Downtown Honolulu | Page 9 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 20, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu Hale

The debate on the site of City Hall waged in Honolulu …

“The plan of having all of the public buildings located in one part of the city is an excellent one, but the general convenience of the public should be taken into consideration.”

“The Honolulu Hale site is very central and I should like to see the City Hall located there.” (ZK Myers, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

“I think that the ideal site for the City Hall would be the lots now occupied by Honolulu Hale and the post office. When the Federal building has been completed, it should be possible to secure the post office site, and the two pieces of property, thrown in together, would furnish an ideal location for a convenient and imposing City Hall.”

“If the post office property should not be available, I fear that the Honolulu Hale land alone would not give sufficient room.” (HO Smith, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

“Put the City Hall alongside the Federal building. I think Honolulu Hale an excellent site, but it is too small. This city is going to grow. The City Hall should be centrally located. Have it downtown by all means. … I like the Honolulu Hale site, but, as I said, I’m afraid that it is too small.” (AL Castle, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

But, the Honolulu Hale site they are suggesting was not the site of Honolulu Hale that we know today (on the corner of King and Punchbowl.)

The first Honolulu Hale was on Merchant Street (it’s now a park-like lot on the Diamond Head side of the Kamehameha V Post Office Building.)

Kamehameha III is said to have built this government office building in 1835. (The building was interchangeably called Honolulu Hale and Honolulu House.)

“All of the business of the Hawaiian government was transacted there, and the life of the town centered in that neighborhood to a very considerable extent.”

In 1847, “It was occupied by government offices, the Custom House, Department of Education, Treasury Department and Department of Interior occupied the four corner rooms of the building on the lower floor, while the Department of Foreign Affairs was on the upper floor.” (Carter; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 30, 1906)

The government Executive Ministers’ offices were a short walk from the palace (which were situated on the same grounds as the present ʻIolani Palace (completed in 1882.) The palace was initially a home called Hanailoia (built in July 1844,) renamed Hale Aliʻi in 1845 and used as the palace.)

At the former Honolulu Hale, an arched gateway served as the entrance to the Executive Offices property. Dr Gerrit P Judd, Minister of Finance was on the ground floor. Upstairs, Robert C Wyllie had his Foreign Minister office. (Dye)

The Kingdom of Hawai‘i instituted a postal system in 1851, issuing 5 and 13 cent stamps for letters and a 2 cent stamp for papers. Operated as a private concession for many years, the postal service expanded its work in the 1860s. David Kalakaua, later Hawaii’s monarch, ran the service from 1862 to 1865.

Later, with growing community and business needs, the postal authorities were using part of Honolulu Hale. A partition divided the ʻEwa or North side, which was used by the Post Office, while the Waikiki or South side was used by the Whitney stationery business and also the editorial office of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. (HHS)

As postal operations grew, in 1871, the Kamehameha V Post Office at the corner of Merchant and Bethel Streets was constructed and the Post Office folks moved out of Honolulu Hale. In 1900, the old Post Office became a unit of the US Postal System.

(Where the Kamehameha V Post Office Building now sits (adjacent to the former Honolulu Hale) was a 2-story coral structure that housed the ‘Polynesian’ (the Hawaiian Government’s English language weekly paper.)) (Dye)

On June 12, 1857, a marine telegraph was put into operation on Puʻu O Kaimuki (Telegraph Hill) behind Diamond Head. This device was actually a kind of semaphore designed to send visual (rather than electric) signals to the post office in downtown Honolulu when an approaching ship was sighted. (Schmitt)

It was initially set up by the local Post Master to time the landing of ships to collect the mail, it also served as a means to notify the community of what ship was landing, especially those who service the ships and their passengers.

Honolulu Hale on Merchant Street was fitted with a marine lookout and a tall semaphore, making its signals accessible to a larger segment of the population.

“When the telephone system got into working order, the lookout station was moved to a position on Diamond Head which gave a view further along the channel, because it was no longer necessary for the station to be in full view of the city.” (Hawaiian Star, February 10, 1899)

While the debate was waged on where to put City Hall in 1909 (as noted in the initial paragraphs, here,) it wasn’t until 1929 that the Spanish mission style, Dickey-designed Honolulu Hale was completed at the corner of King and Punchbowl street.

