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Oahu Historic Preservation Commission members appointed

By Ian Bauer, Honolulu Star Advertiser, May 19, 2023  (Reprinted with permission.) The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to confirm nine appointees to serve on the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission. The Council’s vote establishes the city’s newest commission, which will advise and assist in carrying out historic preservation and ensure development projects do not destroy historical and cultural sites including heiau and iwi kupuna. Appointed to staggered terms, the commissioners are Kehaunani Abad, Mahealani Cypher, Richard Douglas Davis, Thomas S. Dye, Hailama V.K.K. Farden, N. Mehanaokala Hind, Nanea Lo, Glenn E. Mason and Kai E. White. The unpaid commissioners — with professional and educational backgrounds in architecture, history, archaeology, planning, architectural history, Hawaiian culture, anthropology, ethnography and sociology — will make recommendations of historic properties for inclusion in registers of historic places, maintain an inventory of historic resources and assist the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting in developing standards and guidelines related to historic places, the city says. In November the Council approved the formation of the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission following its advancement by Mayor Rick Blangiardi, after what the city says was a failed 30-year effort under prior administrations and Councils to form the same panel. The mayor asserted that activating the commission now makes Honolulu eligible for federal funding to preserve historic sites. “As a major U.S. destination, Honolulu, we’ve been passing on the benefit of having federal monies to work with,” Blangiardi said in a news conference in November. “This opens up a lot of possibilities.” At the same news conference, Abad noted development of Ward Villages and the Walmart near Ala Moana Center were stalled after burial sites were found. “And it was because there wasn’t a lot [...]

2023-05-22T12:40:02-10:00May 22nd, 2023|Categories: Advocacy, Blog|

Community reflections on meaningful historic places

Historic places that hold special meaning may be iconic, well-known gems or lesser known treasures where the experiences of our lives unfold and important memories are made. The photos and descriptions below represent historic sites that hold special meaning to members of our preservation community—places where they live, work, recreate, worship, learn and gather to celebrate significant events. We invite you throughout May to share historic places that hold special meaning to you and your family on HHF's Instagram, Facebook or Twitter platforms. Include a photo of the site and short description of why it is important to you. Tag Historic Hawai‘i and use the hashtags: #PreservationMonth #HistoricHawaii Lili‘uokalani Park in Hilo is meaningful to me since I grew up in Hilo.  This is a place my family and I would come to visit as a kid and a place I still like to take my grandmother to on a sunny day.  It is a calm and peaceful park along Hilo Bay so it also has a great view of the town and the mountains behind it. The Līhuʻe Civic Center, today the hub of county administration...provides an invaluable statement about the transition from plantation life to a mixed, urbanizing economy. Pearl City Hongwanji Mission, specifically the dojo that houses the Aikido and Judo Club, were important in my formative years well before hula became a part of my life. Dated 1837, Wai‘oli Mission House was associated with Wilcox Missionaries. We excavated the subsurface deposits when the floor was removed for replacement back in the late 1970s. The postholes of the original pole and thatch structure were still present along with the remnants of craft activities practiced by the Hawaiian converts -fishhook making [...]

2023-05-09T12:49:25-10:00May 8th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

Preserving the Iconic Wrap-Around Deck at Liljestrand House

Community Support Integral to the Project's Success Project description and photos courtesy of Kristi Cardoso, executive director, the Liljestrand Foundation. The Liljestrand Foundation recently completed its biggest preservation project to-date, a two-year restoration of the iconic deck of Liljestrand House. One of the signature design elements of the Liljestrand House is its elegant, triangular, wrap-around deck that was an integral part of Vladimir Ossipoff’s original design for the house, completed in 1952. Over the ensuing 69 years thousands of visitors to the house have stood on the deck, enjoying the panoramic views of Diamond Head, Honolulu, and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. Liljestrand House circa 1952/53. Photo courtesy the Lijestrand Foundation. In 2021, the years of weather and a deteriorating gutter system made preservation of the deck an urgent priority.  Extensive gutter repairs, completed in 2020, resolved the dripping and pooling water that had slowly degraded significant parts of the decking to the point where it was no longer safe to stand on. In order to once again be able to safely host visitors on the deck, the Foundation launched an “All Hands on Deck” campaign at the end of 2021. Completed in early 2023, the new deck is stunning. The project was only made possible thanks to the generous support of many “deckhands”.  Over $50,000 was raised from individuals in Hawai`i and across the United States. Jim Keller and Armstrong Builders LLC made an incredible donation of project coordination and incomparable carpentry services. Dean Sakamoto Architects drafted the as-built plans and together with structural engineer Ken Hayashida of KAI Hawaii and architect Joe Ferraro, developed the plans for the steel work and framing based on the original [...]

