Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Grog

‘Grog’ is any liquor, but especially rum, that’s been diluted with water.

Grog was named after British Admiral Edward Vernon (whom the sailors called ‘Old Grog’ because he always wore a grogram coat (grogram is a coarse fabric of silk mixed with wool,)) who gave the order that the daily rations of rum aboard Her Majesty’s ships be diluted.

Pretty soon, taverns catering to sailors had taken up the practice, and grog became what was settled for when one couldn’t afford a stiffer dose. (Greer)

According to Kamakau, “The first taste that Kamehameha and his people had of rum was at Kailua in 1791 or perhaps a little earlier, brought in by Captain Maxwell.”

“Kamehameha went out to the ship with (John) Young and (Isaac) Davis when it was sighted off Keāhole Point and there they all drank rum. …. Then nothing would do but Kalanimōku must get some of this sparkling water, and he was the first chief to buy rum.”

Don Francisco de Paula Marin was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.) His knowledge of Western military weapons brought him to the attention of Kamehameha, who was engaged in the conquest of O‘ahu. Marin almost immediately became a trusted advisor to Kamehameha I.

Hawai‘i’s first accommodations for transients were established sometime after 1810, when Marin “opened his home and table to visitors on a commercial basis … Closely arranged around the Marin home were the grass houses of his workers and the ‘guest houses’ of the ship captains who boarded with him while their vessels were in port.”

He fermented the first wine in Hawai‘i and distilled brandy. He also made rum from sugarcane and brewed beer, all of which he sold at his boarding house-saloon near the waterfront.

Within a decade or so, Island residents were producing liquor on a commercial basis. “It was while Kamehameha was on Oʻahu that rum was first distilled in the Hawaiian group,” wrote Kamakau. “In 1809 rum was being distilled by the well-known foreigner, Oliver Holmes, at Kewalo.” Several small distilleries were in operation by the 1820s.

Although both Hawaiians and foreign residents had been drinking hard liquor – either bought from visiting ships or distilled locally – for many years, no mention of bars or saloons occurs in the historical record.

However, by November 1822, Honolulu had seventeen grog shops operated by foreigners. Drinking places were one of the earliest types of retail business started in the Islands. Later, more were established.

Whalers – primarily American vessels – began arriving in Hawai’i in the early-19th century; they were hunting whales primarily for the whale oil for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; with these ships and sailors came more rum; it became one of the sought-after items the Hawaiians traded for with the Westerners.

“There is scarcely a community in the world able to prevent the pestiferous influence of grog-shops to keep the habitual customers from excess, riot, and rum.” (Hiram Bingham)

The missionaries weren’t the only ones concerned about the effects of liquor. “Some ship-owners are afraid to have their ships come often to this port

Capt. Joy and others have been ordered by their owners not to come into this harbor to recruit, lest their men should be tempted to leave their vessel, or otherwise be led astray and induced to make trouble in consequence of the facilities for getting drunk and bringing other evils upon themselves.”

Capt. Beechey, of the ‘Blossom’ (of the British Royal Navy,) said to Kalanimōku, “If you do not suppress the grog-shops, I will not bring my ship into your harbor, when I return.” To which Kalanimōku replied, “I wish to suppress them, but the British consul owns one of them.” (Bingham)

“For some years after the arrival of missionaries at the islands it was not uncommon in going to the enclosure of the king, or some other place of resort, to find after a previous night’s revelry, exhausted cases of ardent spirits standing exposed …”

“… and the emptied bottles strewn about in confusion amidst the disgusting bodies of men, women and children lying promiscuously in the deep sleep of drunkenness.” (Dibble)

But the missionaries apparently also shared in the libations. As late as 1827, the Honolulu contingent ran in effect a liquor store for its members.

From May 15, 1826 to May 2, 1827, Hiram Bingham bought on his personal account 7 ½ gal of wine, 6 ¾ gal, 1 pt and a bottle of rum, 4 gal of brandy, 1 doz bottles of porter and 4 bottles of port. (Mission Account Book, Greer)

While visiting Anthony Allen for dinner (a former slave who had a home at what is now Washington Intermediate School,) Hiram’s wife, Sybil, notes in her diary, “He set upon the table decanters and glasses with wine and brandy to refresh us”. They ended dinner “with wine and melons”.