A 1950 map of Downtown Honolulu shows that the former Honolulu Hale/Honolulu House site was used as a parking lot for the Police Department (that was situated diagonally across the Merchant-Bethel streets intersection.) As noted, today it is a park-like area.

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Honolulu Hale-governmental building of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1843-1853 and then post office from 1853-1871

Near (R) Snow Bldg-2-story bldg is PCA-Honolulu Hale and Kamehameha V Post Office-PP-38-4-013-1870s

Merchant St. looking toward Waikiki-PPWD-8-7-009-1885

Looking mauka up Kaahumanu Street to former Honolulu Hale with semaphore on top

Kamehameha_V_Post_Office-Hnl Hale on right(WC)

Former Honolulu Hale Site

Honolulu_Hale-Merchant_Street-Sorenson-Reg2339 (1906)

February 24, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Alexander & Baldwin Building

In 1843, Samuel Thomas Alexander and Henry Perrine Baldwin, sons of early missionaries to Hawaiʻi, met in Lāhainā, Maui. They grew up together, became close friends and went on to develop a sugar-growing partnership.

In 1869, they purchased 12-acres of land in Makawao and the following year an additional 559-acres. That same year, the partners planted sugar cane on their land marking the birth of what would become Alexander & Baldwin (A&B.)

Fast forward to 1924 … sons Wallace M Alexander and Harry A Baldwin served on the A&B board. On February 24, 1924, the board decided to purchase land and build a new home headquarters in Honolulu.

The Alexander & Baldwin Building was planned as a memorial to ST Alexander and HP Baldwin and designed as a prestige home office, with sufficient budget to insure both. A primary concern of the owners was that the building be “uniquely Hawaiian” in appearance. (NPS)

“My foremost thought architecturally was to produce a building suitable to the climate, environment, history and geographical position of Hawaii…the location of Honolulu at the crossroads of the Pacific, in close touch with the Orient, gave sufficient reason for allowing Chinese architecture to clearly influence the design.”

“…the exotic Chinese influence is so subtle that it would not be noted by a casual observer. However, it is there in every detail of the design. On the exterior it is most pronounced in the window ornamentation, in the circular “Good Luck” signs at the main entrance portico on Bishop Street and the long life signs in the column capitals.” (CW Dickey, its architect)

Founded in 1870, A&B was nearly 60 years old when the building was built in 1929. During its construction, people were fascinated with its construction. (One day, four artesian wells were tapped, spewing a flood of water.)

The cornerstone laying ceremony took place November 21, 1928. Reverend Norman C Schenck, in giving tribute to the company’s founders, stated “Out of the past come precious memories of those whose noble purposes, indomitable wills and might endeavors have laid the foundations for our beloved Hawaiʻi.” (A&B)

Originally designed with a 39-foot ceiling in the ‘public floor’ (the central first floor,) it started as a 3-story structure with basement. Two tiled murals on the mauka and makai sides, the sailing ship ‘John Ena’ at Port Allen, Kauai (mauka) and Kahului Harbor and ʻIao Valley (makai) sat 29-feet above the workers on the first floor.

In making each mural, the artist (Jessie Stanton) first painted a picture and made a full-sized rendering of it. It was gridded out at the size of the tiles; individual tiles were manufactured matching each square in the grid – then applied to the wall.

Modifications in 1959 added a mezzanine level, lowering the lower-floor ceiling to 14-feet and creating a new second level that now houses the boardroom (mauka,) offices and lunchroom (makai.)

Other renovations/remodels took place over the years. The 100,000 or so clay tiles in the roof replicated the original roof. The last renovation to the building was in 2006.

The steel-framed, reinforced concrete building has Hawaiian, Chinese and other features; most notable is the Dickey Hawaiian roof (high peak, double pitch.)

The building had its grand opening on September 30, 1929. The Star-bulletin editorial called the building “the architectural expression of triumph of human courage, ingenuity, seen and unseen, which beset the pioneers of industrial Hawaiʻi.” (A&B)

A&B was one of Hawaiʻi’s five major companies (that emerged to providing operations, marketing, supplies and other services for the plantations and eventually came to own and manage most of them.) They became known as the Big Five.