2023-05-09T11:53:54-10:00May 3rd, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

May is National Historic Preservation Month!

  National Historic Preservation month is a celebration of our nation's heritage through historic places with organizations across the country promoting a variety of activities on the local, state and national levels. PRESERVATION MONTH IN HAWAI‘I   In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation will highlight special historic places in Hawai‘i throughout May in our E-newsletter, blog and social media. We invite the public to share your own favorites and sites that hold special meaning to you by posting photos to HHF's Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the hashtags: #PreservationMonth #HistoricHawaii   In the end, we will take care of only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. ~Baba Dioum, Sengalese conservationist and environmentalist   ORIGINS OF PRESERVATION MONTH Preservation Month began as National Preservation Week in 1973 at the suggestion of Donald T. Sheehan, a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Advisory Committee. A Joint Congressional Resolution was introduced on February 15, 1973, with President Richard Nixon signing the resolution into law on May 5, 1973. First Lady Patricia Nixon, read the Presidential proclamation at the National Trust awards luncheon on May 8th: “As the pace of change accelerates in the world around us, Americans more than ever need a lively awareness of our roots and origins in the past on which to base our sense of identity in the present and our directions for the future.” In 2005, the National Trust extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide an even greater opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country's cities and states.   Image at top: [...]

2023-05-01T12:12:17-10:00April 27th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

Growing the Hilo Grant Program with Community Input

THE HILO PRESERVATION & BEAUTIFICATION STAKEHOLDERS MEETING On March 30, 2023 more than 30 members of the Hilo community gathered at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center on Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo's downtown core. The main objective was to receive community input on ways the program can be beneficial to the Hilo community and its historic places. The agenda included an update on the Hilo Preservation Grant Program, launched in 2019, which has provided grants to an impressive array of downtown icons including: Palace Theatre; Kaikodo, Calica, Smallwood and Hilo Plaza buildings; Kalakaua Park; East Hawaii Cultural Center; Central Christian Church and more. The meeting also afforded an opportunity to discuss impacts and results with the Hilo community and gather input to help inform the program's future trajectory.  Goals for the event included identifying additional potential projects and needs that could be supported; and providing information on next steps and how to apply for a grant (scroll down to the Hilo Preservation Grant Program section below to learn more). The event commenced with introductions and a chance for each person to share what's special to them about Hilo. Some responses included: The rain (mentioned several times). The people. Its authenticity. Hilo’s uniqueness. Feeling of community, community bonds. The history and resilience. The beauty of this place. The connections. That what makes Hilo special has remained and is still visible. It’s real… Participants engaged enthusiastically in small group discussions on the following topics: • What is working well for the Hilo Preservation and Beautification Program; • What advice do past or current grantees have for others planning a project (for a past grantee); • What are buildings, sites or areas that could benefit from a [...]

