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December 23, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau

According to legends, the Menehune built a fort and a temple at the top of the hill ‘Ulumalu. They were driven away from their fort by the high chief Kuali‘i during his reign (sometime in the 1700s). Kuali‘i rebuilt it after his seizure of the fort. (Cultural Surveys)

This heiau was the center piece of a string of heiaus that strung across the Kona district. The existence of such an important heiau at the mouth of the valley could be taken as an indication of the early importance of Mānoa.

Because the plain that Honolulu proper is situated on tends to be a hot, dry environment, the Alii or Hawaiian Royalty of the early 1800s were known to use Mānoa as a retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle of the town’s dusty streets. (DeLeon)

Another legend says that the menehune were driven from their fort and temple by the owls, who became their bitter enemies.
The legends say that the fairy people, the Menehunes, built a temple and a fort a little farther up the valley above Pu‘u-pueo, at a place called Kukaoo.

Some people say that the owl-god and the fairies became enemies and waged bitter war against each other. At last the owl-god beat the drum of the owl clan and called the owl-gods from Kauai to give him aid.

With the aid of the Kaua‘i owls, there was a great battle and the “fort and temple” were captured; the menehune were driven out of the valley. (Cultural Surveys)

“(O)n a vast rock pile, still stands a walled enclosure known as the heiau of Kūka‘ō‘ō, now overgrown with lantana and night blooming cereus. This … temple dates back many hundred years. Its erection is credited to the Menehune’s … but was rebuilt during the reign of Kuali‘i, who wrested it from them after a hard fought battle.”

“The Menehune’s fort was on the rocky hill, Ulumalu, on the opposite side of the road, just above Kukaoo. Previous to the battle, they had control of all upper Manoa.”

“After Kūali‘i obtained possession, he made it the principal temple fort of a system of heiaus, extending from Mauoki, Puahia luna and lalo, Kumuohia, Kaualaa, Wailele, and one or two other points between Kaualaa and Kukaoo.”

“There were also several Muas in the system they controlled — sacred picketed trench enclosures, and altogether, the scene must have been one of priest-ridden despotism.”

“Kūka‘ō‘ō heiau and hill is connected also, in legend, with that of Punahou Spring, as the place where the twin brother and sister Kauawaahila and Kauakuahine obtained temporary shelter from the persecutions of a cruel step-mother, as shown in the following extract.”

“The children went to the head of Mānoa valley, but were driven away and told to return to Ka‘ala, but they ran and hid themselves in a small cave on the side of the hill of Kūka‘ō‘ō, whose top is crowned by the temple of the Menehunes.”

“Here they lived some time and cultivated a patch of potatoes, their food meanwhile being grass-hoppers and greens. The latter were the tender shoots of the popolo, aheahea, pakai, laulele and potato vines, cooked by rolling hot stones around among them in a covered gourd.”

“When the potatoes were fit to be eaten, the brother made a double imu, or oven, having a kapu, or sacred, side for his food and a noa, or free, side for his sister.”

“The little cave was also divided in two, a sacred and a free part for brother and sister. The cave, with its wall of stone dividing it in two was still intact a few years ago, and the double imu was also to be seen.” (Thrum)

The heiau is mentioned in Land Commission records as “LCA 3906 to K. Neki, Heiau of Kūkaō‘ō, fence; house in”. “I, Neki hereby state my claims /at/ the land fence, mauka in Manoa, at the heiau of Kukaoo on the side below the heiau.”

“These two fences of which I tell you were from my makuas – they expended a great deal of revenue in making these fences, and I also did, and they are mine at this time – no one else has a right to them. That is my explanation to you. I am, with thanks. Neki” (Cultural Surveys)

The heiau has been restored and is part of the Mānoa Heritage Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i. The site consists of Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau, a Native Hawaiian garden and Kūali‘i, a Tudor-style house, built in 1911.

Currently, Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau and garden tours are available, guided by volunteer docents ($7 per adult.) Reservations are needed with two-week advance notice preferred.  It was created through the efforts of Sam and Mary Cooke.

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Kukaoo_Heiau-AnnCecil
Kukaoo_Heiau-AnnCecil
Kukaoo_Heiau-AuthorGeneParola
Kukaoo_Heiau-AuthorGeneParola
Manoa Heritage Center map
Manoa Heritage Center map

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Manoa, Kukaoo Heiau, Hawaii, Waikiki

December 22, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Dickie Cross

“Nobody went to the North Shore.”

