Blog – Page 38 – Historic Hawaii Foundation

800 year old Lanai Fishpond to be Restored

Preservation in the News: Multiple generations come out to help with the restoration of an 800 year old fishpond on the island of Lanai. Nonprofit group to restore ancient Lanai fishpond July 15, 2015 By Associated Press WAILUKU >> A fishpond on the coastline of Lanai that is believed to be 800 years old is being restored this summer by children and adults. The Maui News reports that the nonprofit Lanai Culture & Heritage Center began work to restore the Waiopae fish pond last month with the help from some 140 children and teens. The restoration project is a public-private partnership between the nonprofit and landowner Pulama Lana'i. The group hopes to restore the pond's barrier by building a 2,000-foot long, crescent shaped wall that will be 500 feet from the shore at its farthest point. The restoration project is the first program under a new bill that passed this year which simplified the permitting process for groups applying to restore and maintain Hawaiian fishponds.

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 15th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #fishpond, #Historic, #Lanai, #restoration, Hawaii, Preservation|

Wahi Pana Stewards – A new monthly giving program presents an easier, more effective way to preserve Hawaii’s historic places
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Wahi Pana Stewards – A new monthly giving program presents an easier, more effective way to preserve Hawaii’s historic places

Wahi Pana Stewards – A new monthly giving program presents an easier, more effective way to preserve Hawaii’s historic places

Have you ever found yourself reminiscing about the past as you walk through Chinatown, down Front Street in Lahaina or past the Palace Theater in Hilo? How about that summer vacation when you took the kids to Hawai‘i Island to scout out petroglyphs? What if one day you noticed these special places were gone? Suddenly your favorite old house was a parking lot, or the mom and pop business with the quaint historic storefront was nowhere to be seen. Maybe you’ve already seen changes like these that gnaw at your heart. What will remain to tell the stories of days gone by? How will your children, nieces and nephews (and their children) learn about these special places that tell the stories of Hawaii’s diverse past? These are especially poignant losses to bear because Hawai‘i, a place like no other, shares a history that is unique in the world. It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes one to save a place. The road there is lined with Preservation Heroes. Take Alfreida Fujita. Living with her grandparents who migrated from Japan, she developed a passion for history which led her to want to preserve the lifestyle of Kona. Her love of the past, hard work and perseverance eventually helped create the Kona Coffee Living History Farm. While heroes like Alfreida are invaluable, preservation victories require full community engagement and long-term commitment. Since 1974, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation has been fighting the good fight to preserve Hawaii’s historic places. As the only statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation, the most effective way to ensure our place at the tables that make decisions related to development and preservation affecting historic sites is [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 13th, 2015|Categories: Blog|

Preservation Tips: Removing Graffiti from Historic Buildings

Safely Removing Graffiti from Historic Buildings July 1, 2015 Building owners, professionals and concerned community members joined us at Lyon Associates on 45 N. King Street yesterday for the first of 3 presentations in our Sustaining Chinatown: Historic Preservation Summer Series 2015. The series is co-sponsored by Historic Hawaii Foundation, Chinatown Improvement District and Lyon Associates. A tip for removing graffiti from historic buildings from yesterday's presentation: always use the gentlest means possible to avoid harming the underlying material. Chinatown brick is soft and will powder if the hard exterior layer is removed. Make sure the mortar is well-pointed before using pressure washing to avoid water damage. Chemical cleaning tests found that “Dumond Smart Strip Pro” was most effective for spray paint and silver coating on brick (but not for use on softer materials, like limestone or marble substrates). For more information and availability go to www.dumondchemicals.com A report on the results of a study on Graffiti Cleaning and Prevention on Historic Chinatown Buildings with useful information on graffiti prevention and treatment approaches will be available soon. Email outreach@historichawaii.org to request a PDF copy when it's published. Though the study's focus is buildings in Honolulu's Chinatown, the information is applicable to buildings made of similar construction materials located throughout Hawaii. Upcoming sessions will cover water damage & repair and tax credits & permitting in a historic district. Click here for more information and to register.

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 1st, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricCemeteries, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, cemeteries, Hawaii, Preservation|

Architecture and Preservation Communities Mourn the Passing of Spencer Leineweber

Spencer Leineweber and her husband, Michael, were charter members and stalwart supporters of Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and heritage protection efforts for over 40 years. Spencer received HHF’s Haines Award for lifetime achievement in historic preservation in 2013. Her preservation projects included restoration of notable sites such as Hawai‘i Mission Houses; Lyman Museum; Hawai‘i Plantation Village; and ‘Ewa Village. She was a Professor and Director of Graduate Programs at the School of Architecture at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and oversaw the Heritage Center at the university. She authored the Campus Heritage Report for UH-Mānoa, and oversaw the preservation work at the Charlot House. She also served as one of the Hawai‘i Advisors to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and on the Committee for Historic Resources for the American Institute of Architects. Less than a week before her death, Spencer attended a meeting of historic homeowners about a bill being considered by the Honolulu City Council that would reduce preservation incentives, lending her expertise and authority to the advocacy effort. We will miss her deeply, and our sympathies go to her family.

