Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Laniākea

The YWCA of Oʻahu is the oldest continuous service organization devoted to women and children in Hawaiʻi; in 1900, a small group of women met at Mrs. BF Dillingham’s home at Arcadia on Punahou Street to organize the YWCA.

From the beginning, the YWCA was organized to provide the working women of Honolulu a safe place to build friendships, develop or maintain solid values and learn skills to become more productive members of the community; but over the years, the vehicles for accomplishing those goals have changed in response to the times.

In 1904, the headquarters was housed in the Boston Building on Fort Street.  YWCA girls’ basketball team competed with teams from Oʻahu College (Punahou Schools) and Kamehameha.   Engleside (the first boarding home located at 251 Vineyard) opened and was jointly operated with the YMCA.

By 1906, when it joined the YWCA of the USA, recreational and athletic programs including tennis and swimming classes had been added.  The first YWCA residence for young working women, The Homestead (the former Castle Estate on King Street,) was opened and addressed community concerns over the lack of safe and affordable housing accommodations in Hawaiʻi.

“The YWCA of Honolulu has its rooms in the Boston building, on Fort street, and while not as aggressive as their bretheren, are nevertheless filling a much-needed niche in the community for the comradeship and comfort of an increasing body of young women coming as strangers in a strange land. In connection with its work a home is maintained on King street, of the Castle Estate, designated the Homestead, for the benefit of members and other bachelor maids.”   (Thrum, 1914)

In 1914, the first Business Women’s Club was established.  By 1917, even the Queen was a member of the YWCA.  The Red Cross had moved into the YWCA and a worker had been hired to help Japanese picture brides.

In 1921, the Atherton family gifted their near-downtown residence, Fernhurst, to the YWCA in memory of their daughter, Kate, and in tribute to her deep interest in the welfare of girls.  The original Fernhurst served as a temporary home for as many as 10,000 young working women.

As membership and programs grew, a headquarters was needed.  Several downtown locations were considered.  They settled on a site on Richards Street across from the ʻIolani Palace grounds.

Noted architect, Julia Morgan (best known as the architect of Hearst Castle in California,) was hired and the new headquarters, Laniākea, “was designed and erected from two thousand miles away.”

Laniākea was the first building of architectural significance in Hawaiʻi to be designed by a woman.  Constructed in 1927, it was developed and designed by women at a time in history when there were few opportunities for females to excel in male dominated professions.

Ms. Morgan designed over 700-buildings during her 47-year career and ranked the Honolulu YWCA as one of her top ten favorite projects.   It immediately became a Honolulu landmark.

The building’s construction was a crowning achievement for the YWCA of Honolulu, inspiring successive generations of women to rededicate themselves to the cause of community service.

The building features the tile floors, roofs, courtyards, and arches characteristic of the Mediterranean style, which the architect chose to adapt to the climate, conditions and materials of Hawaiʻi.

Morgan regarded the structure as architecturally “frank and sincere.”  She was not given to meaningless ornamentation, yet there is considerable attention to detail, such as the metal ironwork in the balconies overlooking the courtyard and the pool.

Sara Boutelle (an architectural historian) judged the Laniākea swimming pool “the most effective of all her YWCA pools,” attributing its success to the architect’s understanding of the contribution of public recreational space to the civic culture and busy lives of women.

The “Richards Street Y,” as it is affectionately known, was a meeting place for women of all generations.  Popular activities were sewing and lace-making lessons, Chinese cooking classes, girls basketball and ballet.

From a place to make tea, eat safely and quietly in the city, and take naps, to a place to make the teapot, close a deal over lunch and swim laps, the YWCA of Oʻahu has been the place for women in Hawaiʻi to find support and encouragement for over 100-years.

Today, the YWCA of Oʻahu is still guided by the core concepts of the YWCA’s mission.  Those concepts are to create opportunities for growth, leadership and power for women and girls, and to work for peace, justice, dignity, respect and the elimination of racism for all people.  (Lots of information and images here came from the YWCA website.)

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Frederick C Ohrt

Honolulu’s public water system is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, under the American flag west of the Mississippi River. The first unit, installed, paid for and operated by the government, was in service on March 31, 1848.  (Nellist)

At that time, whale products were in high demand; whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.  Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Japan brought many whaling ships to the Islands.  Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.  Another thing the early whalers wanted was water.