The Binghams were not the only missionaries to imbibe. Elisha Loomis bought 8 gal, 1 pt of wine, 1 gal of rum, and 1 ½ gal of brandy. Abraham Blatchley bought 4 gal of brandy, 2 gal of rum, and 2 gal of gin. Joseph Goodrich bought 2 ½ gal of wine and 1 qt of rum.

Samuel Ruggles bought 1 ¼ gal of brandy and 2 ¼ gal of wine. Levi Chamberlain bought 3 qts of wine and 2 qts of brandy. The Medical Department drew 4 gal of rum. (Mission Account Book, Greer)

However, they shortly got on the bandwagon against liquor and encouraged King Kamehameha III and most of the chiefs to pledge themselves to total abstinence. And, in part, became zealous preachers of temperance; the king himself frequently addressing the people on the subject. (The King and others regularly fell off the wagon.)

In March 1838, the first liquor license law was enacted, which prohibited all selling of liquors without a license under a fine of fifty dollars for the first offense, to be increased by the addition of fifty dollars for every repetition of the offense. (The Friend, December 1887)

All houses for the sale of liquor were to be closed at ten o’clock at night, and from Saturday night until Monday morning. Drunkenness was prohibited in the licensed houses under a heavy fine to the drinker, and the loss of his license to the seller. (The Friend, December 1887)

In 1843, the seamen’s chaplain, Samuel C. Damon, started ‘The Temperance Advocate and Seamen’s Friend;’ he soon changed its name to simply “The Friend.”

Through it, he offered ‘Six Hints to seamen visiting Honolulu’ (the Friend, October 8, 1852,) his first ‘Hint,’ “Keep away from the grog shops.”

However, that was pretty wishful thinking, given the number and distribution of establishments in the early-years of the fledgling city and port on Honolulu.

The map illustrates this, noting various grog shops and other places where it was sold in Honolulu, from the turn of the century to the mid-1800s (Info here and map based on Greer and geo-referenced into Google Earth.)

Here’s a list of these establishments/proprietors:

1. Shipyard Hotel
2. Alex. Smith’s Private Grog-Shop
3. Oahu Hotel and South Seas Tap
4. William R. Warren’s Boarding House
5. Joseph Navarro’s Hotel
6. Blonde (Boki House)
7. Ship And Whale, Blonde
8. Indigenous Grog-Shop
9. Pearl River House
10. Sign of the Ann
11. Joel Deadman, Alex. Smith, James Vowles, Church, Charles Turner
12. Telegraph Tavern
13. Eagle Tavern, National House Hotel
14. Shipwright Arms
15. John Crowne
16. Telegraph
17. John Hobbs
18. Commercial Hotel
19. Samuel Thompson
20. Samuel Thompson
21. Francisco De Paula Marin’s Boarding House And Hotel
22. Adelphi
23. William E. Gill’s Hotel
24. Louis Gravier, Thomas Mossman
25. Dog And Bell, Rising Sun, White Swan
26. The Red Lion
27. Alex. Smith’s, Samuel Thompson’s Grog Shops
28. Warren Hotel, Canton Hotel
29. The Blonde
30. Jose Nadal’s Grog-Shop
31. Globe Hotel
32. Hill And Robinson Coffee House
33. Alex. Smith And John Munn
34. Paulet Arms
35. French Hotel
36. Capt. Nye’s Boarding House
37. George Chapman’s Consular Boarding House
38. Samuel Thompson
39. Samuel Thompson
40. French Hotel
41. Royal Hotel, Desprairie’s Victualing House
42. French Hotel, Mrs. Carter’s Boarding House
43. Mansion House Hotel
44. Mrs. Dominis’s Boarding House
45. Robert Boyd’s Grog-Shop And Hotel

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Honolulu Grog Shops Map-Greer-GoogleEarth
Admiral_Edward_Vernon_'Old_Grog'_by_Thomas_Gainsborough
Honolulu Grog Shops Map-Greer

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Election Riot of 1874

1874 – On the continent, Jesse James and his gang participated in one of the most famous train robberies in history; at Gads Hill, Missouri, it was first time the James Gang robbed individual passengers.