Until the 1930s, modern surfing in Hawaiʻi was focused at Waikīkī; there the waves were smaller. Then, in 1937, Wally Froiseth and John Kelly, reportedly on a school trip, witnessed the large break at Mākaha and later surfed its waves. They were later joined by George Downing and others.

Riding at an angle to the wave, rather than the straight to shore technique, on the new “hot curl” board, with narrower tails and V-hulled boards, allowed them to ride in a sharper angle than anyone else.

Mākaha became the birthplace of big wave surfing. Even before Oʻahu’s North Shore, Mākaha was ‘the’ place for surfing – especially big-wave surfing.

In January 1955, the first Mākaha International Surfing Championships was held and for the next decade was considered the unofficial world championships of surfing.

“We were the first ones to go (to the North Shore.) Wally and John Kelly told me, they said, ‘Oh, there at (Sunset Beach,) there’s big waves over there.’” (Quotes in this summary are from an account by Woody Brown in Legendary Surfers.)

On December 22, 1943, Woody Brown and a young friend named Dickie Cross paddled out at Sunset on a rising swell. Up to this time, Sunset had rarely been ridden.

“Oh well, it’s winter time. There’s no surf in Waikiki at all, see. So, we got bored. You know how surfers get. Oh, let’s go over there and try over there. That’s how we got over there and got caught, because the waves were 20 feet.”

“Well, that wasn’t too bad, because there was a channel going out, see. The only thing is, when I looked from the shore, I could see the water dancing in the channel … the waves are piling in the bay from both sides, causing this narrow channel going out.”

“There were 20 foot waves breaking on each side. We went out to catch these waves and slide toward the channel. The only trouble was, the surf was on the way up. We didn’t know that. It was the biggest surf they’d had in years and years, see, and it was on the way up.”

“So, we got caught out there! It kept getting bigger and bigger and, finally, we were sitting in this deep hole where the surf was breaking on two sides and coming into the channel. The channel opened up into this big deep area where we were and the surf would break on two sides”.

“Then, all of a sudden, way outside in the blue water, a half mile out from where we were – and we were out a half mile from shore – way out in the blue water this tremendous wave came all the way down the coast, from one end to the other.”

“It feathered and broke out there! We thought, ‘Oh boy, so long, pal. This is the end. … 20 feet of white water, eh? Rolling in and just before it got to us, it hit this deep hole and the white water just backed-up. The huge swell came through, but didn’t break.”

“Oh, boy! Scared the hell out of us! Well, there was a set of about 5 or 6 waves like that. So, after the set went by, we said, ‘Hey, let’s get the hell inside. What are we doing out here? This is no place to be! Let’s get in!’”

“You have to be very careful of these channels. When the waves get big, the rip current just pours out of there, out of the bay. You can’t get in. Anyway, we didn’t know what to do.”

“So, finally, we decided, ‘Well, there was only one thing to do. We gotta wait until that huge set goes by’ … ‘then, we’ll paddle like hell to get outside of ’em and then paddle down the coast and come in at Waimea.

“By the time we got there, it kept getting bigger and bigger. It went up on the Haleiwa restaurant and it wiped out the road at Sunset. It was the biggest surf they’d had in years and we were stuck out there.”

“Then what I was afraid might happen did happen. In other words, a set came where we were — a big, tremendous set. Boy, outside of us there was just a step ladder a far as you could see, going uphill.”

“(W)e had agreed we’d go out in the middle of the bay, where it was safe, and sit there and watch the sets go by and see what it looked like. Then we could judge where to get in and what.”

“But, no! (Cross) starts cutting in, and I hollered at him, ‘Hey, hey, don’t go in there. Let’s go out in the middle!’ “‘Nah!’ ” “He just wouldn’t pay any attention.”

“So, he was going in and I would see him go up over these swells and come back out off the top. The next one would come and he’d disappear and then I’d see him come up over the top and it looked like he was trying to catch ’em.”

“I told him, ‘Come out, come out!’ It sounded like he said, ‘I can’t, Woody, I’m too tired.’ That’s what it sounded like. But then, he started swimming out towards me, so I started paddling in to catch him to pick him up on my board.”

“Well, you know, at a time like that, in that kind of big waves… you’re watching outside all the time … So, I’m paddling in and one eye’s out there and one eye’s on him to pick him up.”

“All of a sudden, his eyes see the darn mountains coming way outside in the blue water, just piling one on top of another, way out there. I turned around and started paddling outside for all I’m worth”.