The first ships to visit Honolulu obtained their fresh water by sending small boats with casks up Nuʻuanu stream above the salt water tidal area.

With the threat of competition from California and Mexico, it is quite clear that it was a desire to serve and hold the trade of the whaling ships that caused Honolulu to initiate its water system.  (Nellist)

Then, in 1848, in his annual report to King Kamehameha III and the Legislature of Hawaii, Keoni Ana (John Young), Minister of the Interior, made this notation:

“A water tank, for the convenience of the shipping (New England whaling ships,) is placed in the basement story of the new Master and Pilots’ Office, near the wharf (Nuʻuanu Street.) And it was supplied through a leaden pipe from a reservoir at ‘Pelekane’ …”  (Schmitt)

After the completion of the Bates Street reservoir in 1851, nearby businesses and homes were connected with the main. The system was further expanded in 1860-1861, eventually covering most of the city.  (Schmitt)

Over the years, the fledgling water system expanded.  Then, on April 29, 1925, Governor Wallace Rider Farrington formed and appointed members to the original Honolulu Sewer and Water Commission.

Their first meeting was held May 14, 1925 and the organization was completed on July 1 with the appointment of Frederick C Ohrt as Chief Engineer (Ohrt resigned from Libby, McNeill & Libby to take the position.)  (Nellist)

In his report to the Commission, Chief Engineer Ohrt added this observation: “… the first duty of whomever may be held responsible for correct solution of the water problem is to insist upon an aggressive policy of conservation and reasonable use of Honolulu’s most valuable resource. Most valuable, because the measure of value is necessity; and the growth of every city is rigidly conditioned by its water supply.”

Then, on July 1, 1929, Governor Farrington appointed members to the first Board of Water Supply (BWS;) they immediately appointed Ohrt Manager and Chief Engineer.

Ohrt established the principle that the construction necessary to support a utility need not spoil the landscape. Many examples of this can still be found around Oahu such as the pumping stations, which were designed by the respected architect CW Dickey.  (Engineers & Architects of Hawaiʻi)

The semi-autonomous Board of Water Supply (BWS,) under the administration of Frederick Ohrt, had been established in 1930 to replace the mismanaged and scandal-ridden City Waterworks Department, which had brought the city to the verge of a water shortage.

Flush with federal funds flowing from the Works Projects Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, the Board assigned four projects to architect Hart Wood during the period 1933-1936.  (Historic Hawaiʻi)

Some of these lasting legacies under Ohrt’s leadership include the Pacific Heights Reservoir (1933,) the Makiki–Mānoa Pumping Station (1935,) the Kalihi Uka Pumping Station (1935) and the Nuʻuanu Aerator (1936, its purpose was to purify surface waters drawn from Nuʻuanu stream.)

Perhaps the crowning achievement of Board of Water Supply designs is the Administration Building fronting Beretania Street. Wood began the design of this project in 1947 and completed the design by about 1951, but the building was not completed until after 1952 (the year Frederick Ohrt retired from the Board of Water Supply.)  (Historic Hawaiʻi)

One of the early facilities of the fledgling Water Department (before Ohrt’s involvement there) was the Kalihi Pumping Station, on the corner of Waiakamilo and North King Street.

The initial building was constructed in 1899 (it has since been replaced.)  The pump in the plant was an EP Allis Vertical Triple Expansion Triplex Single Acting Pump.

There are three wells at Kalihi Pumping Station. Two of these wells were bored in 1899 and the third in 1900. The wells are cased with steel casing 3/8” thick. These wells are of 12” bore.  (Hawaiʻi Dept. of Public Works, 1913)

It is now home to the Water Department’s Fred Ohrt Water Museum, named in honor of BWS’s first Manager and Chief Engineer.  The museum is located at the Kalihi Pumping Station, 1381 North King Street.

Tours their include an introduction to our island’s water cycle, discussion on water conservation, and walking tour of the museum showcasing “The Old Man of Kalihi”, the original 1899 steam pump, and history of the BWS.

The Honolulu BWS is the largest municipal water utility in the state, serving one-million customers on O‘ahu with 55-billion gallons of water every year, which includes 95-active drinking water facilities, 166-storage tanks and more than 2,000-miles of pipeline servicing nearly every community on O‘ahu.