Also on the continent, at Comer, Alabama, the White League (comprised of white Alabamian Democrats), formed an armed mob and killed at least seven black Republicans and a white Republican judge’s son, injured at least 70 more and drove off over 1,000 defenseless Republicans from the polls – it became known as the Election Riot of 1874 (also the Coup of 1874.)

But that was there, what was happening here in Hawaiʻi?

On February 12, 1874, nine days after the death of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua and Queen Emma, widow of King Kamehameha IV.

This was the second election of Hawaiʻi’s leadership – the kingdom’s Constitution stated if the monarch dies before naming a successor “such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the Legislative Assembly, who shall elect by ballot some native Alii of the Kingdom as Successor”.

Therefore, the elections were held by the members of the legislature, not the public. The election was held in a special session of the Legislature at the old Courthouse on Queen Street (it was almost the last official action to take place in the courthouse.) When the vote was tallied, Kalākaua won by a count of 39 – 6.

Emma’s supporters (referred to as the “Queenites,” “Emmaites” or the “Queen Emma party”) were unhappy with the decision – an angry mob of about 100 of the Queen’s followers gathered.

No outbreak occurred … until the Committee of five representatives, which had been appointed to notify the King of his election, attempted to leave the building and enter a carriage waiting to convey them to the Palace.

“The crowd surrounded the carriage and laid hands on them, and they attempted to defend themselves, as best they could without weapons, two of them were badly wounded before they effected entrance into the building to which they retreated.” (Hawaiian Gazette – March 4, 1874)

A riot ensued and many of the legislators were attacked, with one subsequently dying from his injuries (Mr. Lonoaea, representative from Wailuku, Maui.)

“An extra Police force had been enrolled the day previous, but except from those stationed inside, little or no assistance was obtained from the Police, who simply stood by and looked on, apparently sympathizing with the mob. It may be added that none of them were armed even with batons.” (Hawaiian Gazette – March 4, 1874)

The queen’s followers first surrounded and besieged the courthouse. “The building was in great disorder, nearly every window being smashed and apparently all of the furniture having been broken. The floors were littered with mutilated books and torn papers and that of the upper room was blood stained in several places.” (WHH Southerland)

Since the Hawaiian army had been disbanded after a mutiny sometime before, and the militias were unreliable, there was nobody to stop the riot. The Honolulu police force deserted and also joined in the unrest, even fighting against each other depending on their political sympathies.

“The only alternative, in this emergency, was to seek aid from the war vessels in port. About half-past 4 pm, a written request was sent by Charles R Bishop (the Minister of Foreign Affairs,) on behalf of the Government, to the American Minister Resident, for a detachment to be landed from the US ships Tuscarora and Portsmouth, lying in the harbor. And a similar request was transmitted to the British Consul General.” (Hawaiian Gazette – March 4, 1874)

The request stated, “Sir: A riotous mob having unexpectedly made a violent attack upon the Court House and the Members of the Legislature which we have not the force at hand to resist, I have to request that you will cause to be furnished at the earliest moment possible aid from the US ships “Tuscarora” and “Portsmouth” to the Police, in quelling the riot and temporarily protecting life and property. Your obedient servant, Chas. R. Bishop” (Hawaiian Gazette – March 4, 1874)

A force of 150 American marines and sailors under Lieutenant Commander Theodore F. Jewell were put ashore along with another seventy to eighty Britons under a Captain Bay from the sloop HMS Tenedos.

The Americans headed straight for the courthouse, pushing back the rioters, and placing guards, they also occupied the city armory, the treasury the station house and the jail.

British forces marched up Nuʻuanu Valley to Emma’s house where they dispersed a large crowd. They then went back to Honolulu to man the palace and the barracks.

“The American and English landing forces patrolled the city for a few nights and about one week later, no other disturbances occurring in the meantime, were withdrawn to their respective ships.” (WHH Southerland)

(The USS Tuscarora happened to be in port because it was surveying a suitable route for a submarine telegraph cable between San Francisco and Honolulu. They were taking a line of deep-sea soundings at intervals of thirty miles apart between the two ports.)

