In addition to each of those receiving Historic Preservation Commendations from Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation, the Kona project also received the Environment/Preservation Award from the American Planning Association-Hawaiʻi Chapter and the Pualu Award for Culture & History from the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on this project, you can click the following link for a background summary of Waikīkī,  the Scenic Byway Program and the many stories that are told along its roadways.

Click here for more information on the Waikīkī – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa

The image shows our theme image, theme statement and mission/vision – ultimately, we see this Scenic Byway helping to “Restore Hawaiianness to Waikīkī.”

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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Hanami – Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival

Hanami (Japanese, literally, hana = flower and mi = look … “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers; “flower” in this case almost always means cherry blossoms.

In Japan, the flowering cherry tree, or “Sakura,” is an exalted flowering plant.

On the continent, the plantings of cherry blossom trees originated in 1912, as a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan.

Over three-thousand cherry blossom trees were planted along the Tidal Basin of the reclaimed Potomac waterfront in Washington, DC.  Today, the National Cherry Blossom Festival is a DC spring celebration.

Cherry blossom trees are very temperamental. They grow in cold climates and require a lot of sunshine, space, rain and breeze. The flowers bloom when a cold spell is followed by a warm spell.

Waimea on the Big Island meets the criteria and today marks the 20th Annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival – with a bunch of activities and programs, focusing on the “Viewing of the Flowers in Springtime.”

The cherry trees in Waimea are in rows fronting Church Row Park. The first trees (there were initially only three) were planted in 1953 in honor of Fred Makino. These trees are the Formosan cherry trees from Taiwan, which produce flowers but no fruit.

In 1912, Fred Makino founded and edited the Japanese language newspaper Hawaii Hochi, which flourished through the Great Depression, two World Wars, dock strikes and political changes.  After Makino’s death in 1953, his wife decided to plant cherry trees in his memory.

From these, Parker Ranch gardener Isami Ishihara later propagated more trees.  Ishihara then approached Pachin Onodera of the Waimea Lions Club to suggest the trees be used to promote community beautification.

In 1972, led by President Frank Fuchino, the Waimea Lions Club started what was to become a cherry tree park at the County-owned Church Row by planting 20-trees donated by Ishihara.

In 1975, 50-more trees were added in a tree planting commemorating the visit of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako to Hawaiʻi and to honor the first Japanese immigrants who settled in Waimea.

For two decades, Waimea’s free community festival has showcased the 60-year-old cherry trees planted at Waimea’s historic Church Row Park.  The event also celebrates this community’s rich Japanese cultural heritage and traditions at venues throughout town.

Look for pink banners identifying sites — from the Parker Ranch Historic Homes on Māmalahoa to the Hawaiian Homestead Farmer’s Market.

Everyone is invited to spend the day enjoying a lineup of Japanese and multi-cultural performing arts, plus hands-on demonstrations of bonsai, origami, traditional tea ceremony, mochi pounding and a host of colorful craft fairs and delicious foods.

Festivities begin at 9 am in the parking lot behind Parker Ranch Center with special guests, honorees and performances, including bon dancing.

Highlights this year will be an anniversary exhibit honoring some of the festival’s first performers and commemorating its founders – most notably the memory of the late Anne Field-Gomes, whose volunteerism benefited many Waimea organizations and events, including the festival.

Anne Field-Gomes died October 23, 2012 at the age of 84. She brought the AARP’s Tax Aid program to Waimea, served on the Waimea Community Association Board, and was treasurer for the Friends of Thelma Parker Library and the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee. She was a member of the Waimea Outdoor Circle, St. James’ Church and Imiola Congregational Church and the Waimea Pupule Papale Red Hat Club.

The image is this year’s event poster.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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Kapi‘olani Park

Kapi‘olani Park was dedicated and named by King Kalākaua to honor his wife, Queen Kapi‘olani.  It was the first public park in the Hawaiian Islands.

The park was dedicated as “a place of innocent refreshment for all who wish to leave the dust of the town street.”

Scotsman Archibald Cleghorn, Governor of Oʻahu and father of Princess Kaʻiulani, was tasked to come up with the design for the park.

Characterized from the beginning as “swamp land in a desert,” Kapiʻolani Park became a park specifically because it wasn’t considered suitable for anything else, and because of its peculiar climate – it’s one of the few places on Oahu where rain almost never falls.

An important part of the initial park was its oval horse race track.  King Kalākaua reportedly liked gambling on horse racing and in 1872 he helped form The Hawaiian Jockey Club (this organized the sport according to the rules that governed races elsewhere.)

In the wet winter of 1876, horseracing enthusiasts from Honolulu asked King Kalākaua to find a dry course for their popular races. King Kalākaua chose an unoccupied dry plain at the foot of Diamond Head.

On June 11, 1877, Kapiʻolani Park was dedicated.

Nearby wetlands and stream provided a diversity of scenery and activity.  Picnicking took place on the banks of streams; trails and bridges over the waterway added to the restful ambiance.