Hawaiʻi’s Big Five were: C Brewer (1826;) A Theo H Davies (1845;) Amfac – starting as Hackfeld & Company (1849;) Castle & Cooke (1851) and Alexander & Baldwin (1870.)

The historic Alexander & Baldwin building (on the State and National Register of Historic Places) remains in the heart of the core of Honolulu’s financial and business district.

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February 4, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Historic Downtown Honolulu – HHF

Historic Hawaii Foundation has developed a map and self-guided walking tour documenting twenty-five historic sites along a 3-mile route in historic Downtown Honolulu.

1 – Hawai‘i State Capitol (1969)
Hawaii’s State Capitol building houses the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, offices of state legislators, and the chambers of the state House and Senate. The Capitol was constructed at the direction of Governor John A. Burns and designed by the firms of Belt, Lemmon & Lo of Honolulu, John Carl Warnecke & Associates and Architects Hawai‘i. The building opened in 1969. Like the Hawaiian Islands, the Capitol is surrounded by water, and the outer columns that rise from the reflecting pools represent Hawaii’s palm trees.

2 – Board of Water Supply Building (1959)
The BWS building was completed in 1959 and was designed by famous architect Hart Wood in a local Hawaiian Style that combined elements of Asian and American influences. The entire building is constructed of reinforced concrete and the exterior was designed by renowned landscape architect Catherine Jones Thompson.

3 – Advertiser Building (1929)
The neo-Renaissance designed building by famed architects Walter Emory and Marshall Webb was home of the iconic Advertiser newspaper for over eighty years until the paper merged with the Star-Bulletin in 2010.

4 – Kaka‘ako Fire Station (1929)
Built in the Spanish Mission style, the historic ﬁ re station is considered to be haunted. It is located across from the graveyard of smallpox victims from the 1850s. Kamehameha III created Honolulu’s ﬁre department, making it the only one in America sponsored by royalty.

5 – Territorial Building (Kekuanao‘a) (1925)
Large fluted Corinthian columns grace the front of this classical revival-style building. A stained-glass dome is positioned above the lobby. Built as a governmental office building it continues to function as such today.

6 – Hawaii State Archives (1906)
Designed by Oliver Traphagen in the Renaissance Revival style, the building also known as Kana‘ina is currently used as the offices for the Friends of ʻIolani Palace. It was originally constructed to house Hawaiian governmental documents from before annexation based on a compromise with the US government.

7 – King Kamehameha Statue (1882)
The 18-foot bronze statue was dedicated in 1883 to represent the famed unifier of the islands, King Kamehameha I. It was sculpted by Thomas Gould in Florence.

8 – Ali‘iolani Hale (1874)
The State Supreme Court and the Judiciary History Center are located here. It is the oldest government building in Hawaiʻi. Originally commissioned as a new royal residence by Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V decided that it should become an administrative building.

9 – ‘Iolani Palace (1882)
Home to the Hawaiian monarchy before it was overthrown in 1893, ‘Iolani Palace was built in the Italianate style with fluted cast-iron Corinthian columns, decorative iron railings, mansard-style tower roofs, and wide lanai on all sides. After the overthrow, from 1895 to 1968, ‘Iolani Palace served as the capitol of the Republic, Territory and State of Hawaiʻi. Restored to its
original grandeur, the building opened to the public as a historic site in 1978.

10 – US Post Office, Custom House and Court House (1922)
Designed by New York architects York and Sawyer, this classic Mediterranean-style structure features large roof overhangs, shaded arcades, open interior courtyards, spacious porticos and two towers. It is still currently used as the Downtown Post Office.

11-Dillingham Transportation Building (1929)
The Mediterranean/Italian Renaissance style building was designed by architect Lincoln Rogers. The building consists of three wings connected by a covered arcade and spans from Queen Street to Ala Moana Boulevard. It features an Art Deco lobby, painted high ceilings, and a classical cornice.

12 – Alexander & Baldwin Building (1929)
A design collaboration between Charles W. Dickey and Hart Wood. The building is a unique fusion of eastern and western design elements that features a double-pitched hipped tile roof, a fourth ﬂoor lanai, water buffalo heads above the ﬁrst-ﬂoor windows, and a matte glazed terra cotta exterior.

