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Community advocate, Native Hawaiian consultant and preservationist Māhealani Cypher to Receive 11th Annual Frank Haines Award Historic Hawai‘i Foundation will honor exemplary achievements in historic preservation at a ceremony and reception at YWCA Laniākea in Honolulu on Friday, May 31, 2019 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM.  Presented annually since 1975, the Awards bring together architects, contractors, planners, historians, writers, archeologists, and all who contribute to the preservation of our historic places and stories. One of the highlights this year is the presentation of 11th annual Frank Haines Award* to Mahealani Cypher, a long-time community advocate and consultant on native Hawaiian issues, historic preservation and Hawaiian perspectives on planning and conservation. Inspired by the stories and wisdom she learned from her grandmother, Mahealani has devoted herself to the protection of Native Hawaiian rights and preservation of traditional Native Hawaiian cultural practices, values and wahi pana, particularly in the ahupua‘a of He‘eia. An active member in a number of community organizations since 1975, she advocates for the preservation of Kawa‘ewa‘e Heiau, Haiku Valley and the agricultural lands of Hoi in He‘eia, together with her colleagues of Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club (KHCC). This photo shows Māhealani with other KHCC members in 2011 with one of the State’s first official ahupua‘a boundary markers. Mahealani initiated the ahupua‘a boundary marker project in order to, in her own words, “connect island residents with the old names of the ahupua‘a in which they lived, and their kuleana to care for cultural and natural resources of these places.”  Today, awareness of ahupua‘a and the cultural values and practices associated with them have become a part of our public consciousness and what we value today as a community.   Please join us in honoring [...]

The Hawaii World War One Centennial Task Force has been organized to honor this first global conflict and Hawaii’s contributions. A full day of events commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I, Armistice, is planned for Veterans Day, November 11, 2018.  The events will take place at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, 2815 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu. Free to the public activities ranging from live bagpipers playing in unison with a nationwide mass rendition of the retreat march, a WWI Film Festival, static historic displays and free concerts by the Marine Forces Pacific Band, Royal Hawaiian Band, Raiatea Helm and the Harry James Orchestra.  A complete schedule of events and details can be found at hawaiiworldwar1.org. The tribute here in Hawaii is to both spotlight Hawaii's participation in World War I as well as to honor the people of Hawaii who served in the war, volunteering their services and aiding in war efforts. "The Greatest War" & Hawaii's Role*  From its initial outbreak in Europe during 1914, World War I raged across the globe until 1918. The U.S. entered “The Great War” in 1917, with the U.S. Territory of Hawaii contributing more than 9,800 volunteers for service. While special events have taken place throughout 2018, Hawaii’s most significant will be held on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, at the Waikiki War Memorial  Natatorium. Opening on the shore west of Kapiolani Park in 1927, the memorial was dedicated to “the men and women who served during the great war.” This historic landmark is the only monument in Hawaii selected by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission as one of 100 memorials nationwide to be designated as a “WWI Centennial Memorial.” To that honor, Arthur Tulak, [...]

Students Enjoy Learning about the History of Transportation in Mākaha On May 8, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, the Hawai‘i State Department of Transportation (HDOT) & the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) teamed up to share the story of the Mākaha Bridges with more than seventy Career and Technical Education students studying Marine Sciences, Agriculture and Hawaiian Studies at Wai‘anae High School. The historical bridges are being replaced. As mitigation for their loss, HDOT and FHWA commissioned the development of a pamphlet documenting the history of transportation in Mākaha.  (Click here to view the pamphlet.)  The presentation shared cultural history of the region, historical significance of the bridges, engineering challenges, and steps in the preservation process that led to the decision to remove the bridges and create the pamphlet as mitigation. (Click here to view the presentation.) Copies of the pamphlet were distributed to the students.  HHF, HDOT and FHWA staff presented with Boday Borres, P.E., a Senior Transportation Engineer from the Federal Highway Administration's Hawaii Division, providing an impromptu engineering lesson. A lively Q&A followed the presentation with students in the Marine Science program interested to learn what protective measures were being implemented to safeguard the ocean and reef from sedimentation runoff during the removal and new construction process and Hawaiian Studies students interested in the cultural impacts of the project. Students were also exposed to a range of possible career opportunities available in preservation-related fields. HHF extends much mahalo to Wai‘anae High School's CTE faculty, Dana Hoppe and Shannon Bucasa, who welcomed us and made our presentation possible.  

Our experiences in the field are diverse! Recently our Executive Director, Kiersten Faulkner, was invited on a hard hat tour of the restoration work underway at the iconic Cathedral Basilica Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.  "The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, located at the north end of Fort Street Mall in downtown Honolulu, is said to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States and one of the oldest existing buildings in the downtown area."* The Cathedral is a National Historic Landmark. The coral block columns were revealed for the first time since 1843 this week.   HHF staff had a hard hat tour with historic architect Barbara Shideler (Mason Architects), construction project manager Mladena Kukin (Trinity) and the crews from Constructors Hawai‘i to see the work in progress on this restoration project. The coral block walls and columns are being patched with a lime mortar that allows them to breathe and then will be sheathed in a special plaster from Germany that will restore the original appearance. The work is planned to be complete in time for the 175th anniversary commemoration in August. *http://www.cathedralofourladyofpeace.com/History.html 

Ever wonder what Section 106 Consultation looks like? What is Section 106? The portion of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) that is concerned with Federal undertakings. That is, a project, activity, or program either funded, permitted, licensed, or approved by a Federal Agency. Undertakings may take place either on or off federally controlled property and include new and continuing projects, activities, or programs and any of their elements not previously considered under Section 106. Who participates in the consultation? It’s mostly people with various interests meeting about aspects of an a proposed project to collectively discuss the goals of the proposal, how it might affect historic properties and seeking to understand each other’s perspectives in hopes of reaching agreement. In the photo above are two consulting parties for the Leeward Bikeway project—Chad Taniguchi of the Hawaii Bicycling League and Steve Vendt of the Hawaiian Railway Society—in the conference room at Hawaii Department of Transportation waiting for the final meeting. The parties have reached agreement on the proposed design and mitigation measures and are waiting for the Memorandum of Agreement to be finalized in the next few weeks.