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:18-10:00June 29th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricCemeteries, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, cemeteries, Hawaii, Preservation|

Preserving Hawaii’s Historic Cemeteries

Preservation in the News: This past week, UH Students and community members learned best practices for grave marker restoration and documentation from experts including Richard Miller who oversees the restoration of thousands of burial sites at Kalaupapa National Historic Park on Molokai. ********* Bruce Asato / basato@staradvertiser.com University of Hawaii architecture student Lin Whipkey used shaving cream Thursday to make out lettering on a gravestone that was otherwise unreadable in Ma‘e¬ma‘e Chapel Cemetery in Nuu¬anu. UH students in American studies and architecture joined community members to gather and re¬cord information at the cemetery. Of grave concern: Protecting cemeteries A historic cemetery receives care as community members and students work to document the people buried there By Dan Nakaso Honolulu Star Advertiser, Jun 6, 2015 One half of an ancient grave marker lay in a hole at Ma‘ema‘e Chapel Cemetery in Nuuanu among a pile of rocks. The other half had been left nearby. Both pieces were discovered Thursday during a University of Hawaii and community effort to document the condition of the half-acre cemetery and its 120 or so burial sites. Richard Miller, who oversees the restoration of thousands of burial sites at Kalaupapa National Historic Park on Molokai, on Friday showed the UH students and community members how to seal the two pieces of the weather-worn headstone back together with masonry epoxy. After spending two days cleaning and documenting the conditions of the grave markers and burial sites at Ma‘ema‘e, the 20 or so American-studies students and community members will do similar work cleaning and cataloging grave markers Wednesday and Thursday at Pauoa Hawaiian Cemetery in Pauoa. Then they'll give detailed information about the state of the burial sites at both locations [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:18-10:00June 8th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricCemeteries, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, cemeteries, Hawaii, Preservation|

Kauai Lighthouse Shines a Beacon on the Past

Preservation in the News: a captivating tour spotlights the lighthouse at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge renamed the Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse after the late Senator. ********* PHOTO: HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY A view of the lighthouse’s dramatic location overlooking the ocean. Tours illuminate Kauai lighthouse's beauty, past By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi Honolulu Star Advertiser, May 24, 2015 Old and worn — like a fisherman who's spent too many days in the wind and sun." That was Louise Barnfield's impression of the lighthouse at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge when she saw it on her first visit to Kauai in January 2008. The senior manager for Oracle Corp. and her husband, who were then living in the San Francisco Bay area, visited Kauai five times after that before retiring there in August 2012. On four of those trips, they returned to the lighthouse and were happy to see restoration work underway. "I started volunteering at the refuge the week after we moved to Kauai," Barnfield said. "By then, the lighthouse was shrouded in scaffolding and tenting. A sign said the work would be completed for its centennial on May 1, 2013." COURTESY JILLIAN COSGROVE/USFWS The Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse, left. In 1909, the U.S. government purchased the 31-acre site for it from Kilauea Sugar Co. for $1 and allocated $75,000 for the project. Construction began in July 1912, and the station was dedicated on May 1, 1913. Its beacon could be seen from 20 miles at sea, 90 miles from the air. Kilauea Point Light Station, later called Kilauea Point Lighthouse, guided ships past Kauai's rugged north coast for more than 60 years (see sidebar). During its centennial [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:18-10:00June 2nd, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: Hawaii, petroglyphs, Preservation, Volcano|

Preserving Hawaii’s Petroglyphs with Imaging Technology

Preservation in the News: Imaging technology allows for a clearer image and a way to monitor changes for Hawaii petroglyphs, many of which are located at sites at risk due to volcanic activity. ********* Petroglyphs in fine detail Imaging technology new to Hawaii brings out details of ancient carvings at an Army base By Nina Wu Honolulu Star , May 24, 2015 Photo credit: Jamm Aquino / jaquino@staradvertiser.com Torie Robinson, right, a cultural resources technician with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, pointed to an anthropomorphic figure on a basalt rock face in January at Fort Shafter in Kalihi. At left is cultural resources specialist Anthony Casciano. To the naked eye, the faint carvings at Fort Shafter appear to include a human figure holding a canoe paddle over two other figures. The panel is one of more than seven Hawaiian petroglyph features archaeologists discovered 15 years ago on a rock face atop a small, brush-covered hillside known as Kahauiki Stream at U.S. Army Pacific headquarters between Kalihi and Moanalua valleys. With the help of a cutting-edge technology new to Hawaii — reflectance transformation imaging, or RTI — archaeologists recently discovered the panel has quite a few more human figures, or anthropomorphs, along with several dog figures. The artistic style is consistent with petroglyphs dating to the pre-contact era (before 1778), according to U.S. Army Cultural Resources Program archaeologist Alton Exzabe. Before RTI was employed, he said, the petroglyphs were documented using regular photography, scaled drawings and hand sketches. "The sketches didn't seem to show everything we were seeing," Exzabe said. "RTI allows us to get a more precise, as well as clearer, image, and a way to monitor changes more accurately." Exzabe's [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:18-10:00May 28th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: Hawaii, petroglyphs, Preservation, Volcano|