Another Wood design was Fred Ohrt’s residence on Pali Highway.  In 1987, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as representative of the Tudor–French Norman Cottages Thematic Group of homes in Honolulu (between Hānaiakamālama (Queen Emma Summer Palace) and Oʻahu Country Club; on the golf course side of the highway.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Standing Bear

“A Hawaiian by the name of Frank Grouard is living as a scout in the American Army under General Crook, fighting Sioux Indians.”  (Kuakoa, September 30, 1876; Krauss)

Whoa, that’s getting waaay ahead of ourselves … let’s look back.

May 23, 1843, Elders Benjamin F Grouard, Addison Pratt, Noah Rogers and Knowlton F Hanks, intending for the Hawaiian Islands, set sail as the first Mormon missionaries to the Pacific Islands.  Rather than Hawai’i, they ended up in the Solomon Islands. (Cluff)

In 1846, Elder Grouard married Ana, a local chieffess; a few years later, on September 20, 1850, Frank Grouard was born.  A couple years later (1852,) the Grouards and Pratts left Polynesia.  In California, young Grouard was turned over to Addison and Louisa Pratt, for care.  (His own mother had returned to the islands and later died; Elder Grouard died in 1894.)  (Trowse)

The Pratts, with Grouard, emigrated to Utah.  Grouard ran away and at the age of nineteen, ended up a Pony Express mail carrier … “out West” through hostile Indian Country (between California and Montana.)  (Trowse)

“During one of his trips on a lonely trail he was captured by Crow Indians and taken prisoner. The Crows took him many miles from the road, and in a lonely forest, stripped off his clothes and possessions, then released him to wander alone.”

“He wandered, cold and hungry, a piece of fur for clothing, eating grasshoppers and other bugs for food. When he had given up hope of surviving, he was discovered by a group of Sioux Indians. Because of his expressions of aloha, they took a liking to him.”  (Kuakoa, September 30, 1876; Krauss)

There were two factions in the camp – one led by Chief Sitting Bull, the other led by Chief Crazy Horse.  Grouard was held for nearly seven years, during the first two of which he was practically a prisoner.

He all but became an Indian, and, though he declared he never, as an Indian, fired upon a white man, he took part in scores of battles against other enemies of the Sioux and in hundreds of forays after game and the horses and cattle of settlers.  (Trowse)

“The Sioux took him into a heavily forested area where he was cared for. Chief Sitting Bull adopted him to be his own child of his own blood but with a different language. He grew in stature to be greatly admired by the Indians for his skill and wit.”   (Kuakoa, September 30, 1876; Krauss)

He was given the name ‘Standing Bear.’

“In a very short time, he became one of the best riders of wild Indian horses and he became one of the best shots. For nine years he lived with the Indians, his manner becoming much like them.”  (Kuakoa, September 30, 1876; Krauss)

He learned the landscape, customs and traditions – all the while constantly on alert to escape captivity.  Around age 26, he eventually escaped from his Indian captors. Then, Grouard became an Indian Scout in the American Army under General George Crook, fighting Sioux Indians.

Almost every summer for nearly a dozen years, Grouard was in the field as a scout, commanding as many as 500 scouts and friendly Indians with all the Indian fighters who made reputations in subduing the Indians. He was wounded many times, suffered almost incredible hardships, saved small armies on several occasions and often saved the lives of individual men and officers.

He never led a party to disaster, was invariably chosen to head any “forlorn hope” enterprise or to make any particularly perilous ride; with Grouard, victory followed victory. Gen. Crook never wearied of telling anecdotes of Grouard and praising his favorite.   (Trowes)

Crook noted, “he would sooner lose one-third of any command than lose Grouard and accredits him as the greatest scout and rider and one of the best shots and bravest men that ever lived.”  (Berndt)

By February 1876, believing there was peace, many Indians were leaving the reservations in search of food. Orders had been given by the American government to return, but they did not take it seriously. General Crook began his winter march from Fort Fetterman, March 1, 1876 with many companies of troops.

When Sitting Bull learned that Grouard was the scout for General Crook, he saw the chance to kill Grouard in battle. By March 17, Grouard located Crazy Horse’s village on the Powder River in Montana.  (Dodson)  In May 1876, in preparation for the summer campaign, the Army was fitted out at Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

Fort Laramie, founded as a local trading post in 1834 at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers, soon served as a stop for folks emigrating West on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails (the westward migration peaked in 1850 with more than 50,000 traveling the trails annually.)

