by Joy Davidson, Preservation Architect and Historic Hawaii Foundation Board Member 
While walking the dogs a few evenings ago, I stumbled across a narrow lane sandwiched between the numbered streets of Kaimuki. Turning onto it, the slender road with no sidewalks lead me back in time, to a grouping of ten or so 1930s cottages gathered together like a secret committee. Each pristine pastel home had a tiny manicured lawn, welcoming porch, a double pitched roof and an individual personality that can only come from standing in one spot for eighty years.
I slowed to a stroll as we traveled through this 1930s enclave which seemed to have its own sounds, smells and feeling of warmth and safety. I savored it as long as I could, smiling and nodding at each house, mentally congratulating their owners for their meticulous care.
Then, before I was ready, the tiny road ended and I popped out onto the regular street – back into 2015 – with the noisy mopeds, paved yards and concrete big-box-houses. The take-away? It may not seem like a big deal, if one old house down the street gets demolished or another lot gets subdivided, but the tear-down trend is killing the once-charming Kaimuki neighborhoods. There are only a few intact, and these priceless neighborhoods matter.