13 – Joseph W. Podmore Building (1902)
Located at 202 Merchant Street, it was constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style from locally quarried lava rock. It was originally built to be rented out as commercial and ofﬁce space; it maintains the same purpose today.

14 – St. Andrew’s Cathedral (1867-1958)
It took over ninety years to complete this English Gothic-style headquarters of the Episcopal diocese in Hawaii. After visiting
Queen Victoria in England, Queen Emma raised $30,000 for the Anglican Church in Hawaii and to build St. Andrews Cathedral. Beretania was the Hawaiian interpretation for Britannia.

15 – Hawaii State Art Museum (formerly the Army and Navy YMCA) (1928)
Located on the original site of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the site was renovated and reconstructed in the late 1920s to become the Army and Navy YMCA. Designed by Lincoln Rogers, it features an open-sky courtyard; palladian windows; cast-stone detailing; iron-grille work and light ﬁxtures; and arched openings. It is now the home of the Hawaii State Art Museum.

16 – Hawaiian Electric Building (1927)
This four-story building is characteristic of an early 18th century Spanish form that features half-stilted arched windows with
Churriguera -decorated column supports, a corner cupola and a low-rise, polygonal tiled roof. The building was designed by York and Sawyer with construction overseen by Emory and Webb.

17 – YWCA Building (1927)
The ﬁrst structure in Hawaii designed completely by a woman. Julia Morgan, known for her work on Hearst Castle, designed the building in Spanish, Colonial and Mediterranean styles. It features a two-story loggia ﬂanked by the outer buildings.

18 – ‘Iolani Barracks (1871)
Built between 1870 and 1871, the barracks were home to the Royal Household Guard and are situated within the ‘Iolani Palace grounds. They were designed by Theodore Heuck. The barracks were relocated to the current position during construction of the state capital on the original site.

19- ‘Iolani Bandstand (1883)
Constructed for the coronation of King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani, the structure was moved and rehabilitated in the late 1900s. Most Friday’s at noon the Royal Hawaiian Band performs weather permitting.

20 – Washington Place (1846)
A Colonial Greek revival-style house was originally built for John Dominis, a clipper ship captain. It is most well known as the inherited residence of his daughter-in-law, Queen Lili‘uokalani. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the Queen lived in Washington Place until her death in 1917. From 1922-2003, the residence housed Hawaii’s governors. It is now a house museum and used for State events.

21 – Hawaii State Library (1913)
The library’s construction was made possible through a gift from industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The Greco-Roman style building was designed by Henry Witchﬁeld and still serves today as the downtown branch of the Hawaii State Public Library.

22 – Honolulu Hale (1929)
Designed by Dickey, Wood and others, this Spanish mission style building features open-to-the-sky courtyards, hand-painted ceiling frescos, 1,500-pound bronze front doors, and 4,500-pound courtyard chandeliers. The main entry faces King Street, behind a zig-zag pattern of planters (for security reasons) and the exterior of the building is complex, with deeply fenestrated windows and balconies of carved stone. The tower is particularly complex and features varied window treatments, open and closed balconies, loggias and cast-concrete grill work.

23 – Kawaiaha’o Church and Cemetery (1842)
This is considered to be the mother Protestant Church in Hawaii. Construction started in 1837 based on Pastor Hiram Bingham’s own design of a “simple New England church”. The structure is comprised of some 14,000 coral blocks, each weighing up to 1,200 pounds. The church continues to conduct services in both English and Hawaiian.

24 – Mission Memorial Building (City Hall Annex) (1915)
Built by the Hawaiian Evangelical Association as a museum and archive to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Protestant Missionaries in Hawaii. The city took over the building during the 1940s and it has since been converted to the City Hall Annex. It is an example of Georgian architecture.

25 – Mission Houses (1821, 1831, 1841)
These are the oldest standing western structures in Hawaii. The timbers for the ﬁrst house were cut and ﬁtted in Boston. The initial house introduced New England style architecture to Hawaii. Originally utilized as housing for the missionaries, the buildings exist today as living house museums open to the public.

The image shows the layout of the Historic Downtown Honolulu tour from Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation. In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

Click Here to Download App Prototype noting the Sites in Google Earth

(Hover over the number/icon to see the title; click on the number for image and short text (clicking on logo and other links take you to respective websites.))

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