Kalākaua took the oath on February 13 (Queen Emma immediately acknowledged him as king,) after which his right to the throne was no longer in threat.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn 

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

The Election Riot of 1874 at Honolulu Courthouse as depicted by Peter Hurd
Old_Honolulu_Courthouse
Kalakaua,_photograph_by_A._A._Montano
Queen_Emma_of_Hawaii,_retouched_photo_by_J._J._Williams
Ballot_cards_from_Royal_Election-Saved by SG Wilder mounted in the form of crown, given to Kalakaua-inherited by Prince Kuhio-1874
USS_Portsmouth

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Before The Stone Church

By the time the first company of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) Protestant missionaries arrived in 1820, Kamehameha I had died and the centuries-old kapu system had been abolished.

Through the actions of King Kamehameha II (Liholiho,) with encouragement by former Queens Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother,) the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs.

The missionaries first lived in the traditional Hawaiian house, the hale pili. These were constructed of native woods lashed together with cordage most often made from olonā. Pili grass was a preferred thatching that added a pleasant odor to a new hale. Lauhala (pandanus leaves) or ti leaf bundles called peʻa, were other covering materials used.

In addition to their homes, the missionaries had grass meeting places, and later, churches. One of the first was on the same site as the present Kawaiahaʻo Church.

On April 28, 1820, the Protestant missionaries held a church service for chiefs, the general population, ship’s officers and sailors in the larger room in Reverend Hiram Bingham’s house. This room was used as a school room during the weekdays and on Sunday the room was Honolulu’s first church auditorium. (Damon)

It was the fore-runner to what we know today as Kawaiahaʻo Church (and the first foreign church on Oʻahu.) There were several other earlier buildings that served as a Honolulu church/meeting house, until the present “Stone Church” (Kawaiahaʻo) was completed in 1842.

On December 31, 1820, Levi Sartwell Loomis, son of Elisha and Maria Loomis (the first white child born in the Sandwich Islands) and Sophia Moseley Bingham, daughter of Hiram and Sybil Bingham (the first white girl born on Oʻahu) were baptized.

In July, 1821, the missionaries had raised enough money and started to plan a church; the site was just makai of the existing Kawaiahaʻo Church. A month later, they began to build a 22 by 54 foot building, large enough to seat 300.

This first church building was built of thatch and lined with mats; however, it had glass windows, doors, a wooden pulpit and 2-rows of seats, separated by an aisle. In August of that year, Captain Templeton presented a bell from his ship to be used at the church.

Within a year, Hiram Bingham began to preach in the Hawaiian language. 4-services a week were conducted (3 in Hawaiian and 1 in English.) Congregations ranged from 100 – 400; by the end of the year, the church was expanded.

The church conducted its first funeral in January 1823 for Levi Parson Bingham, infant (16-days) son on Hiram and Sybil Bingham. Three days later, a Hawaiian chief requested similar services on the death of a royal child. (Damon)

On May 30, 1824, the church burned to the ground. “Sabbath evening, May 30, nine o’clock. About an hour since, we were alarmed by the ringing of the chapel bell, and, on reaching the door, discovered the south end of the building in one entire blaze. … In five minutes the whole was on fire.” (Stewart – Damon)

Within a couple of days after the fire, Kalanimōkū ordered a new church to be built at public expense. A new thatched building (25 by 70 feet) was placed a short distance from the old; it was dedicated July 18, 1824.

1825 saw another sad funeral when the bodies of Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) and his wife Queen Kamāmalu were brought home from England. The church was draped in black.

Interest in the mission’s message outgrew the church and services were held outside with 3,000 in attendance; efforts were underway to build a larger facility to accommodate 4,000.

Kalanimōkū marked out the ground for the new meeting house “on the North side of the road, directly opposite the present house, whither they have commenced bringing coral rock formed on the shore and cut up in pieces of convenient size.” (Chamberlain – Damon) Timber frame and thatching completed the building.

In December, 1825, the third Meeting House building was opened for worship; however, shortly afterward a violent rain storm collapsed the structure.