Back in the late-1800s and early-1900s, a lagoon in Kapiʻolani Park contained many islands and islets. The largest was called Makee’s Island (named after James Makee, a Scottish whaling ship captain and the Kapiʻolani Park Association’s first president.)

Makee’s Island started near the corner of Waikīkī Road and Makee Road. (Later, Waikīkī Road was renamed Kalākaua Avenue and a portion of Makee Road joined Kapahulu Road to become Kapahulu Avenue.)

The island, shaped like a long rectangle, was over 700-feet long and 100-feet wide. On it was the first Kapiʻolani Park bandstand, a wooden gazebo-like structure.

The Royal Hawaiian Band performed there on Sunday afternoons and occasionally had night concerts.

At that time, Waikīkī was a popular retreat for the royal families, merchants of Honolulu and visitors.  They were attracted by the long white sand beach, the protective reef and the proximity to Honolulu.  Then, there were relatively few visitor accommodations.

Initially, people would convert their homes and rent rooms.  Finally, in 1893, the first famous Waikīkī hotel opened, “Sans Souci.”  It became one of the first beach resorts (that end of Waikīkī is still called “Sans Souci Beach” – makai of Kapiʻolani Park.)

At the turn of the century, more hotels began to spring up in Waikīkī – starting with the Moana Hotel in 1901, the Royal Hawaiian in 1927 and others.

In the early years, the park’s primary attractions were an exotic bird collection and horse racing, especially the running of the Rosita Cup, held annually on King Kamehameha Day.

Peacocks, trees and palms were added to the park, with plantings obtained from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Roads and trolley lines were extended to include “Waikīkī Road at Makee” (Kalākaua and Kapahulu Avenues.)

Then the zoo component started to expand.  During 1914 to 1916, more animals were exhibited at Kapiʻolani Park. The first animals included a monkey, a honey bear and some lion cubs. In 1916, Daisy, a friendly African elephant, arrived in Honolulu.

In 1947, the Honolulu Zoo master plan was approved to occupy the triangle of Kapiʻolani Park lying between Kapahulu Avenue, Monsarrat Avenue and Paki Street.

Nestled near the Zoo is the Waikīkī Shell, a venue for outdoor concerts and large gatherings (it was home to the now retired Kodak Hula Show.)

Likewise, sports activities also expanded.  Polo was introduced and baseball was played, in addition to tennis courts, field laid out for soccer and rugby and a continuous path for walkers and joggers.

This area now includes Kapiʻolani Park, Waikīkī Zoo, Waikīkī Shell, Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium and Waikīkī Aquarium.

The image shows Kapiʻolani Park in about 1900.  The carriages are lined along the race track and a polo game is going on in the center.  I have also added other images and maps on Kapiʻolani Park in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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Commercial Sugar in Hawai‘i

The early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully.

Since it was a crop that produced a choice food product that could be shipped to distant markets, its culture on a field and commercial scale was started as early as 1800 and it continued to grow.

In 1802, sugar was first made in the islands on the island of Lānaʻi  by a native of China.  He came here in one of the vessels trading for sandalwood, and brought a stone mill and boilers, and after grinding off one small crop and making it into sugar, went back the next year with his fixtures, to China.

The first commercially-viable sugar plantation, Ladd and Co., was started at Kōloa on Kaua‘i.  On July 29, 1835 (187 years ago, today,) Ladd & Company obtained a 50-year lease on nearly 1,000-acres of land and established a plantation and mill site in Kōloa.

It was to change the face of Kaua‘i (and Hawai‘i) forever, launching an entire economy, lifestyle and practice of monocropping that lasted for over a century.  A tribute to this venture is found at the Kōloa Sugar Memorial in Old Kōloa Town.

Sugar gradually replaced sandalwood and whaling in the mid-19th century and became the principal industry in the islands until it was surpassed by the visitor industry in 1960.

Early sugar planters shared many challenges: trade barriers, shortages of water and labor, and the lack of markets for their sugar.

Hawaiians were hired to work on the plantation.  This had far-reaching effect on the social and economic make-up of the local society.

This introduced the concept of independence for the Hawaiians.  Workers were paid directly and no longer had to pay a tax to the chiefs.

Workers were initially paid with coins.  Getting enough coins to pay the workers was difficult in the 1830s.  In response, Kōloa Plantation initiated the use of scrip as payment to workers; these were redeemable for purchases at the plantation’s store.

However, due to counterfeiting, in 1839, scrip was printed from engraved plates, with intricate waved and networked lines.  This more formal Kōloa Plantation scrip became the first paper money in Hawaiʻi.  Not only was this scrip accepted at the Ladd & Company store, it became widely accepted by other merchants on the island.

Sugar was the dominant economic force in Hawaiʻi for over a century, other plantations soon followed Kōloa.  By 1883, more than 50 plantations were producing sugar on five islands.

Kōloa Plantation set other standards that endured throughout the islands for over 100-years.  In addition to the plantation-owned general store, housing was provided for workers.

Barrack-type buildings or individual homes had space for workers to plant a garden.  The company dairy sold milk to plantation workers.  Medical services were provided.