2023-05-01T08:12:15-10:00April 12th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Events - Past, Featured Homepage Top|

Legacy of Volunteerism continues at Kaumakani West Kaua‘i United Methodist Church

The Story of “The Little Church in The Cane Field”  This history unfolds in Kaumakani on the southwest side of Kaua‘i Island between Waimea and Hanapēpē. The Church will celebrate its 110th anniversary in June 2023. By guest contributor, Timothy Tovar DeLaVega With Filipino immigrants arriving on Kauaʻi sugar plantation’s beginning in 1910, four former seminary students from the Visayan Islands, Philippines; Cornelio Lutao, Francisco Barcelona, A. Basan and Erihilgio Ramos, followed their calling to minister to the Filipino sakadas at the Hawaiian Sugar Co. Ltd. Plantation located in Makaweli. Soon after, Cornelio Lutao requested material and land from the Hawaiian Sugar Company Ltd. to build a sanctuary. Thus, in the middle of sugar Camp Four, the residents of Camp Four constructed a church on the leased land with material donated by the plantation manager. Originally named the Makaweli Filipino Methodist Episcopal Church, the chapel was dedicated on June 1st, 1913, and is presently known as Kaumakani West Kaua‘i United Methodist Church. Soon after its dedication, the little Church became the social center of the Filipino community as it was the only plantation church that held services in Ilocano. When Superintendent Fry visited the Makaweli Church in 1916, he reported baptizing 40 persons at an evening service. And after the Hanapēpē Massacre of 1924, the Church donated the caskets and held services for the lost strikers. Camp Four was integrated into Kaumakani Village in 1947 and now sits alone on land leased from the Gay and Robinson family. It is the oldest Filipino Methodist church in Hawaiʻi. Throughout its history, Kaumakani Church has continued its volunteer legacy, with the addition of a social hall and numerous remodels and enlargements. On September 11, 1992, the ill [...]

2023-03-27T15:59:23-10:00March 27th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

Waimea Valley Introduces New Cultural Learning Program for Visitors

Kaʻapuni o Waimea: An Enhanced Experience through Waimea Valley By guest contributor Waimea Valley staff Photos courtesy Waimea Valley  Waimea Valley is recognized as a place of awe, a place of profound natural beauty and splendor; wahi pana or a special, legendary place.  In February 2023, Waimea opened a new program offering visitors cultural learning opportunities at three of the valley’s cultural sites. These interactive stations allow the visitor to ground their experience in cultural values and engage directly with the valley’s mission: to preserve and perpetuate the human, cultural and natural resources of Waimea for generations through education and stewardship. The overarching theme of the Kaʻapuni o Waimea is the Hawaiian cultural value of hoʻokipa – which we define as being gracious, considerate, and kind, a welcoming value and obligation; the act of treating others as we would like to be treated. The kaʻapuni (the circuit) is through three prominent Waimea Valley cultural sites: Hale Hō‘ike, Kauhale, and Kahua Pā‘ani. Each site is presented as a guided engagement; explained and shared through their inherent significance and supported by associated Hawaiian cultural values. At each of the three sites, participating guests will earn an identifying sticker by learning a cultural value. Visitors learn about Waimea Valley as an intact ahupuaʻa and the responsibility of preserving its natural resources at Hale Hōʻike. Hale Hōʻike (the house of wisdom and welcome) is the orientation area of the valley where visitors are introduced to the significance of the botanical collections and cultural sites. Spending time at Hale Hō’ike is important for enhancing the visitor’s sense of place and sense of respect for the sacred space they have entered. At Hale Hō’ike the visitors are introduced to [...]

2023-03-27T15:21:27-10:00March 27th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

A Natural Disaster Toolkit for Historic Property Owners

NATURAL DISASTERS AND HISTORIC PROPERTIES By Julia Rochhi, National Trust for Historic Preservation Homeowners face some of the most cutting impacts of natural disaster: physical displacement, loss of property, financial uncertainty, and stress. And as recent events have proved, you can never take too many precautions ahead of a natural disaster. But what if you own a historic property? Are there additional steps you should be taking? And what resources are available to you—the historic property owner—in the disaster's wake? Fortunately, there's a wealth of information out there to help historic property owners minimize the impact to their building as well as strengthen their building's resistance to extreme wind, rain, and other climatic forces. This toolkit compiles the essential steps you can take before and after the storm. 1. Create a disaster preparedness plan for your home or property ahead of time. Following a checklist in times of crisis can help focus your attention and keep you from missing important details. 2. Check your insurance coverage. Older and historic properties often use materials or building techniques you can't easily replicate today, which makes insurance companies far less likely to cover damage. A great option for insuring historic homes is National Trust Insurance Services (a National Trust subsidiary). NTIS can help value your property and ensure sufficient protection. 3. Print important information and documents ahead of time. Disasters often cause power outages and service disruptions, so in this wired age of computer and smartphone reliance, it's helpful to have critical info already at your fingertips. 4. Secure your property. Your two most important tasks immediately following a hurricane are to ensure the safety and security of people working on site, and to keep valuable or important [...]