In 1827 (after Kalanimōkū’s death,) Kaʻahumanu stepped forward and “caused a temporary house to be erected which is 86 feet by 30, with 2 wings each 12 feet wide extending the whole length of the building. … It is not large enough to accommodate all who attend the service on Sabbath mornings, many are obliged to sit without.” (Mission Journal – Damon)

Since that building was considered temporary, the next year, on July 1, 1828, “the natives commenced the erection of the new meeting house which will soon be built.” They were called to bring stones to set around the posts.

The last of the thatched churches served for 12-years. It measured 63 by 196 feet (larger than the present Kawaiahaʻo Church) – 4,500 people could assemble within it.

Then, between 1836 and 1842, Kawaiahaʻo Church was constructed. Revered as the Protestant “mother church” and often called “the Westminster Abbey of Hawai‘i” this structure is an outgrowth of the original Mission Church founded in Boston and is the first foreign church on O‘ahu (1820.)

The “Stone Church,” as it came to be known, is in fact not built of stone, but of giant slabs of coral hewn from ocean reefs. These slabs had to be quarried from under water; each weighed more than 1,000 pounds. Natives dove 10 to 20 feet to hand-chisel these pieces from the reef, then raised them to the surface, loaded some 14,000 of the slabs into canoes and ferried them to shore.

Following five years of construction, The Stone Church was ready for dedication ceremonies on July 21, 1842. The grounds of Kawaiahaʻo overflowed with 4,000 to 5,000 faithful worshippers. King Kamehameha III, who contributed generously to the fund to build the church, attended the service.

Kawaiaha‘o Church was designed and founded by its first pastor, Hiram Bingham. Hiram left the islands on August 3, 1840 and never saw the completed church. Kawaiahaʻo Church is listed on the state and national registers of historic sites.

Kawaiaha‘o Church continues to serve as a center of worship for Hawai‘i’s people, with services conducted every Sunday in Hawaiian and English. Approximately 85% of the services are in English; at least one song and the Lord’s Prayer (as a congregation) are in Hawaiian.

Over the course of 44-years (1820-1863) (the “Missionary Period”,) about 200 men and women in twelve Companies, independent missionaries, Tahitians and Hawaiians served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM the Hawaiian Islands. (Lots of info here from Damon.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

First Kawaiahao Church Building-TheFriend-Oct 1925
First Kawaiahao Church Building-TheFriend-Oct 1925
Bingham's_Thatched_Home-(Damon)-1820
Bingham’s_Thatched_Home-(Damon)-1820
Small-Large_Thatched_Houses-(NPS)
Small-Large_Thatched_Houses-(NPS)
First_Christian_Church-Honolulu-(Damon)-1822
First_Christian_Church-Honolulu-(Damon)-1822
Native_Chapel-Cottage_of_Ellis_and_Palace_of_Kalanimoku-(Stewart)-1828
Native_Chapel-Cottage_of_Ellis_and_Palace_of_Kalanimoku-(Stewart)-1828
Mission_House and First_Christian_Church-Honolulu-1822
Mission_House and First_Christian_Church-Honolulu-1822
ourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1840
ourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1840
Fourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1832
Fourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1832
Kawaiahao_Church-2007
Kawaiahao_Church-2007
Kawaiahao_Church-1900
Kawaiahao_Church-1900

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu Rapid Transit (HRT)

Nuʻuanu Valley was the first of the valleys to undergo residential development because it was convenient to the town (when most people walked from town up into the valley.)

In 1888, the animal-powered tramcar service of Hawaiian Tramways ran track from downtown to Waikīkī. In 1900, the Tramways was taken over by the Honolulu Rapid Transit & Land Co (HRT.)

HRT initially operated electrically powered streetcars on tracks through Honolulu streets.  Power came from overhead wires.  Its “land” component included investments into the construction and operation of the Honolulu Aquarium (now the Waikīkī Aquarium), a popular attraction at the end of the Waikiki streetcar line.

In addition to service to the core Honolulu communities, HRT expanded to serve other opportunities.  In the fall of 1901, a line was also sent up into central Mānoa.