“I started looking for Dickie, cuz he’s been inside of me. Oh, boy. I hollered and called and looked, swam around, and there was no more Dickie anywhere. It’s getting dark, now, too! The sun’s just about setting.”

“So, I’m swimming and I think, ‘Well, I’m gonna die, anyway, so I might just as well try to swim in, because, what the hell, I’m dead, anyway, if I’m gonna float around out here.'”

“I’ll swim out to the middle of the bay and I’ll wait and watch the big sets go by and after a big set goes by, then I just try swimming and hope to God I can get in far enough that when another big set comes in I’ll be where it isn’t so big and strong.”

“And that’s what I did. I was just lucky when the first one came. I’m watching it come, bigger and higher and higher and it broke way outside, maybe 4-5 hundred yards outside of me. I said, ‘Well, maybe I got a chance.’”

“So, I figured, ‘Man, if I lived through this one, I got a chance!’ Cuz each one, I’m getting washed in, eh? So, each time I dove a little less deep and I saw it was washing me in.”

“So, they washed me up on the beach. I was so weak, I couldn’t stand up. I crawled out on my hands and knees and these army guys came running down.”

“The first thing I said to them was, ‘Where’s the other guy?’ They said, ‘Oh, we never saw him after he got wrapped up in that first big wave.’”

“If he got ‘wrapped up’ meant that he was up in the curl, right? How else would you express it? So, I figured he tried to bodysurf in.” (Legendary Surfers)

Census records show Dickie Cross (born in 1925) was son of William and Annie Cross who emigrated from England in 1902. His father was a brick mason; they lived in Waikiki on Prince Edward Street, about a block mauka of what is now the Hyatt Regency.

Honolulu-born Dickie, along with older brother Jack, was a fixture on the Waikiki surfing and paddleboard-racing scene in the late-1930s and early-40s. While still in middle school, the two boys made a sailing canoe in their backyard, and sailed it, alone, from Waikiki to Molokai, a distance of 40 miles.

Cross’s death contributed greatly to what California big-wave rider Greg Noll later described as the ‘Waimea taboo’ – a general fear that kept surfers from riding the break until 1957.

As part of the Sunshine Freestyle Surfabout, there is the Dick Cross Memorial Distance Paddle that sends surfers on their boards from Carmel River Beach, around Carmel Point, California, all the way to the judges’ stands at Eighth and Scenic. Top paddlers do the distance in about 15-minutes.

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Dickie Cross, Queens, 1940
Dickie Cross, Queens, 1940
Wally Froiseth & Dickie Cross-1943
Wally Froiseth & Dickie Cross-1943
Dickie Cross (second from right), Waikiki, 1943
Dickie Cross (second from right), Waikiki, 1943
Waimea_Closeout
Waimea_Closeout

Filed Under: Economy, General, Prominent People Tagged With: Waimea, Makaha, North Shore, Woody Brown, Dickie Cross, Hawaii, Waikiki

December 16, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

George Douglas Freeth, Jr

In 1889, the Redondo pier in California was a wharf at the foot of Emerald Street, designed to handle the enormous lumber trade from the Pacific Northwest. Two additional wharfs were added in 1895 and 1903.

Traffic into the port was so busy that ships had to wait their turn for a spot at one of the piers, as Santa Fe rail cars transported the cargo inland as fast as possible. (RedondoPier)

However, Redondo’s popularity began a slow decline when San Pedro Harbor started to take shape in 1899. By 1912, the Pacific Steamship Company stopped calling at Redondo altogether. (Megowan)

In 1907, real estate entrepreneurs Abott Kinney and Henry Huntington were heavily promoting their respective coastal resorts. Kinney had the lead, having dedicated his “Venice of America” (Venice Beach) on July 4, 1905. Henry Huntington, in June 1907, was putting the final touches on his own elaborate beach resort in Redondo Beach. (Verge)

At about that time, 19-year old, hapa-haole, George Douglas Freeth Jr, met up with Jack London and Alexander Hume Ford riding the waves at Waikiki. “I saw him tearing in on the back of (the wave,) standing upright on his board, carelessly poised”. The “young god bronzed with sunburn” gave London a surf lesson. (London)

“The whole method of surf riding and surf fighting, I learned, is one of non-resistance. Dodge the blow that is struck at you. Dive through the wave that is trying to slap you in the face. … Never be rigid. Relax.”

