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Photo by Jamm Aquino Honolulu Star-Advertiser article: The Nutridge House The historic residence, one of Tantalus' best-kept secrets, becomes available to the public March 16, 2014 By Steven Mark The Honolulu Star-Advertiser The macadamia nut has become one of those imports that Hawaii has adopted as a native product, and now people can enjoy the birthplace of the local macadamia industry — and have a terrific party there as well. The Nutridge House, a rustic but lovely historic home located on the first macadamia plantation in Hawaii, is available for public events for the first time in its 92-year history. The state-owned property, above a steep slope in the Puu Uala¬kaa State Wayside park in the Round Top Preserve, has the views, environment and history that capture the romance and beauty of old Hawaii. "I can't tell you how many times I've had guests up here and I've gotten an email or letter saying, ‘It was the highlight of my trip,'" said Rick Ralston, who has lived on the property on a state permit since 1981. The Nutridge House was built in 1922 for Ernest Van Tassel, who had come to the islands from Massachusetts to recuperate from an illness. Backed by his aunt Marjorie Merriweather Post, wife of the financier E.F. Hutton, Van Tassel obtained a state lease for the site and initially sought permission to farm it. When that was denied, Van Tassel did an end-run around the rejection. "He said, ‘What's my rent?' and they said, ‘Your rent is to plant 100 forest trees per year,'" said Ralston, founder of Crazy Shirts and Rix Island Wear. Van Tassel then went to a local agriculture organization and found "a forest tree [...]

Courtesy of National Park Service Honolulu Star-Advertiser article: Volcano house boasts unmatched beauty March 23, 2014 By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi The Honolulu Star-Advertiser It doesn't have an ocean view, there's not a palm tree in sight and instead of swimsuits, guests are likely to be dressed in sweaters. Still, Volcano House, just a quarter-mile past the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is one of the most talked-about hotels in Hawaii. No other island hostelry can match its location (it's perched on the 4,000-foot summit of Kilauea Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world) or claim its long history (dating back to 1846, it's the oldest hotel in the state). Opened in 1941, the current structure, with 33 modest but comfortable rooms, is the fifth incarnation of Volcano House (see timeline). An extensive three-year refurbishment completed last year restored the hotel's concrete floors and canec ceilings and replaced everything from paint, carpets and furniture to plumbing, roofing and electrical wiring. Decor highlights include striking works by acclaimed local artists, both past and present, among them a bronze bas-relief of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, and replicas of ancient Hawaiian weapons and a feather cape and helmet. Art aficionados will also appreciate the reproductions of whimsical Matson menu covers by Eugene Savage, circa 1938; covers of Hawaiian sheet music published in the early 1900s; and late-19th-century paintings of Kilauea eruptions by David Howard Hitchcock (the originals are on display at the Lyman Museum and Mission House in Hilo). Thirty minutes of dramatic footage from actual 1933, 1955, 1959 and 1960 eruptions plays continuously in the Great Room, where chairs and settees surround the hotel's original lava rock fireplace, inviting guests to [...]

You live in Hawai'i.  You work in Hawai'i.  You are planning Hawaii's future. We know you have ideas and projects to make planning in Hawai'i creative and resilient AND you can present them at the 2014 Hawaii Congress of Planning Officials (HCPO) on Maui in September. To make this year’s conference especially meaningful, the Maui conference team wants to hear from you . We  all learn from each other and the conference is a great way to get re-energized and to hear about  new ideas to help Hawai'i SHIFT into the future. SHIFT - Shaping Hawaii for Tomorrow, is this year’s theme.  We want to hear about your projects, case studies and ideas, especially those that are innovative and offer a different way of solving planning problems SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS and a proposal by following the link below to the Call for Sessions page.  ENGAGE IN THE SHIFT! https://hcpomaui2014.squarespace.com/call-for-sessions/ We recommend opening the page using Firefox or Google Chrome browser. Please share with anyone who might have interest in participating. MAHALO!  HCPO Maui Program Committee ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Historic Hawaii Foundation 1974~2014 ~ Celebrating 40 years of preservation in Hawaii! We’re Social! Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter Sign up for our E-news for the latest on preservation-related events, news and issues here in Hawai‘i & beyond. 

  COURTESY JEANE MCMAHON Hikers learn to love and conserve the land March 2, 2014 By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Ted Clement's first job after graduating from college in 1991 was working as an environmental educator for the Outward Bound School in Maine. A longtime outdoor enthusiast with a Bachelor of Science degree, he led high school and college students on expeditions ranging from about three weeks to three months. Every course had an organized "solo," during which students would be left alone in a safe, albeit remote, wilderness area. Journaling was a big part of that experience. When the students completed their solo, which sometimes lasted a few days, there was a ceremony where they would read some of their journal entries. "Time and time again, I saw students share profound thoughts about the natural world and their place in it," said Clement, now an attorney whose focus is land conservation law. "For many of the students, the solo was their first contemplative experience in nature, and the observations that came out of it were amazing." Later, while working as the executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust in Rhode Island, Clement used the insights he had gained at Outward Bound to launch a program called Land Matters Walk & Talk. It involved taking the public, free of charge, to places the organization was protecting and working to protect. "The walks helped people connect with nature and learn about Aquidneck's time-sensitive land conservation projects," Clement said. "Once they understood what we were trying to accomplish, they wholeheartedly supported it. When I became the executive director of the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT) in January 2013, I was confident the same [...]

Photo by JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Plan for senior center on pump station site OK'd By Andrew Gomes Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 2014-03-06 March 06--A 114-year-old building in Kakaako that has stood abandoned for the past 50 years, despite being an architectural gem, may finally be put to use after numerous failed efforts and ideas in recent decades. A proposal to rehabilitate and reuse the historic Ala Moana Pump Station, which was Honolulu's first sewage disposal facility, was endorsed Wednesday by a state agency that owns the property. The board of the Hawaii Community Development Authority voted to accept $1 million through a nonprofit organization and another state agency to restore the building for use as a resource center for seniors. Pacific Gateway Center, a nonprofit serving immigrants, refugees and low-income residents, proposed using the building to provide services to seniors. The organization received a $1 million grant provided by the Legislature through the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to establish a community resource center, and approached HCDArecently after prospects for another site fell through. Under the proposal, the nonprofit would channel its grant to HCDAto bid out the renovation work, and then negotiate a lease to use the property at the corner of Keawe Street and Ala Moana Boulevard. HCDAstaff recommended accepting Pacific Gateway's plan, saying in a report that the building is in need of repair and would continue to deteriorate if left unused. "It seemed like a good fit,"said Anthony Ching, HCDAexecutive director. "This is the most credible public purpose." Yet one agency board member, Miles Kamimura, questioned whether the project was being rushed to avoid the grant lapsing at the end of June. Kamimura noted that a prior HCDA assessment [...]

Photo courtesy of Star-Advertiser Palace taps California artist again to replicate glass panel By Rob Shikina, Honolulu Star Advertiser March 2, 2014 A California man will soon begin the painstaking process of replicating an embossed glass panel that was shattered during an act of vandalism at Iolani Palace last month. Patrick Mackle, who has reproduced three panes of glass for the palace already, will craft the piece at his shop in Monrovia, Calif. The artwork, which is in a style similar to rococo, a florid style that originated in Europe, has fine brushstrokes that reveal shadows and shapes, he said. The job will take about three months. Palace officials said replacing the glass will cost between $14,000 and $15,000, including shipping. A private donor may cover the expense. The glass was broken on Feb. 8 when two people forced their way into the palace. Police arrested a 30-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman on suspicion of criminal property damage, but released them pending investigation. Palace officials said it appears a kick broke the glass and opened the door. The glass fractured, but a sheet of tint kept the shards from falling out of the frame. Officials removed the glass and covered the hole with a piece of wood. Mackle, 63, said he will use the original process employed to create the ornamentation. It is the only way to re-create the original design, which includes a water bird, foliage and a frog. He said the technique is becoming obsolete in today's use of computerized images with sharp and clean designs. "You can see the artist's hand strokes and the brush strokes," he said by phone from his shop. "This is almost like a painting [...]

Exploring the Historical & Cultural Sites of Lahaina Just Got Easier Did you know that Lahaina has 65 significant sites, museums and buildings that represent the history and culture of our town over a period of 600 years? Lahaina Restoration Foundation recently updated the descriptions of each of those sites, redrew a walking map that shows the sites and trail routes, and produced a new brochure that makes it easier than ever before to locate them and learn their stories. Ala Hele Mo'olelo O Lahaina (Lahaina Historic Trail) is where Lahaina's history and culture come alive in a colorful, comprehensive map-brochure. Executive Director of the Lahain Restoration Foundation, Theo Morrison said, "Over the years with the old maps, I've seen people come to the visitor center in a near panic because they wanted to know what the numbers on the wooden signs stood for; so I came up with the idea of interpretive signs, which can be read 24/7. Then, the complaint was, 'How can you call this a trail if I can't tell which way to go?' Also, people wanted to take something home that had all the information on it. The new map-brochure was born, which answers all of these dilemmas." LRF will sell the fold-out brochures at select locations in town, such as Lahaina Visitor Center, and will also make them available in the LRF office and museums. The next step will be to update the large trail maps hanging in the wooden kiosks and place numbers on every interpretive sign. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Historic Hawaii Foundation 1974~2014 ~ Celebrating 40 years of preservation in Hawaii! We’re Social! Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter Sign up for our E-news for the latest on preservation-related [...]