New Exhibit at USS Missouri Unveils Artifacts from Japan

Preservation in the News: Humanity mixes with tales of war and mayhem in new exhibit at the Battleship Missouri Memorial. Especially touching is the love letter from a kamikaze pilot to his fiance. See the full story below. ********* USS Missouri hosts artifacts never seen before outside Japan By William Cole April 09, 2015 – Honolulu Star Advertiser Humanity amid the savagery of war demonstrated 70 years ago in the Battle of Okinawa is being re-emphasized by the Battleship Missouri Memorial with a new exhibit on the kamikaze pilots whose suicide runs wreaked havoc on Allied ships late in World War II. When a Japanese Zero crashed into the starboard side of the USS Missouri on April 11, 1945 — and the dead pilot's body ended up on the ship — some of the crew wanted to toss the enemy's remains overboard. Michael Carr, president and CEO of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, looks at photos of kamikaze pilots in the exhibit. (Photo by Craig T Kojima) But Missouri commander Capt. William M. Callaghan made the controversial decision to bury the aviator at sea the next morning with military honors including a makeshift Japanese flag draped over the body, a three-volley rifle salute and playing of taps. On the 70th anniversary of the kamikaze attack on Saturday, the Missouri is opening a new exhibit that will "show today's generations another side to the people engaged in war and how the world has changed since then" with artifacts never seen before outside of Japan. On display are nine farewell letters sent home by the "tokko-tai" (special attack forces) with translations and photos of the pilots, uniform items, and a small "mascot doll" made by women [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:19-10:00April 9th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricSites, #Japan, #kamikaze, #USSMissouri, Hawaii, Preservation|

From Lincoln Elementary School to Historic Linekona — Tales from the Past

Education at Linekona stretches back 180 years By Robert M. Fox and David Cheever March 01, 2015 Honolulu Star Advertiser ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT M. FOX The Linekona building was founded as a school to teach English to Hawaii’s native children. Let's say you went to Lincoln Elementary School — next to Thomas Square — in the early 1950s. By the time you reached the sixth grade, you had had Lincoln's Gettysburg Address drilled into you so often that you can recite it probably even today. More than that, the school put on a play about Abraham Lincoln and his family on Lincoln's birthday each February, and it was akin to being picked as prom king and queen in high school to be chosen to play Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in sixth grade. The play included Lincoln-era costumes like the tall, silk stovepipe hat plus stiff, formal dress suit for him and tight-laced, heavy fabric long dress with shawl and bonnet for her. These were local kids in the '50s, so can you imagine these 12-year-olds in period costume on the school stage barefoot? Lincoln School was quite a place in its heyday, educating such luminaries as former Honolulu Advertiser owner and philanthropist Thurston Twigg-Smith and Claire Olsen Johnson, former president and longtime member of the board of trustees of Punahou School. Other notable alums were Alexander & Baldwin's dynamic leader Bobbie Pfeiffer, Maui's jocular and popular Mayor Hannibal Tavares, and real estate mogul and community leader Sheridan Ing (the latter three are deceased). It was fun hearing Claire reminisce about playing Mrs. Lincoln in sixth grade with Alex Jamile as Mr. Lincoln. Alex became a top executive at Bankoh and his brother Clinton, who played [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:19-10:00April 2nd, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, #HistoricSites, #Legislature, Hawaii, Preservation|

Preservation Measures at the State Legislature

Here's a status update as we enter the half-way mark for the 2015 legislative session. Dear Members and Friends, We are pleased to share with you a status update on historic preservation-related bills at the State Legislature. The session is at the half-way mark, when the initial flurry of bills has been reduced to a more manageable number. At the start of the legislative session in January, over 70 bills were introduced that affected historic preservation. Historic Hawai‘i Foundation participates in the legislative process by tracking and responding to bills and resolutions with the potential to affect historic sites and buildings, including measures related to incentives for preservation, regulations to protect historic properties, and more general measures related to planning, permitting, environmental review, arts and culture. By the mid-point of the session, when bills cross between the Senate and the House, there were about 20 bills still active. Of those, four have the most direct effect on protection of historic resources. As each measure moves through the legislative process, it is amended and revised in ways that are not always predictable. Our testimony and position on the bills also changes as the contents shift, so the comments are relevant to current draft. Two of the bills (SB877 and HB830) attempt to limit the applicability of the state historic preservation program to exclude residences, except for those that are designated on the register of historic places. The bills’ proponents—led by the Building Industry Association—proposed redefining “historic property” to exclude single-family residences, claiming that houses cannot and should not be considered historically significant unless they are among the small percentage designated by the state. Historic Hawai‘i Foundation opposes these measures as currently drafted. The relevant issue is [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:19-10:00March 19th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, #HistoricSites, #Legislature, Hawaii, Preservation|