“The man who wants to learn surf riding must be a strong swimmer, and he must be used to going under the water. After that, fair strength and common sense are all that is required.” (London)

Around 1905, Freeth was the first – or among the first – to reintroduce angling across the wave as opposed to heading straight for shore. (Encyclopedia of Surfing)

“In 1907, (Freeth) left Hawaiʻi for the Golden State with letters in hand from Ford, Jack London and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee. His objective was to ‘give exhibitions of Hawaiian water sports to the people of that section.’” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser; Laderman)

The July 3, 1907 Pacific Commercial Advertiser announced Freeth’s departure from his native Hawaiʻi with a page 1 headline that read, “George Freeth Off To Coast – Will Illustrate Hawaiian Surfboarding to People in California.”

“The aquatic skills that had enamored London, Ford and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee were the same skills Freeth brought with him to California, where he found work for two of the major developers of the period, Abbot Kinney and Henry Huntington.” (Laderman)

Within six months of his arrival, Freeth was commuting between the two seaside communities aboard Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway. At Huntington’s Redondo resort, Freeth performed his surfing act twice a day under the billing, “The Hawaiian Wonder.”

Freeth lived in Redondo Beach where he worked as a swim instructor/lifeguard at Huntington’s “Plunge,” which from afar looked more like a royal palace than a public swimming pool. With over 1,000-dressing rooms and three heated pools, the Redondo Plunge could hold as many as 2,000- swimmers at one time. (Verge)

“At Venice Beach, Freeth went to work training Kinney’s Venice Lifesaving Crew. Freeth taught the crew to become one with the water. Rip currents, for example, were not to be fought against, but instead used by the rescue swimmer to speed to the victim in distress – a method that is still employed today.”

“So grateful were members of the Venice Lifesaving crew that on the occasion of his 24th birthday, they surprised him with a gold watch and a card that read in part – ‘Mr. George Freeth, King of the Surf Board, Captain of the Venice Basketball team, First Lieutenant of Venice Volunteer Life Saving Corps, and leader in Aquatic Sports and General Good Fellowship, is reliable, sober, industrious.’”

“’We, his comrades and citizens of Venice, extend our best wishes and a watch, that he may continue to keep abreast of the time to the century mark at least.’” (Verge)

On December 16, 1908, Freeth’s water safety skills were put to a test. That day, a tremendous winter squall suddenly descended upon Santa Monica Bay. Gale force winds and high surf trapped several Japanese fishing boats off the Venice Pier.

For the next 2 ½-hours, Freeth braved gale force winds, pounding surf, and a frigid ocean temperature to save single-handedly the lives of seven men. The Venice Lifesaving Corpsmen launched their boat to assist Freeth. More were saved.

As a result of these collected statements and the first-hand news accounts of the rescue, a special act of Congress dated June 25, 1910, awarded Freeth the nation’s highest civilian honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1915, lured away by the prospects of a better income and the chance to promote Hawaii and the sport of surfing, he joined the San Diego Yacht Club as a lifeguard/swim coach. Unfortunately, the club suffered from financial problems and Freeth was let go; a sympathetic club member then found Freeth a job at a sporting goods store in downtown San Diego.

On a warm spring day in May 1918, 13 swimmers drowned together in a massive rip current. Ocean Beach officials who hadn’t thought it necessary to have lifeguards saw their beach resort community empty as tourists stayed away.

Twelve days later the legendary lifeguard and surfer was in charge of the beach. There, Freeth performed on his surfboard, trained youngsters to work as lifeguards, and to the delight of everyone, not a single swimmer drowned.

Sadly, the flu pandemic of 1918-19 was sweeping through San Diego. Worldwide, 20 million people died from the flu in four months, as many as were killed in all of World War I. Rather than the young and the old, the victims were mostly healthy and middle aged. Among the stricken was Freeth. (Verge)

Freeth is credited as being the “First great waterman of the modern era” – Swimmer, diver, boatman, fisherman, outrigger canoeist, sailor, first professional lifeguard in California, Congressional Gold Medal for bravery, founded lifesaving service in California and introduced waterpolo to California. (UCSB)

George Douglas Freeth, Jr was born on Oʻahu on November 9, 1883; he died of the flu in San Diego on April 7, 1919 at the age of 35.

