Blog – Page 38 – Historic Hawaii Foundation

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|

Historic Hale’iwa has a new look

Read about Hale'iwa's new look in Allison Schaefers recent article in the Advertiser. Haleiwa's new look By Allison Schaefers Honolulu Star Advertiser POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 08, 2015 PHOTO BY DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM Visitors relax near Whalers General Store and fruit stand The lines snaking out the door at Matsumoto Shave Ice on a recent February day were longer than normal for the season. While the popular Haleiwa stop serves 1,200 of the syrupy cones daily during the summer months, its tourist traffic is more variable during the winter season, when there is sometimes a lull in Oahu's visitor arrivals. But Stanley Matsumoto, son of Matsumoto Shave Ice founders Mamoru and Helen Matsumoto, said business has been booming since the soft opening of Kamehameha Schools' latest retail project, the 27,000-square-foot Haleiwa Store Lots. The plantation-inspired retail, dining and cultural gathering place is only 60 percent complete, but already it has become a must-see stop in the historic North Shore beach town where 2.5 million tourists come through annually. Matsumoto's is the anchor for the new $16 million project, which sits on 4 acres of the 26,000 acres of North Shore land owned by Kamehameha Schools. Matsumoto's turned 64 years old in February and moved to an expanded location within the Haleiwa Store Lots. Now it and 11 other specialty shops of the 20-something planned for the development are attracting lots of tourists who are hungry for a bit of North Shore culture, niche retail items and cuisine. Stanley Matsumoto said it's a far cry from the world his parents found themselves in when they added shave ice to their quiet country shop in the 1950s just to make ends meet. "I remember [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:19-10:00March 16th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Haleiwa, #Historic, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, #HistoricSites, Hawaii, Preservation|

Preserving Hawaii’s Historic Cemeteries – Experts Share Their Knowledge in Annual Series

Lecture series focuses on preserving cemeteries By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi Honolulu Star Advertiser, Jan 25, 2015 Stones speak to Nanette Napoleon. A tombstone, she points out, can be a revealing snapshot of the deceased's life, sometimes providing information that's not documented elsewhere. "Besides the date and place of birth and death, you may find the person's occupation, talents, accomplishments, family relationships, military service, cause of death, and religious and group affiliations," said Napoleon, founder and director of the Hawaii Cemetery Research Project, which underscores the importance of cemeteries not just as repositories for the dead, but as valuable historical, cultural and genealogical resources. The scope of her work has ranged from giving lectures and leading walking tours to compiling cemetery directories and writing a book ("Oahu Cemetery Burial Ground & Historic Site," 1998). While on a 1972 backpacking trip on Maui when she was a college student, Napoleon camped in an old Hawaiian graveyard in remote Kaupo. "That got me thinking about life and death and why we have cemeteries," she said. "After that I started hanging out in graveyards a lot and found them more and more interesting. Over time this interest became a full-blown passion, prompting me to want to document older sites that were in danger of being destroyed through increasing development." Napoleon has been studying Hawaii's historic cemeteries for more than 30 years and is the state's leading expert on the subject. Her Thursday talk on "Gravestones and History: Cemeteries as Genealogical Resources" will kick off the 28th annual historic preservation lecture series, themed "Preserving Our Historic Cemeteries." Nanette Napoleon stands by the King Street Catholic Cemetery, across the street from Straub Clinic & Hospital. Her talk on “Gravestones and [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:20-10:00January 26th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #heritagetourism, #HHF, #HHHF2014, Preservation|

The Do’s and Dont’s of Hosting an Event at a Historic Site

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:20-10:00January 16th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Events, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, #HistoricSites, #PArtyPlanning|

Public Meeting to discuss Wainiha Bridges Rehabilitation on 12/9 in Hanalei
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Public Meeting to discuss Wainiha Bridges Rehabilitation on 12/9 in Hanalei

Public Meeting to discuss Wainiha Bridges Rehabilitation on 12/9 in Hanalei

PRESERVATION NEWS UPDATE: The Wainiha Bridges, listed on the 2007 Most Endangered Historic Places list, were demolished in 2010 as a result of structural failure from overloaded vehicles exceeding the bridge weight limit. (Click here to read more about their Most Endangered listing.) Three temporary bridges currently replace them as the re-design project is completed. The community is encouraged to attend a public meeting to hear more about rehabilitation efforts and provide feedback and input. The bridges are located on historic Route 560 from Princeville to Kee which is on the National Register of Historic Places and the intention is for the re-design to incorporate the look of the old historic bridges. Meeting details below.