Hawai‘i’s economy turned toward sugar in the decades between 1860 and 1880; these twenty years were pivotal in building the plantation system.  A century after Captain James Cook’s arrival in Hawaiʻi, sugar plantations started to dominate the landscape.

What encouraged the development of plantations in Hawaiʻi?

For one, the discovery of gold and rush of settlement of California opened lucrative avenues of trade in the Pacific.  Likewise, the Civil War virtually shut down Louisiana sugar production during the 1860s, enabling Hawai‘i to compete in a California market that paid elevated prices for sugar.

In addition, the Treaty of Reciprocity – 1875 between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawai‘i eliminated the major trade barrier to Hawai‘i’s closest and major market.  Through the treaty, the US obtained Pearl Harbor and Hawai‘i’s sugar planters received duty-free entry into U.S. markets for their sugar.

At the industry’s peak in the 1930s, Hawaii’s sugar plantations employed more than 50,000 workers and produced more than 1-million tons of sugar a year; over 254,500-acres were planted in sugar.  That plummeted to 492,000 tons in 1995.

With statehood in 1959 and the almost simultaneous introduction of passenger jet airplanes, the tourist industry began to grow rapidly.

A majority of the plantations closed in the 1990s.

As sugar declined, tourism took its place – and far surpassed it.  Like many other societies, Hawaii underwent a profound transformation from an agrarian to a service economy.

The image is Kōloa Sugar Mill in the 1880s; in addition, I have included some other old Sugar Mills related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

The Sugar theme, Mill and other Kaua‘i South Shore sites are included as Points of Interest in the Holo Holo Kōloa Scenic Byway.  We are assisting Mālama Kōloa in the preparation of its Corridor Management Plan.  Recently, the project was awarded a Historic Preservation Commendation from Historic Hawai‘i Foundation.

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Mauka-Ewa Corner of Richards and Hotel Streets


I wasn’t sure what to call this post.  It includes a little bit of history and is essentially a discussion of the evolution of the site and building that now houses the Hawai‘i State Art Museum.

The uses evolved from scattered homes to the Hawaiian Hotel to the Armed Forces YMCA to Hemmeter Corporation headquarters to No. 1 Capitol District Building, and now to the Hawai‘i State Art Museum and State offices.

Here’s a little bit of history.

Back in the mid-1800s, the growth of steamship travel between Hawai‘i and the West Coast of the United States, Australia and New Zealand caused a large increase in the number of visitors to the islands.

The arrival and departure of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain,) the Duke of Edinburgh and others included envoys, politicians, merchants and opportunists, created the need of good hotel accommodations to lodge similar visitors.

The Hawaiian Hotel was proposed in 1865, but not laid down until 1871.  The Hotel was located on the Mauka-Ewa corner of Hotel Street and Richards Street and was formally opened by a ball on February 29, 1872.

The Hawaiian Hotel was later called the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, because King Kamehameha V felt adding “Royal” to the name would give it regal feel.

Therefore, first “Royal Hawaiian Hotel” was not in Waikīkī;l rather, it was in downtown Honolulu (the later one, in Waikīki, opened over fifty years later, in 1928.)

In 1879, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was surrounded by dwellings, including several thatched-roof hale, but the hotel expanded over the next twenty years and replaced most of the residences.

Reportedly, Kalākaua kept a suite there; the Paradise of the Pacific noted it was “one of the coolest buildings in the city.”  (I’m not sure that this is the same “cool” that I refer to as “waaay cool.”)

By 1900, the last dwellings and a doctor’s office were located on the corner of Beretania and Richards Streets.  These were all gone by 1914.

In November 1917, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was purchased by a group of local businessmen and became the official headquarters of the Armed Services YMCA in Hawai‘i.

In 1926, the hotel was demolished and the present building was constructed.  The Army and Navy YMCA building was erected on the site of the former Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1927.

Through the middle of the century, the downtown “Y” was a popular destination for service men from all branches of the military.

By the mid-1970s, an increasing number of junior enlisted personnel were married with children.

The Armed Services YMCA responded to the changing needs of the military by opening family centers at Aliamanu Military Reservation, Iroquois Point Housing, Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe, Wheeler/Schofield and Tripler Army Medical Center.

The building was rehabilitated in the late-1980s by Hemmeter Corporation, when it was renamed No. 1 Capitol District Building.

This remodeled office complex became the Hemmeter Corporation Building.  After completion in 1988, the historic building served as Hemmeter Headquarters for several years.

Hemmeter Design Group earned national awards for the redevelopment of the historic YMCA building in downtown Honolulu.
Today, the Hawai’i State Art Museum (managed by the Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts) and several State offices are housed in the historic Spanish-Mission style building.
The Hawai‘i State Art Museum opened in the fall of 2002.  The museum is located on the second floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building.
The museum houses three galleries featuring (and serves as the principal venue for) artworks from the Art in Public Places Collection.
The image shows the No. 1 Capitol District Building.  In addition, I have added some related images and maps in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.