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George_Freeth-(WC)-1910
George_Freeth-(WC)-1910
George_Freeth-encyclopediaofsurfing
George_Freeth-encyclopediaofsurfing
George_Freeth-californiasurfmuseum
George_Freeth-californiasurfmuseum
Freeth_rowing (L)
Freeth_rowing (L)
Historic Huntington - surfing - George Freeth - LA Herald Dec 17 1908
Historic Huntington – surfing – George Freeth – LA Herald Dec 17 1908
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HuntingtonBeachArialShot1961
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1971
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1971
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1981
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1981
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aerial_redondo_1920
Redondo_Beach-Plunge_1908
Redondo_Beach-Plunge_1908
Redondo-inside_plunge
Redondo-inside_plunge
George Freeth Plaque
George Freeth Plaque
Bronze Bust of George Freeth
Bronze Bust of George Freeth

Filed Under: Economy, General, Prominent People Tagged With: George Douglas Freeth Jr, Congressional Gold Medal, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach, Venice Beach, Hawaii, Waikiki, Surfing, Surf

November 15, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1800s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1800s – horses arrive, sandalwood economy and Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia sails to New England. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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timeline-1800s

Filed Under: Place Names, Prominent People, Schools, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy, General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Hawaiian Traditions, Military Tagged With: Horse, Sandalwood, 1800s, Hawaii, Timeline Tuesday, Waikiki, Honolulu, Kamehameha, Henry Opukahaia, Royal Center, Sugar

August 15, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Waikīkī Inn

The coastal village of Waikīkī was most likely centered around the mouth of ‘Āpuakēhau Stream (between the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Hotels.) Beginning in the 15th-century, a vast system of irrigated taro fields was constructed, extending from Waikīkī to the lower valleys of Mānoa and Pālolo.

This field system, that took advantage of streams descending from the valleys of Makiki, Mānoa and Pālolo, was an impressive feat of engineering, the design of which is traditionally attributed to the chief Kalamakua (grandson of the Island’s ruling chief Māʻilikūkahi.)

The lo‘i kalo, in combination with coconut groves and numerous fishponds along the Waikīkī shoreline, enabled the growth of a sizeable population. (Cultural Surveys)

Fast forward about a century after ‘contact’ (Captain Cook’s arrival) and “The most popular resort of the people of Oʻahu is the famous Waikīkī … Waikīkī is the seaside and pleasure-resort of the island. …”

“There are a number of private residences, picturesque-looking bungalows and cottages, but all airy, comfortable, and close to the murmuring sea. A beautiful grove of towering coconut-trees adds to the tropical charm of the place.” (Musick, 1898)

“The sea bathing is simply perfection. The water is never chilly; and yet it is most healthful and invigorating. The bottom is of nice smooth sand, always warm and pleasant to the feet.”

“There is no fear of undertow or of any finny monsters. Not only is it pleasant to bathe here during the day, but moonlight bathing is indulged in. … It is a novelty, worth seeing, if not worth trying. (Whitney, 1895)

Just as “sea bathing” were gaining popularity on the American and European continents, private bathhouses, like the Long Branch Baths, Ilaniwai Baths and Wright’s Villa, began to appear in Waikīkī. (White)

“Bath-houses that equal those in Long Branch (New Jersey) are found here, and sea-bathing in January is as pleasant as in July. There is no clearer water, no finer beach, no smoother bottom in any of the many famous watering-places than are found at Waikīkī.” (Musick, 1898)

This is where Thomas and Elizabeth (Applegarth) Wright made their home. They came to Hawaiʻi from England in the early-1880s. Thomas was a carriage maker who came to Hawaiʻi with two brothers who operated a carriage business. (Krauss)

Their home was built in about 1890, on the water, across from Uluniu Street on Kalākaua.

Then tragedy struck the Wright family. First, their 10-year old son, Gladstone, was struck and killed by a falling rock while on a Sunday school outing in Manoa. The Sunday school teacher carried him unconscious down the trail to his carriage and drove to Queen’s Hospital; there, treated by Dr. Hildebrand, unfortunately, he died. (Krauss)

A memorial “Gladstone Wright Killed May 14 1891” chiseled into a hard to find boulder on Waiakeakua Stream (between its upper and lower falls on the east side of Mānoa Valley) is a vigilant reminder of the hazards of hiking in Hawaiʻi’s wilderness – and it continues the memory of its focus.

Gladstone’s sister Cicely died (at the age of 7) of an undisclosed disease the year after he was killed. It was shortly after when the Wrights opened their home as a bath house and accommodations (food and lodging.) It was initially known as Wright’s Villa.

It received favorable success, “Over one hundred bathers visited Wright’s Villa and Ilaniwai yesterday.” (Evening Bulletin, June 24, 1895) “Over fifty bathers visited Wright’s Villa last Sunday, Mr Wright will shortly erect a number of new dressing rooms and a two-roomed cottage on his premises.” (Evening Bulletin, July 8, 1895)

Thomas and Elizabeth Wright left in 1899 and returned to Staindrop, England, never to return to the Islands (although they were constantly reminded of the Islands; they named their England home ‘Honolulu House.’)

