PLACES, ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES IN HAWAII CELEBRATING 100, 125, 150 AND 200 YEARS

At this year’s Preservation Honor Awards, we have the pleasure of recognizing the major anniversaries of seventeen local organizations, companies and historic places, honoring their success and longevity as a vital part of our communities. Here’s a brief note on how each began.

 175 YEARS – DODRANSBICENTENNIAL

Photo courtesy of O‘ahu Cemetery & Crematory

O‘ahu Cemetery & Crematory

  • Hawai‘i’s oldest public cemetery was established at the height of the whaling era to meet the burial needs of a growing foreign population in Honolulu, particularly  sailing crew on whaling ships. Sitting on 18 acres of land, the cemetery is an important historic site reminding us of the personal stories of influential leaders and public figures of Hawai‘i’s past.

150 YEARS – SESQUICENTENNIAL

  • St. Joseph School, Hilo
    St. Joseph School was established in 1869 as a small parish school of 42 students in Hilo. King Kamehameha chartered the school to teach English to Native Hawaiian and immigrant children. Today it provides a rigorous education to students in pre-school to grade 12.

Original home of YMCA, 1915

  • YMCA of Honolulu
    The YMCA of Honolulu was founded in 1869 and incorporated under the laws of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i in 1882.  It began with prayer meetings, as an aid to Sunday Schools, and with the operation of a reading room. Today it is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the state, serving more than 100,000 individuals in a variety of programs.

 

125 YEARS – QUASQUICENTENNIAL

  • Hawai‘i Electric Light Company, Hilo
    Began in 1894 as the Hilo Electric Light Company. The company’s growth coincided with the rise of the sugar industry.  It became a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company in 1970.

  • Jodo Mission of Hawai‘i
    In 1894, Jodo Buddhist leaders in Japan formed an association to investigate how they could help their fellow countrymen in Hawai‘i who were working on sugar plantations.  The first ministry began on Maui, and in 1907 their headquarters was moved to Honolulu.

  • The Salvation Army of Hawai‘i
    In the 1890s, thousands of immigrants were arriving in Hawai‘i to work on plantations. Many of them were looking for a spiritual organization with a social aim to help the young and old of all nationalities in the Islands. The Salvation Army met this need. At the request of Central Union Church, the first Salvationists came to Hawai‘i in 1894. Today, the Salvation Army has grown into a comprehensive network of social services and religious programs serving thousands of people each year.

100 YEARS

  • Aloha United Way
    Aloha United Way began serving Hawai‘i’s people in 1919 when Frank C. Atherton established the United Welfare Fund under the jurisdiction of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce.  AUW helps communities become stronger, more resilient, as a result of its work and partnership with nonprofit agencies.

  • Lā‘ie Hawai‘i Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lā‘ie, O‘ahu
    The first Latter-Day Saints temple built outside of the continental U.S. and the oldest to operate outside of Utah.  It is also the fifth-oldest in operation.

  • Kapalaea, Lambert Family Residence at Haleakalā Ranch, Maui
    Built in 1918, Kapalaea is considered a prime example of a Hawaiian-style ranch house.  The Haleakalā Ranch is the historic Hawai‘i ranch of the Baldwin Family.

  • Keauhou Store, Keauhou, Hawai‘i
    This store was first opened in 1919 as the Sasaki Store by Yoshisuke Sasaki.  The store served the neighboring community of coffee farmers and became a central gathering place.

  • Kōke‘e Camps, Kōke‘e State Park, Kaua‘i
    The Kōke‘e Camp Lots consist of 48 recreational residences that were established as a retreat in the cool Kaua‘i uplands for those able to escape hot summers.

  • Luke Field, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor
    Luke Field was the first airfield in Hawai‘i purposely built by the Army for the operation of aircraft.  The two mile-long unused asphalt runway remains beneath overgrown weeds with interpretive signage marking the original airfield.

  • Mānoa Valley Inn, Honolulu
    Mānoa Valley Inn, also known as the John Guild House, is a major remodeling completed in 1919 of an earlier, smaller house.  It is listed on the Hawai‘i State Register of Historic Places.

  • Pu‘u Ka Pele Park Lots, Waimea Canon State Park, Kaua‘i
    The Pu‘u Ka Pele Camp Lots consist of 43 recreation residences that were established as a recreational retreat in the cool Kaua‘i uplands for those able to escape the hot summers.

  • Schofield Barracks Building 3010
    The Prison Stockade was constructed when Schofield Barracks was in its formative years and is one of the early permanent structures at the post. The prison had a general open bay disciplinary barracks, solitary confinement cells and a death row cell. During World War II, a high fence was built around the prison, creating a larger area of confinement that allowed for a greater number of prisoners to be held.  In the 1950s the old stockade was used in the filming of the iconic Oscar winning film From Here to Eternity with scenes filmed with Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift and Ernest Borgnine. It retains its historic exterior appearance and is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

     

  • Schofield Barracks Medical Clinic
    Schofield Barracks’ multi-building medical complex began in 1919 with the completion of the first building.  The complex served as a hospital from 1919 to 1952.

  • Servco Pacific Inc.
    In 1919, Peter Fukunaga took out a $1,500 loan to open a two-car garage in Waialua town on the North Shore.  From that small beginning, he expanded the business to offer both auto sales and service. World War II and the shortage of cars, the company diversified to selling used cars, table appliances, jewelry and other goods. In 1958 it obtained the exclusive Toyota franchise for Hawai‘i. Today, Servco is the 20th largest U.S.-based dealership in the U.S. and the largest Toyota Dealer Group in Australia.

  • St. Joseph Catholic Church, Hilo
    St. Joseph Catholic Church is a rare example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Hawai‘i.  It was designed by Edgar Allen Poe Newcomb, who moved from Boston to Honolulu in 1901.

  • Sueoka Store, Kōloa, Kaua‘i
    In 1918, Mankichi Sueoka borrowed money to open a small store in the Japanese plantation camp at Kōloa.  The store eventually became a prominent fixture in the heart of Kōloa.  In 2015, it was purchased by the owner of ABC Stores.  In 2018, the building was added to the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places.