The US military purchased the post in 1849 and stationed soldiers there to protect the wagon trains.  The US Civil War took soldiers away from it and other outposts.  The Western migration continued.  With the ending of the Civil War, soldiers came back.  (Talbott)

Tension between the native inhabitants of the Great Plains and the encroaching settlers resulted in a series of conflicts … this eventually led to the Sioux Wars.   The most notable fight, fought June 25–26, 1876, was the Battle of Little Big Horn (Lt Col George Armstrong Custer lost – Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and others won.)  (Grouard was not involved in that fight.)

Most native Americans were confined to reservations by 1877.  In September 1877, Chief Crazy Horse left the reservation and General Crook had him arrested. When Crazy Horse saw he was being led to a guard house, he resisted and was stabbed to death by a guard.  (Denardo)

In the fall of 1877, Sitting Bull headed north to Canada; life there was tough and in 1881 he surrendered to the US.  In 1889 Sitting Bull was shot by Police. (NPS)

Grouard continued in the service of the US government until the end of the Indian Wars.  Frank Grouard died at St. Louis, Missouri in 1905 where he was eulogized as a “scout of national fame”.

“To him perhaps more than to any other one man is due the early reclamation of that rich section of the mainland embraced in South Dakota, a large part of Montana, the whole of Northern Nebraska, and the whole of Northern Wyoming.  Let us, then, write him as a factor – a Polynesian factor – in the making of the nation of nations.”  (Trowse)

(There is conflicting information on the ethnicity of Grouard – Kuakoa reported in 1876 that Grouard was half-Hawaiian; he, himself, claimed to be “partial Hawaiian” (Dobson) and he told Trowse that his mother was a “woman of the Sandwich Islands”.  (Trowse)  Several others note he was son of a chiefess from the Solomon or ‘Friendly’ Islands (Tonga.))

There is more to the story … After serving with the Confederate Army during the Civil War, John Carpenter Hunton came West to work at Fort Laramie.   His brother James came to join him in 1876; James’ headstone tells the rest of his history that ended later that year – “Killed by Indians”.

As noted above, the Sioux Wars military campaign provisioned at Fort Laramie, prior to heading north to South Dakota and Montana.  Hunton was fort sutler (providing provisions out of the camp post) – Hunton and Grouard were at the fort at the same time, so it is likely they met.

They had closer ties than that.  Hunton lived with/was married to LaLie (sister to fellow scout (and half-breed) Baptiste Garnier (Little Bat.))  LaLie later left Hunton and married Grouard – that marriage didn’t last either, and she left Grouard, too.

Oh, one other ‘rest of the story’ … John Hunton is Nelia’s Great Great Uncle.  On a number of ocassions, we visited Fort Laramie and the John and James Hunton gravesites in Wyoming.

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Clarence Hyde Cooke Home

Clarence Hyde Cooke was born April 17, 1876 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the second son of Charles Montague Cooke and Anna Rice Cooke (and grandson of missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and William Harrison Rice.)  He graduated from Punahou (1894,) and attended, but did not graduate from Yale.

He married Lily Love, daughter of Robert Love on August 11, 1898; they had eight children: Dorothea, Martha, Anna, Clarence Jr, Harrison, Alice, Robert and John.

Cooke began his business career in Honolulu with Hawaiian Safe Deposit & Trust Co, in 1897.  The next year he was at Bank of Hawaiʻi and about 10-years later (1909,) he succeeded his father as president of the bank and became Chairman in 1937.

In 1932, the Cooke’s built a home in Nuʻuanu (unfortunately, Lily died the next year.)   The home was designed by Hardie Phillip, one of the associates of the New York architectural firm of Mayers, Murray and Phillip, the successor firm of Bertram Goodhue and Associates (who also designed the C Brewer Building, Governor Carter’s residence and others.)

The home has the distinctive double-pitched ‘Dickey Roof’ (following the signature element of architect CW Dickey.)  The 24-room Cooke mansion (including 10-bedrooms, 7-full bathrooms and two half-baths) is noted for its sprawling spaciousness, numerous lanai, Hawaiian hipped roof and lush grounds.