Back in the Island, “ES Buhlon has bought the bathing resort at Waikīkī, known as Ilaniwai. This will be joined with Wright’s Villa and the two places will be under the management of JB Hayward, the present manager of Wright’s Villa. Now that this consolidation has taken place, people who desire rooms at Waikīkī can find them.” (Evening Bulletin, April 5, 1899)

Then, “Wright’s Villa has been rechristened and will henceforth be known as the ‘Waikīkī Inn.’ … It is conducted under the same management. You can have the same bathing on the best beach in the Islands, the same excellent dinner and if you are so inclined enjoy a bottle of claret while dining.” (Evening Bulletin, October 14, 1899)

For a while, things were looking up, “Waikīkī Inn has undergone considerable improvement under the management of Almy, vice Mr. Hayward retired, and many more changes are contemplated. Mr Almy hopes to make Waikīkī Inn the resort of the beach.”

“He is prepared to take orders for special dinners and is even contemplating making a café of his ‘lanai’ and putting in a grill room where short orders may be served at any time. No more genial host can be found than Mr Almy and his enterprise deserves the patronage of the public.” (Austin’s Hawaiian Weekly, March 17, 1900)

Almy had a bit of a run in with the law, “Because it is illegal to sell liquor on Sundays the Waikīkī Inn will close. HN Almy, manager of this popular seaside resort, said yesterday that the charge of Judge Humphreys to the grand jury was in part directly aimed at the custom of selling liquor at the beach resorts on Sundays.”

“Light wine and beer licenses had been granted, as it was clearly shown that the beach resorts could not compete with the down town saloons if they were made to pay the regular saloon license of $1,000 per year, unless they were allowed to sell on Sunday.” (Honolulu Republican, August 8, 1900)

Later, things got even worse, “Waikīkī Inn has a bad name and if half of the charges against its conduct are true, the bad name has been fully earned. Furthermore, no showing has been made or can be made for allowing still further liberties of liquor selling at the beach resort.”

“The reports of the license inspector, the experience of the police department, the investigations of grand juries, have repeatedly and consistently shown that the greatest danger from the booze business to the young people of Honolulu lies in the night-selling privileges at a beach resort such as Waikīkī Inn.” (Editorial, Star Bulletin, August 19, 1914)

Interestingly, the property was later acquired by Honolulu Brewing & Malting Company. Sometime later the inn was renamed Waikīkī Tavern and Inn. It and surrounding properties were later demolished to make way for the Kūhiō Beach improvements in the early 1960s.

Today, the home of Thomas and Elizabeth Wright is now a small patch of grass and a sandy beach, just ‘Ewa of the hula mound and banyan tree at Kūhiō Beach on Waikīkī. (Lots of information and images here are from Riley.)

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Wright home in the 1890s before it became Wright Villa in 1899 and later renamed Waikiki Inn-HT&N
Wright home in the 1890s before it became Wright Villa in 1899 and later renamed Waikiki Inn-HT&N
Waikiki Inn-Ad-PPWD-8-8-003-1898
Waikiki Inn-Ad-PPWD-8-8-003-1898
Waikiki Inn-from Kalakaua
Waikiki Inn-from Kalakaua
Waikiki Inn and Tavern-1949
Waikiki Inn and Tavern-1949
Waikiki Inn Ad- Hawaiian Star-Oct_10,_1899
Waikiki Inn Ad- Hawaiian Star-Oct_10,_1899
Waikiki Inn Ad-HonoluluRepublican-Aug_30,_1900
Waikiki Inn Ad-HonoluluRepublican-Aug_30,_1900
Waikiki Inn Ad-SB-Dec_2,_1914
Waikiki Inn Ad-SB-Dec_2,_1914
Wright's Villa Ad-Hawaiian Star-Aug_30,_1899
Wright’s Villa Ad-Hawaiian Star-Aug_30,_1899
Wright's Villa Ad-PCA-Nov_4,_1896
Wright’s Villa Ad-PCA-Nov_4,_1896
Thomas Wright's business card 1899 (Jeanne Wright Riley)
Thomas Wright’s business card 1899 (Jeanne Wright Riley)

Filed Under: Economy, Buildings Tagged With: Gladstone, Waikiki Inn, Thomas Wright, Hawaii, Waikiki, Oahu, Gladstone Wright

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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