“Broad spreading trees and wide lawns gave Punahou St an air of quiet and peace and dignity. And not the least dignified of the buildings which line the street is the MacDonald hotel, which for more than 50 years has stood as a landmark in the district.” (Star Bulletin, July 21, 1934)
“The MacDonald Hotel is a stately mansion surrounded by cottages amid sub-tropical foliage. It is located at 1402 Punahou Street in the great residence district of Honolulu.”
“There are tennis courts on the grounds, and the transient as well as the permanent resident has here all the comforts of home at the reasonable rates of $3 a day or $65 a month. The guests enjoy delicious home-cooked meals, which are also served to outsiders. This hotel is near Central Union Church and Oahu College. (Mid-Pacific Magazine, July 1927)
“Two prominent island families called this building ‘home’ before it was converted into a hotel. They were the families of Col and Mrs Charles H Judd and Judge and Mrs HA Widemann.” (Star Bulletin, July 21, 1934)
Charles Hastings Judd, born at Kawaiaha‘o on September 8, 1835 to missionaries Gerrit and Laura Judd, was Chamberlain to King Kalākaua from 1878 until 1886, and an official in various responsible capacities during the reigns of three rulers, Kamehameha V, Lunalilo and Kalākaua.
In 1860, Judd and his brother-in-law, SG Wilder, had purchased the lands of Kualoa and Ka‘a‘awa from Judd’s father and Jacob Fox and started diversified farming with tobacco, cotton and rice were planted and the possibility of vanilla beans was discussed.
He entered into a partnership with his father and Wilder in 1863 for the growing and grinding of sugar cane at Kualoa, and in 1864, the first on the Island of O‘ahu.
In 1866 the Charles and his family settled at “Rosebank,” Nu‘uanu Valley, which had been bought from the estate of Robert C Wyllie, famous in Hawaiian history as a minister of foreign affairs. During these years Judd was engaged in ranching with John Cummins at Waimanalo. Production of sugar at Kualoa having failed for various reasons, the enterprise was abandoned in 1871. (Nellist)
Hermann Adam Widemann was born in Hanover, Germany on December 24, 1822. “After he left school where he received an excellent training he was destined for the army. His ‘pull’ was not sufficient in those days for promotion when ‘birth’ was everything and he went to sea in a merchant vessel.”
“In 1843 he arrived in Honolulu and he liked the place well and made up his mind to return to the Islands. In 1846 he landed again in Honolulu and made his home here and became a leading citizen of this little place. During the ‘gold fever’ in 1848-9 he made a trip to California but struck no ‘ore’ there.”
He later made a great success, through his ambition energy and sterling qualities, he rose to the high position in the community. He served at one time Sheriff of Kauai, then Circuit Judge, Minister of the Interior, a Privy Councilor, a member of the Board of Health, Minister of Finance and a Noble.
“The main record of Mr Widemann will go down to posterity however as a leading and successful coffee and sugar planter. … Although Widemann was not a trained lawyer he was a natural born jurist and at the time of his death was the oldest member of the Hawaiian Bar and for a while he occupied the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.” (The Independent, Feb 7, 1899)
Back to the MacDonald Hotel property … “It was built in 1880 for Col Judd, then court chamberlain to King Kalakaua and long active in affairs of the monarchy. Beautlful walnut and other fine woods were used in its construction, and it stands today as substantial as it was 50 years ago. The handsome stairway is of walnut, and so are the five pairs of thick folding doors.”
“The Judd family moved in late in 1880, but Col Judd left his home on January 20, 1881, to accompany King Kalakaua on his famous trip around the world. Unable to go direct from here to Japan, the party went first to San Francisco, then directly across the Pacific and on around the world. Col Judd was away from his home most of the year.”
“In 1886, following his withdrawal from the service of the king, Col Judd moved to his Leilehua ranch home, although keeping his Punahou St home for occasions when he was in the city. …” Later the house was sold.
“The new owners of the house were Judge HA Widemann, also a prominent figure in governmental affairs, and Mrs Widemann. Here the Widemann family, with its household of children lived, and even after the marriage of the younger generatlon the house remained a center of their activities.
Following the death of Widemann … “the house became the property of his daughter, Mrs Henry Macfarlane. She sold it after a few years and it became a hotel, managed by Mrs M MacDonald for many years.”
“It came under the present ownership in 1928 when Mrs Polly Ward was appointed manager. At this time its name was temporarily changed to Kalaniloohia (The Beautiful Attainment), an early name for the district; but the name MacDonald hotel was so firmly ingrained on people’s consciousness that it stuck, and later the Hawaiian name was dropped.”
“Although improvements have been made in the interior of the building it still retains the atmosphere of the hospitable old home. The Manoa breeze sweeps through its high ceilinged rooms just as it did a half century ago.”
“The exterior remains without change, and so do most of the four and a half acres of spacious grounds. Five cottages are now in the yard, two of them dating back to the Widemann’s occupancy.”
“Another of these cottages known as ‘Little Arcadia’ has an interesting history of its own. It was built about 1893 or 1894 by Mr and Mrs. John G Rothwell and stood, not where it is now, but on the adjoining lot mauka, just a trifle makai and Waikiki of Arcadia, the present home of Judge and Mrs. Walter F Frear.” (It was moved to make room for the driveway to Arcadia.) (Star Bulletin, July 21, 1934)
Things changed again … “MacDonald Hotel Sold to Church for School Use .., The MacDonald hotel and property [about 3.6 acres] at 1402-1406 Punahou Street will be converted to use as an addition to the Maryknoll School.” (Star Bulletin, Dec 16, 1947)
Maryknoll was founded by a young priest and six Maryknoll Sisters. When it was blessed in 1927, there were only 93 boys and 77 girls who made up the student body. The school was a one-story, wooden-frame building containing four classrooms on Dole Street.
Within four years, the Sisters knew that expansion was necessary. In 1931, the first freshman class was enrolled and, in 1935, the first 13 graduates of the only Catholic co-educational high school in Hawaii received diplomas.
The high school division continued to operate at Dole Street until 1948, when it was moved to the former MacDonald Hotel on Punahou Street. In August 1953, the present high school facility was dedicated. Today, Maryknoll is Hawai‘i’s largest co-ed Catholic school serving grades K-12. Fifty percent of the students are non-Catholics. (Maryknoll)
