Historic Hawai‘i Foundation is pleased to recognize the Burbank Street neighborhood with a Programmatic Award as a community effort to nominate five homes to the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. This project is an incredible example of the legacy of preservation–how acting on common values, people build lasting relationships while protecting places of meaning to them.
Burbank Street is nestled in the lush backdrop of Nu‘uanu Valley. Several residents along this street were eager to preserve their neighborhood’s sense of place. They collectively came together, researched their individual homes, arranged various interviews, and met up on a regular basis to discuss the progress of the nomination process. The outcome was that they succeeded in listing five residences to the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places.
Minatoishi Architects worked with the Burbank homeowners to develop a multi-property historic nomination and to complete individual nominations for each eligible home. Principal Lorraine Minatoishi noted, “Listing five homes of the Burbank Street neighborhood has created synergy among homeowners, deepened their architectural awareness, and strengthened the area’s sense of place. Burbank Street has always been a tight-knit community, but through the historic registration process, the residents’ relationships were enhanced as they supported and encouraged one another to achieve the common goal of preserving their neighborhood.”
Through perseverance and a true heart for preservation, this community in Burbank was able to “make their dream of becoming a historic street a reality.”
Resident and former state representative Corrine Ching had this to say. “Living in a historic home is a privilege, (it is) a chance to live in a treasure that past generations loved and cherished. The art within architecture speaks volumes embodying values of thoughtfulness, restraint, consideration and tradition – values we often miss in today’s hurried world. Living on a street with historic homes like our Burbank Street in Nu‘uanu is indeed the dream we hoped it would be, a time capsule in a modern world.”
We hope this inspirational preservation success story will serve as an encouragement to other historic homeowners to nominate their home to the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. For information on the nomination process, please visit the Preservation Resource Center.
“But part of what we’re preserving here is also history. It’s also understanding that places that look ordinary are nothing but extraordinary. The places you live are extraordinary, which means you can be extraordinary.” – Former President Barack Obama
By Michelle Kiczek, Development Assistant June 4, 2020