Well-planned, well-crafted and paying high attention to detail, the house was built for, and was known for, lavish, opulent entertainment. As such, it epitomizes the finest traditions in upper class residential design in Hawaii for its period.  (HHF)

The two-story white-washed brick and frame residence features an asymmetrical plan which lends the building a sense of sprawling informality. The house is laid out with two wings running perpendicularly in opposite directions off a formal entry hall.  A number of lanai extend out from the principal rooms on both the ground and second floors.

A vine covered porte-cochere, shaded by a banyan tree, extends diagonally out from the intersection of the makai (left) wing and the entry area. It has segmental arched openings, and is paved with Chinese granite blocks. A tiled fountain is in the corner of the porte-cochere.  (NPS)

Cooke lived there until his death on August 2, 1944.  He bequeathed the estate to the Academy of Arts (architect Hardie Phillip also designed the Honolulu Academy of Arts building on Beretania.)

The Academy later (1945) sold the home to Alfred Lester and Elizabeth ((daughter of Lincoln L McCandless) Marks.   (Since then, the property has been generally referred to as the “Marks Estate.”)

At about this time, Johnny Wilson, the builder of the original carriage-road over the Pali, was re-elected Mayor (1948.)  One of his first actions was to seek approval from the Territorial Legislature for an increase in the gasoline tax to pay for a tunnel in Kalihi Valley.

Wilson argued the Kalihi alternative would serve the entire windward side, while the Pali would merely be a private access road for Kailua residents.

The Territorial legislature turned down Wilson’s 1949 gas tax proposal for the Kalihi tunnel.  That same year, Governor Ingram M Stainback looked to build the Pali Highway alignment, instead.  (ASCE)  (This alignment would cut through the Marks Estate.)

Marks went to court to block the proposed highway.  After lengthy legal battles, in 1956, the government bought 7-acres of the 17-acre estate, and also bought the home and other improvements.

(On May 11, 1957, the Honolulu-bound tunnels on Pali Highway were opened; the Pali Tunnels were fully-functional in 1959.  The Kalihi ‘Wilson Tunnels’ were also later built and fully operational by November 1960.)

Although the State condemned and bought the property and home, they allowed Marks to continue to live there (the Marks paid $1,500-per month for the first three years, then $500-per month until 1976, then the State took over the property.)

After that, the now-defunct Hawaiʻi Institute for Management and Analysis in Government, part of the Department of Budget and Finance, acquired the property for a research, training and conference center.  (The Institute was later absorbed into DBEDT.)  (Danninger)

The State government then used the estate for office space, conferences and special events, and it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

After trying to sell it for years, the State finally auctioned off the property in 2002. Reportedly, it had been appraised for $4.5-million, but labor union Unity House Inc bought it for $2.5-million.

Real property tax records note a subsequent (2006) conveyance of the property for $4.41-million.  Later listings note the property has since been on and off the market.

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by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Pearl City Tavern

On November 16, 1889, the Oahu Railway and Land Company (OR&L) began operating O‘ahu. OR&L wasn’t just about a railroad, it had ‘land’ components, as well.  The railway owned 2,200-acres in fee simple in the peninsula.

First they laid-out and constructed the improvements, then invited the public on a free ride to see the new residential community.

It was Hawai‘i’s first planned suburban development and held a contest, through the newspaper, to name this new city.  The winner selected was “Pearl City” (the public also named the main street, Lehua.)

As noted in Whitney’s 1890 Tourist Guide, “The new town of Pearl City, another offspring of our railroad enterprise, rests on one of the loveliest slopes of Pearl Harbor’s borders.”

“A handsome depot and several residences built in new styles of architecture present a decidedly attractive appearance. The town is bisected by a wide boulevard, from either side of which extend well graded avenues. A landscape gardener is engaged in beautifying the borders of the thoroughfares, and setting out trees of all the varieties that flourish in this generous climate.”

“Pearl City will afford pleasant homes for those who desire recreation after the day’s toils in Honolulu. (Whitney; Tourist Guide, 1890)  The marketing went so well; ultimately, lots were auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Later, the Pearl City Tavern opened in 1939 under the ownership of George & Irene Fukuoka. Advertiser restaurant writer Francee King noted in an article in 1970, “George Fukuoka started a small eatery just across the street from where Pearl City Tavern now stands.”