2023-03-17T17:27:27-10:00March 16th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top, Trends & Issues|

Anthony D. Allen: From Schenectady, New York to Hawai‘i

Black History in 19th Century Hawaiʻi By guest contributor Deloris Guttman, founder and curator of the Obama Hawaiian Africana Museum (formerly known as the African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawaii). The history of the Black presence in Hawaiʻi goes back to the early sailors. Blacks were crewmembers of James Cook’s second and third Pacific voyages. Free and enslaved Blacks served onboard these ships in a variety of capacities. Many other African Americans worked in the maritime industry during this period as crew members, pilots, cooks, stewards, stevedores, builders and captains. The National Park Service Underground Railroad Network for Freedom dedicated wayside interpretive signage that tracks the life of Anthony D. Allen, a slave from Schenectady, New York to freedom in Hawai‘i in 1810. Washington Middle School in Honolulu is recognized as the Anthony D. Allen Site and home to the signage sharing Allen’s extraordinary story. Anthony D. Allen (1774-1835) was a slave who sought and gained his freedom at age 24. From enslavement in Schenectady, New York, he made his way by land to Hartford, and by sea to Boston where he shipped out on a commercial ship that began his travels around the world. He was hired as a steward for seven years and cook for one year under the same captain. Faced with recapture in 1806, he bought his freedom with help from the ship's owner who let him pay back the money demanded over time. After many adventures and traveling the world, Allen left the sea to make the Hawaiian Islands his home in 1810 because men of African descent could reside there without harassment or enslavement. Allen married a Hawaiian woman and had three children who survived to adulthood. Called Alani by [...]

2023-02-17T14:48:27-10:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|

Hawaiian Diacritical Marks: What are they and how are they used?

  By Lilinoe Andrews Specialist, Chancellor’s Office, University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu Hawaiian diacritical marks comprise just two symbols: the glottal stop (ʻokina) and the macron (kahakō). Are they important? Worth the extra time it takes to insert them into your text? That depends, so let’s discuss. Simply speaking, the two diacritical marks are a way to show how a Hawaiian word should sound to a person unfamiliar with a particular word. More importantly, those two little marks are keeping the Hawaiian language alive. In 1826, a committee of seven missionary gentlemen thought diacriticals were important enough to wrestle mightily with them in the challenge to put the once oral language to print. They decided, after doing similar work in Tahiti, that Hawaiian should have just twelve letters. The ʻokina appeared in Andrews’ dictionary in 1865 and the kahakō in Judd, Pukui, and Stokes’ dictionary and grammar in 1945. In 1978 the ʻAhahui ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi published “Recommendations and Comments on the Hawaiian Spelling Project” and standardized the use of the ʻokina and kahakō. Not only do the ʻokina and kahakō change the sound of a word, they often end up changing its meaning. For example, these are separate words: pau=completed paʻu=soot paʻū=damp, soaked pāʻū=woman’s skirt Diacriticals are important to keeping Hawaiian (the fastest growing native language in the U.S.) alive because they help expand the lexicon and give the language the subtlety that fluent speakers know by heart. And they are helpful for those unfamiliar with the language, like little cheat marks to keep you from getting your pāʻū all paʻū. Your kumu hula would not be happy. There are a few contexts where diacriticalizing is not seen. For example, in the Niʻihau church [...]

2023-02-17T23:50:48-10:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Featured Homepage Top|
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