Address
2446 Sonoma St Honolulu, HI 96822
TMK
(1) 2-9-008:051
SHPD Historic Site Number
80-14-9004
Abstract
The Allen R. Johnson Residence sits on a flag lot on the western slope of Manoa valley. Its modest lava rock garage has a corrugated metal, flat roof and is built into the hillside, fronting on Sonoma Street. Eighty four steps, primarily lava rock, but also of concrete and wood, lead up to the Japanese style residence. The Johnson residence and its neighbor, the Thomas Perkins residence, were both designed and constructed in 1938 following Japanese precepts and elements. The two houses were designed by their owners, the architects Allen Johnson and Thomas Perkins, as their individual residences. The Johnson residence stands as an excellent example of the architect’s meticulously clean line design and attention to detail, and his infatuation with opening residential design to the natural beauty of Hawaii. It is also a rare surviving example of a house built in a Japanese mode in Hawaii during the 1930s for a non-Japanese owner. The Pan-Pacific movement, with its origins in the pre-World War I period, emphasized Hawaii as the “Cross-Roads of the Pacific,” where East met West in a harmonious manner.
The Allen R. Johnson Residence sits on a flag lot on the western slope of Manoa valley. Its modest lava rock garage has a corrugated metal, flat roof and is built into the hillside, fronting on Sonoma Street. Eighty four steps, primarily lava rock, but also of concrete and wood, lead up to the Japanese style residence. The Johnson residence and its neighbor, the Thomas Perkins residence, were both designed and constructed in 1938 following Japanese precepts and elements. The two houses were designed by their owners, the architects Allen Johnson and Thomas Perkins, as their individual residences. The Johnson residence stands as an excellent example of the architect’s meticulously clean line design and attention to detail, and his infatuation with opening residential design to the natural beauty of Hawaii. It is also a rare surviving example of a house built in a Japanese mode in Hawaii during the 1930s for a non-Japanese owner. The Pan-Pacific movement, with its origins in the pre-World War I period, emphasized Hawaii as the “Cross-Roads of the Pacific,” where East met West in a harmonious manner.
This list of Hawaii’s historic properties is provided as a public service by Historic Hawaii Foundation. It is not the official list of properties designated on the Hawaii State Register of Historic Places. For official designations and determinations of eligibility, contact the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii at 808-692-8015.