“In two years it had burst its seams with customers, and he made the move to a larger place in the present location.  It soon became evident that more expansion was necessary as customers passed the word that Pearl City Tavern was an excellent place to eat.  And, so over the years it grew until it became the impressive double-dining room complex that we know as PCT.”

“George Fukuoka’s way has always been to provide superior foods and superior services for his patrons.  Always he has searched for new and different dished to tempt the appetite.” (King Adv, Feb 15, 1970)

A Nippu Jiji article in 1942 noted, “One of rural Oahu’s favorite recreation spots, the Pearl City Tavern is celebrating its second anniversary this month. In the last two years it has grown from a lunch counter and fountain to a large cafe with a bar, and a ballroom that will accommodate 600 dancers.”

“It started with three employees and now has 40. A few months ago, the Pearl City Tavern contributed 11,000 to the army and navy relief funds. Red Cross and newspaper subscriptions for rural Oahu service men.

The tavern was home to a group of live monkeys, that amused and entertained bar & restaurant patrons from a habitat behind a glass window at the bar.

“Take time to visit the fascinating Monkey Bar. The ‘floor show’ they put on is amusing and delightful, a bonus pleasure at cocktail time. You are also invited to the beautiful Roof Garden, where bonsai trees of many shapes, sizes and varieties are on display” (King) (George Fukuoka was a noted bonsai collector.)

The Fukuokas were an enterprising couple who turned their tavern into a self-contained entertainment complex. Besides the famous monkeys who lived in a plexiglass cage behind the bar, there was dancing and musical entertainment, a separate Japanese restaurant featuring an organist, a souvenir shop that sold ceramic monkey mugs emblazoned with the tavern logo. (Hawaiian Time Machine)

The “Monkey Bar” at the PCT was a popular drinking spot for servicemen. “Fifty years ago, it was a roadside joint with screen windows and an 8- by 12-foot dance floor. Now, a modern bar and restaurant are decorated with hanging plants, Japanese paper screens and a coin-operated Karaoke machine with sing-along video lyrics.”

“Usually pilots had a favorite watering hole wherever they called home. Around Oahu it was at PCT.   The bar was actually a pretty nice restaurant and seemed to grow larger all the time, probably from the revenue garnered from all of those pilots.”  (Naval Aviator in Landers)

“Used to be the sailors threw beer at the monkeys and the monkeys responded by throwing s – – – back at the sailors,” said bartender Duane Sato, 32, a Pearl City native well-versed in monkey bar lore.

“There was another monkey that walked along the bar with a tin cup. If a customer didn’t put any money in the cup, the monkey was trained to spill the guy’s drink.”

Later, “The bar was approximately 40 feet long and behind it was a glassed enclosed cage full of monkeys, mostly long tailed spider monkeys.  The monkeys would run, jump, swing, climb or pick fleas from each other.  It was like being in a zoo, especially at night when the clientele began to get inebriated.”  (Sailor)

For many of the Sailors, the main pursuit in the tavern was to agitate Marines (and vice versa), not monkeys.  ”If you wanted to learn to fight, that was the place to do it.”  (Sailor)

“We’d love to fistfight the Marines, and it was easy to instigate them.  All you had to do was try to dance with their girlfriends. That guaranteed a brawl every time.” (Sailor, Daily News)

“Military Police duties were performed mostly on post, no patrols off post except during the first two days of each month during pay day, which was the first day of each month. There were occasional patrols off post when troops visited the beaches on weekends, and to the Pearl City Tavern in Pearl City”.

“The Pearl City Tavern, which we referred to as the Monkey Bar, was a popular GI hangout, and was the dividing line for the two MP Companies jurisdictions. There was considerable rivalry between the two MP Companies, and some animosity also.”

“On two or three occasions the MPs from Honolulu arrested our patrols in Pearl City for being out of their jurisdiction, and our MPs in turn arrested a couple of their patrols when the occasion arose. That’s what caused the friction between the two companies. (Army MP Tropic Lightning Museum))

“In my day, we were all over the legal limit before we arrived. If you’re going to drink in a bar filled with monkeys, you have to be loaded before you get there.”  (Sailor, Daily News)

Pearl City Tavern closed in 1993 (and the building later razed to make way for a car dealership). In 2018, George and Irene Fukuoka were inducted (posthumously) into the Hawai‘i Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.

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