The new Mānoa trolley opened the valley to development and rushed it into the expansive new century. In particular, it would help to sell a very new hilltop subdivision, “College Hills,” and also expand an unplanned little “village” along the only other road, East Mānoa.  (Bouslog)

The rolling stock consisted of ten 10-bench cars; fifteen 8-bench cars; two closed cars; eight convertible cars and ten trailers.  (Electrical Review 1902)

For the line work, wooden poles thirty feet long were used and placed about 100-feet apart. The necessary span wires are so placed to allow the trolley wire, which was 4/0 copper wire, about twenty-feet above the track.  (Electrical Review)

“The company operates on twenty miles of trackage, which is continually being extended to anticipate the demands of traffic. The overhead trolley system is in vogue, with power supplied from a modern generating plant operated by oil fuel.”

“The entire equipment conforms to the latest offered by modern invention, providing for safety, durability and comfort.”  (Overland Monthly, 1909)

“The company’s service extends to Waikiki beach, the famous and popular resort of the Hawaiian and tourist, and where the aquarium, the property of the company, is one of the great objects of attraction.”

“Kapiolani Park, the Bishop Museum, the Kahauki Military Post, the Royal Mausoleum, Oahu College and the Manoa and Nuuanu valleys are reached by the lines of this company.”  (Overland Monthly, 1909)

Bus service was inaugurated by HRT in 1915, initially using locally built bodies and later buses from the Mainland (acquired in 1928.) Trolley buses operated on a number of HRT routes from January 1938 to the spring of 1958. Electric street cars, first used by HRT on August 31, 1901, were withdrawn early in the morning of July 1, 1941.  (Schmitt)

“At two o’clock on the afternoon of June 31, 1941, car 47 left the HRT carhouse. Number 47’s run that day was unusual. To begin with, it was an old open car, one of those originally built about 1908. In addition, the car sported one of the largest leis ever made, which circled it completely.”

“At the controller was George Bell, son of Jack Bell who ran HRT’s first car in 1901. The car ran over the remaining rail line all afternoon and evening … The end finally came at 1:30 a.m. on July 1, 1941.”  (Hawaiian Tramways)

The streetcars were replaced completely by buses (first gasoline and later diesel buses.)

Entrepreneur Harry Weinberg from Baltimore began investing in HRT in 1954 and methodically proceeded to take over HRT in 1960.  After Weinberg took control of HRT he went on to continue investing in real estate and other corporations.

The confluence of several milestone developments up to mid-1960s became the precursors of an unfolding drama that culminated in a battle of titanic proportions that led to the transfer of the company from private hands to public ownership by the City & County of Honolulu.  (Papacostas – ASCE)

First came the establishment of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in 1913; HRT started to spin off non-utility properties and operations to a subsidiary (Honolulu Ltd) to avoid regulatory oversight.

Then, in April 1937, the US Supreme Court validated the 1935 National Labor Relations Act that strengthened to role of labor (or trade) unions.  The thirds came from the US Congress in the form of “The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964,” which provided funding for urban mass transit systems. (Papacostas – ASCE)

Through this provision, Frank F. Fasi, who was first elected mayor of the City & County of Honolulu in 1969 and who was destined to become the longest-serving person in that capacity initiated definite moves toward the ultimate take-over of HRT.  (Papacostas – ASCE)

Bernard W. Stern states in his book on Rutledge Unionism, “as early as 1970 the Federal Department of Transportation, in response to an inquiry, advised Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi that Honolulu was eligible to receive two-thirds of the acquisition costs of HRT, Wahiawa Transport, and Leeward Bus Company.”

The “Wahiawa” and “Leeward” companies were suburban lines, the first also being run under majority ownership by Weinberg.  (Papacostas – ASCE)

The company suspended all service after December 31, 1970, because of a labor dispute, and was succeeded a few months later by MTL, Inc. (a new management company established by the City and known as Mass Transit Lines (MTL.)  (Schmitt) 

As a consequence of court decisions, the March 22, 1973 issue of the Honolulu Advertiser declared that finally “Weinberg, City agree to quick takeover of site.”  (Papacostas – ASCE)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

  • King at Fort Streets
  • Park your auto safely at home use the street car service.
  • Park your auto safely at home use the street car service.

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu Courthouse

Up to late-1840s, the Judiciary found quarters in other people’s houses.