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:21-10:00December 3rd, 2014|Categories: Blog|Tags: #heritagetourism, #HHF, #HHHF2014, Preservation|

Inaugural Forum Convenes to Discuss Growing Heritage Tourism in Hawaii

PRESERVATION IN THE NEWS: The inaugural Hawaii Heritage & Hospitality Forum on October 31 brought together a diverse group of Hawaii professionals and cultural stewards to share ideas on how to thoughtfully expand heritage tourism in the islands. Allison Schaefers of the Star Advertiser shares some insights gleaned from members of the forum's planning committee on the eve of the event. Tourists will be encouraged to look beyond the beach By Allison Schaefers What will bring visitors back to Hawaii once they've experienced its famous sun, sand and surf? And, how can the state get first-timers to visit if they aren't beachgoers? The Historic Hawai'i Foundation and the Hawaii Tourism Authority aim to answer those questions and more during a one-day inaugural forum on heritage tourism scheduled Friday at the Hawai'i Convention Center. There some 150 travel industry professionals, cultural stewards, nonprofit organizations, ecotourism groups and other community stakeholders will explore ways to preserve Hawaii's unique sense of place while providing a high-quality visitor experience that goes beyond Hawaii's traditional leisure branding. he Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and the Hawaii Tourism Authority will hold an inaugural forum Friday on heritage tourism. Promoting the islands’ history and culture is a way of getting travelers to return to Hawaii. Visitors arrive at Iolani Palace during the commemoration of King Kalakaua’s birthday. (Photo credit: Krystle Marcellus / 2013) "We are proud to facilitate this discussion dedicated to preserving Hawaii's diverse and unique history," said Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of the Historic Hawai'i Foundation. "This is the first time that the visitor and heritage industries will come together. While Hawaii has done an outstanding job in explaining the aloha, culture, nature and beauty that makes it different than [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:21-10:00November 3rd, 2014|Categories: Blog|Tags: #heritagetourism, #HHF, #HHHF2014, Preservation|

Historic Buildings Law in the News

PRESERVATION IN THE NEWS: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Battle brewing between BIA-Hawaii and state preservation officials over historic buildings law Oct 24, 2014, 2:54pm HST Duane Shimogawa Reporter- Pacific Business News A battle continues to brew between the Building Industry Association of Hawaii and historic preservation officials in the state over a law that subjects homes built more than 50 years ago to a historic preservation review whenever a homeowner applies for a building permit for a rebuild or remodel. "Most people understand that it's in the best interest of our communities to protect our historic buildings," Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of Honolulu-based Historic Hawaii Foundation, told PBN. "The state Historic Preservation Division is required by law to review any project that has the potential to change an historic property." The Historic Hawaii Foundation works with SHPD on these issues. SHPD officials did not return messages left by PBN. The issue only affects Oahu; other counties in the state have their own local preservation ordinance and commission. Faulkner would like to see the City and County of Honolulu adopt a regulatory structure that protects its historic structures. "We are very open to improving and revising the existing process," she said. "We want to see that done in a thoughtful and targeted way, and not an across the board throwing out of the preservation goals for the sake of expediency." The BIA of Hawaii has been aggressive in its approach, printing out flyers saying that Hawaii homeowners should "unite and fight" and calling on them to sign its petition. Gladys Quinto Marrone, the new president and CEO of the BIA of Hawaii, recently told PBN that her members wanted to go with this approach, and feels that this is [...]

HistoricHawaii2014-11-04T16:23:01-10:00October 24th, 2014|Categories: Blog|Tags: Preservation|

The Many Lives of Makiki’s Cooke-Spalding Residence
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The Many Lives of Makiki’s Cooke-Spalding Residence

The Many Lives of Makiki’s Cooke-Spalding Residence

Are you a fan of Honolulu Museum of Art's beautiful Spalding House in Makiki? Read on to learn more about the metamorphosis of this unique Hart Wood designed architectural gem from private home to contemporary museum. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Historic Cooke family home converted from hidden gem to contemporary museum By Robert M. Fox and David Cheever Special to the Star-Advertiser, October 5, 2014 The Cooke family has contributed so much during the years to the Honolulu community in business, in the arts and in education. In one form or another, most of the physical manifestations of these contributions still exist, which can be attributed to the family's deep love for Hawaii. One great example is the Cooke-Spalding residence in Makiki Heights. This magnificent home, built in 1925, came about because Anna Rice Cooke had given the land on Beretania Street so the Honolulu Academy of Arts (now known as the Honolulu Museum of Art) could be built on her property across from Thomas Square. To replace her residence on Beretania, Anna Rice Cooke looked for a site close to downtown but at an elevation that would provide good movement of cooler air, provide more open space and a wide view of the ocean. She settled on a 3.5-acre nearly barren ravine on Makiki Heights. As a person of vision, however, Cooke wisely chose Hart Wood as the architect of her hillside home. Wood already had a reputation for designing beautiful homes for some of Honolulu's families, but his work for Cooke represented a turning point in his creative thinking. According to architect Glenn Mason in his book "Hart Wood, Architectural Regionalism in Hawaii," the inspiration for the exquisite design of the Cooke-Spalding residence "derived from Cooke's [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:21-10:00October 7th, 2014|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Contemporary Museum, #Hart Wood, #HHF, #Honolulu Museum of Art|