Frank Haines and his Award
The Frank Haines Award, presented by the Historic Hawaii Foundation at the annual Preservation Honor Awards Ceremony, was established in 2009 and is named for master architect Frank Haines, FAIA who passed away on August 10, 2017. From 1948, Haines headed many prominent architectural projects, including the Prince Kūhiō Federal Building, Kaiser Moanalua Hospital, Kaiser’s Honolulu Clinic, Bishop Square and the restoration of the Ali‘iōlani Hale. This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated sustained and outstanding achievements in the area of preserving the significant historic and cultural places of Hawaii.
Below is a list of all of the recipients of the Award since its inception in 2009. We are deeply indebted to these visionary and hardworking individuals who have taken great strides to preserve Hawaii’s historic places and inspire others to follow suit.
2009 Frank S. Haines, FAIA
2010 Billy Fields, in recognition of his lifetime dedication to restoring significant Native Hawaiian sites and teaching others his cultural practice. As a career stone mason, Fields concentrates on restoring sacred and traditional Native Hawaiian sites using traditional, dry-stack techniques used prior to western contact and the introduction of mortar. Using these traditional techniques, he furthers the traditional masonry practices in the repair, restoration and reconstruction of dry-laid stone walls, platforms and terraces on significant structures including Hapaiali‘i and Ke‘eku Heiau at Keauhou; Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau in Mānoa; and walls, fish ponds and burial platforms across the state.
Billy Fields (2010)
2011 William R. Chapman, D. Phil., in recognition of his work as Director, Historic Preservation Program, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The Historic Preservation Program at UH Mānoa was founded in 1986 by William J. Murtagh, and his lasting legacy has been continued by Dr. Chapman. Through the program, Chapman has trained and fostered many generations of preservationists. His field schools provide hands-on experience as well as an academic foundation for the theory and practice of preservation. Chapman also contributes to the preservation community through his volunteer service as a member of the Hawai‘i Historic Places Review Board.
2012 Hallett H. Hammatt, Ph.D. recognized for over 40 years of work in the fields of archaeology and historic preservation. Dr. Hammatt is President, Principal Investigator and Founder of Cultural Surveys Hawai‘i, Inc. Hal’s expertise in Hawaiian archaeology includes agricultural systems, sediment studies, lithic studies, and geo-archaeology. Hal is experienced in handling multidisciplinary studies and complex, large projects, including surveys, data recovery, and site protection and interpretation. He has extensive experience working on federal undertakings, and he served as the Historic Preservation Manager for the Navy’s 5-year Kaho‘olawe Ordnance Clearance Project.
2013 Spencer Leineweber, honored for 30 years of experience in architecture and historic preservation. Leineweber was a professor and Director of Graduate Programs at the School of Architecture at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her international recognition in the professional field of conservation architecture has been gained from the full range of preservation activity. She was elected to FAIA in the American Institute of Architects in 1996 and was the 2011 President of the 700-member American Institute of Architects Honolulu. Leineweber has been an active leader in national and international preservation organizations included positions as the Chairman of the American Institute of Architects, Committee on Historic Resources (AIA/CHR); Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She was a charter member of Historic Hawai‘i Foundation. Leineweber passed away in June of 2015.
Spencer Leineweber (2013) & Frank Haines (2009)
2014 Glenn Mason, AIA, demonstrates a lifetime commitment to preserving the history of Hawai‘i. Mason is president of Mason Architects, Inc., known for its work to preserve historic buildings and sites. Among the many notable preservation and interpretive projects that the firm has undertaken are Hawaiian Hall (Bishop Museum), Kaumakapili Church, Iolani Palace and grounds, Lunalilo Tomb, Kalahikiola Church, Hulihe‘e Palace in Kailua-Kona, and Davies Hall at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
2015 Chipper Wichman, for his achievements in cultural and natural resource protection. His work included restoring Pi‘ilanihale Heiau, a National Historic Landmark site located in Kahanu Garden on Maui, and restoring Limahuli Garden on Kaua‘i. Limahuli Garden projects included restoring ancient taro terraces, developing a collection of rare and endangered native Hawaiian plants, opening the garden to educational tours, and adding the 989-acre Limahuli Preserve. He spearheaded a four-year Indigenous Communities Mapping Initiative Project at Limahuli, which focused on researching and documenting traditional cultural knowledge and land use relationships and perpetuating traditional practices within the native community.
Jane Kurahara & Betsy Young (2016)
2016 Jane Kurahara and Betsy Young are volunteers with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. They are being honored for their steadfast efforts to identify, document, evaluate and plan for the preservation of the World War-era confinement camp site in Honouliuli, O‘ahu. Their work reached fruition in February 2015 when President Barack Obama designated the Honouliuli National Monument, ensuring its future preservation.
Don Hibbard (2017)
2017 Don Hibbard has been involved in the preservation of Hawaii’s historic properties since moving to Hawaii in the late 1970s. He served as administrator of the Hawai‘i State Historic Preservation Division for 24 years. As a founding member of the Hawai‘i Chapter of Docomomo, Hibbard was instrumental in establishing the chapter as a nonprofit and continues to actively volunteer as the lead of its Programs Committee. He’s authored several books on Hawaii’s architectural history, and is heavily involved with architectural inventory surveys, the nomination of properties to the National Register of Historic Places, and preparation of reports for Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record. Hibbard holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hawai‘i, and meets the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards as an Architectural Historian.
2018 Robert J. Schleck was involved in the preservation of Wai‘oli Mission House, Grove Farm and other historic sites on Kaua‘i since 1971 when he began working for Miss Mabel Wilcox, the benefactor who bequest her family home and other historic buildings to be preserved as museums for the public. Since that time, Schleck helped to preserve the culture, buildings, landscape and lifestyle of not only Wai‘oli Mission House, but also the ahupua‘a of Lepeuli, the plantation and immigrant stories of Grove Farm, and the Farm’s sugar plantation locomotive collection in Līhu‘e. He also helped initiate the Sugar Plantation Locomotive Interactive Learning Park. The project, which is currently underway, was awarded a Grant in Aid from the Hawai‘i State Legislature in 2017.