At the end of 1846 the King’s Privy Council resolved to authorize funds and have Governor Kekūanāoʻa’s stone house within the old fort of Honolulu “be turned into a court house for the foreign judges and Hopkins’ house for a district court house, said houses however to be put in good condition.” Back then this was at the water’s edge.

An act to organize the judiciary department of the Hawaiian Islands was passed in September, 1847. It set up a superior court and otherwise assembled the machinery of law and order.

Beginning early in 1851, as a combined courthouse and jail, work was soon halted “on account of the depth of water found upon the foundation rock, which rendered it impracticable to proceed.”

When work was recommenced in June, the jail had been dropped and the plans for the new building called only for one that would “serve the purposes of the Legislative Assembly, as well as for holding the Courts.”

In October, sixty prisoners were used to cut coral blocks for the Courthouse. One night while staying in houses near their work place (in order to take advantage of a low tide very early in the morning,) forty men overpowered the guards and seized the gun batteries overlooking Honolulu.

Loaded cannon were trained on prominent buildings. But the prisoners lacked fire to set off the pieces. The prisoners were captured and order was restored in the morning.

On July 5, 1852, the superior court of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi met for the first time. At the time, it was the second largest building in the kingdom and served concurrently as a courthouse, parliament house and civic center.

Judge Lee opened the session of the superior court with an address in which he asked those in attendance to “pause a moment, as we meet for the first time in this temple dedicated to justice, and reflect upon our duties as lawyers, as jurors, and as judges.”

In concluding his address, Judge Lee referred briefly to the new courthouse: “I well remember when I landed on these shores, now nearly six years ago, the court met in an old grass house, floored with mats, without benches, seats or comforts of any kind …”

“… with one corner partitioned off with calico, for judge’s office, clerk’s office, police court, and jury room, standing on the very ground where now stands this substantial edifice erected at a cost of upwards of forty thousand dollars, and which would do credit to any land.”

He continued, “Justice in a grass house is as precious as justice in one of coral, but no one can fail to agree with me, that the latter with all its comforts and conveniences is greatly to be preferred, inasmuch as it tends to promote that dignity and propriety of manners so essential to secure a proper respect for the law and its administration.”

“May this Hall ever be the temple of Justice – may its wall ever echo with the accents of truth – may its high roof ever look down upon us in the faithful discharge of our duties — and may the blessing of Him who builded the Heavens and whose throne is the fountain of all justice ever rest upon us.”

When the court house was built, the city gained a new and bigger set of public rooms. The result was that the chambers dedicated to the government’s judicial and legislative processes were the scene of a variety of private and community functions.

In addition to its official function as a courthouse and legislative hall, the building was frequently used for public meetings. The congregation of the Second Foreign Church of Honolulu announced it would use the new court house for its services.

Among the more colorful events to be held at the courthouse were the festivities given during the reign of King Kamehameha IV. On November 13, 1856, the Chinese merchants of Honolulu and Lāhaina combined to give a grand ball to their majesties King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, in honor of their recent marriage.

Almost the last official action to take place in the courthouse was the special session of legislature, called for February 12, 1874, to elect a successor to King Lunalilo, who had died without having designated an heir to the throne.

Lunalilo himself had been elected king in this building on January 8, 1873, after Kamehameha V died without issue and without having proclaimed an heir on December 11 of the preceding year.

In accordance with the provisions of the constitution in cases where the previous occupant of the throne failed to nominate or proclaim a successor, the cabinet of the late king called a meeting of the legislative assembly to “elect by ballot some native alii of the kingdom as successor to the throne.” Such a meeting was ordered by the cabinet for noon Feb. 12.

With the Court and Legislative functions in the old Courthouse ended, the regular session of the legislature for 1874 met on April 30, 1874 in the legislative hall of the new government building – Aliʻiolani Hale.

The old Courthouse was advertised for sale at auction in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser of May 9, 1874. The courthouse property was sold to H. Hackfeld & Co., predecessor of American Factors, Ltd. (AmFac – one of Hawaiʻi’s Big Five,) at the upset price of $20,000. As reported by the Hawaiian Gazette, “It is the best business stand in Honolulu.”

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC