MES Oahu

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? One of the finest examples of traditional Japanese architecture in Hawai‘i, the Sanju Pagoda in the Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park is also, believe it or not, the largest pagoda in the world. Architect Robert Katsuyoshi modeled it after the Minami Hoke-ji Temple in Nara, Japan, except 1-1⁄2 times larger, using concrete construction instead of the traditional wood to allow it to be used as a columbarium, along with the neighboring Kinkaku-ji Temple. In 2004, the pagoda was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. What threatens it? Twenty years of neglect. Over time, the neoprene roofing material has sprung leaks, exposing the reinforced concrete rafters to weakening moisture and decay. “[The neoprene] was supposed to be the best thing ever, but it turned out to be not so good, “says architect Lorraine Minatoishi Palumbo.“The eaves are in jeopardy right now, in bad condition and very heavy. At any point, one of those eaves could fall down. If one falls, it falls on the next, and the building would most likely collapse. It could happen pretty darn soon.” What can be done? Until recently, the situation had been complicated by a lawsuit over the leader-ship of Kyoto Gardens Park, the nonprofit entity in charge of fund-raising. The nonprofit’s assets were frozen pending a ruling on its rightful board of directors: a group of niche and plot owners, or City Councilman Rod Tam and Nu‘uanu businessman Vic Hejmadi. Fortunately, a settlement was reached last month that will allow regular grounds maintenance to begin again, but it will likely take $2 million or more to reconstruct the pagoda’s eaves and [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? Built in 1925, the plantation manager’s house was the most imposing residence on the ‘Ewa Sugar Plantation—a two-story colonial revival with a large yard and a grand entry drive, as well as an arched porte cochere. After sugar operations ended in the early 1970s, the house suffered from a lack of maintenance until the City and County of Honolulu bought the plantation property in 1995. The manager’s house was placed, along with the rest of the ‘Ewa Sugar Plantation Villages, on the National Register of Historic Places, and, until a few years ago, was regularly used as a neighborhood gathering place for meetings and parties. What threatens it? Although the house suffers from termite damage and its lead-based paint and out-of-code plumbing and electrical wiring must be replaced, state Rep. Rida Cabanilla says the primary threat to the property is the City and County’s lack of a plan. Since Mayor Mufi Hannemann succeeded Jeremy Harris in 2004, the house has been closed to the public, and some areas of the property look like a junkyard. “Why is it in such a state of disrepair? I call it demolition by neglect,” Cabanilla says. “It’s a shame, because it has so much historic value.” What can be done? There is no shortage of interest in the property; the ‘Ewa Historical Society has said it would like to acquire the manager’s house, as has the ‘Ewa Villages Homeowners Association. But some say that the city’s current administration has been frustratingly unresponsive. Tesha Malama, manager of the ‘Ewa Village Homeowners Association, says, “Right now, it’s a question of the city moving into action, but [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo Article Written By: Victoria Wiseman, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? There’s something urban and cool about Kapahulu Avenue, but you probably can’t put your finger on exactly what it is. Look closely at the building that houses Haili’ Hawaiian Foods on the corner of Kapahulu and Palani Avenues, and you’ll see the art moderne aesthetic that is at Kapahulu Avenue’s core. A more obscure (and cheaper) cousin of art deco, art moderne stresses curving lines like the one at Haili’s entrance-awnings anchored with turnbuckles, horizontal lines and construction that starts right at the sidewalk, no setbacks. Several years ago, Bill Chapman, director of the historic preservation program at the University of Hawaii, took his students to do a field study on Kapahulu. “We found 46 buildings dated to the late ‘30s and ‘40s,” Chapman says, and most with modernist profiles. “It created a pretty consistent pattern up and down the street.” What threatens it? About halfway down Kapahulu, Peggy’s Picks in the Chun Kow building has lost it awning and adopted a wild paint job. Other art moderne buildings on the street were covered with stucco, renovated or destroyed when the street was widened. New buildings have cropped up that are set back from the street and don’t mesh with the architectural style. These gradual renovations and demolitions have already done damage to the area’s cohesion. “I think the loss of the individual piece diminishes a whole,” says Faulkner, of Historic Hawaii Foundation. What can be done? “The city needs to look at creating a special district there,” says Chapman. “If there was a visionary person in the Planning Department it could become a real economic asset. It’s been discovered by [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Linda Legrande Article Written By: Victoria Wiseman, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? In Mānoa, a large, foursquare, Craftsman-style home from the 1920s stands with six others of the same period. Collectively, they’ve greeted visitors and residents alike into Mānoa Valley for nearly a century. With the island’s largest concentration of historic residences, privately owned, historic homes like these are the backbone of the neighborhood’s culture and character. What threatens it? Historic neighborhoods are threatened slowly, one by one, by individual demolitions. The craftsman-style house in Mānoa is just one example. Although it’s 90 years old and in good repair, its new owners have filed a demolition permit and can’t be prevented from taking it down to make way for a new, modern home of their dreams. “They’re tearing down beautiful old homes and building McMansions that are oversize and don’t fit,” says Linda LeGrande, longtime Manoa resident and community activist. “I don’t see the point in tearing down an old house when it has life left in it. It’s really hard to live with that.” This highlights a particularly complicated threat: Individual homeowners, bit by bit, have the power to permanently alter a historic neighborhood. “Honolulu has chosen to provide incentives for preservation, but has no regulatory prohibitions. They control what you can build, but they don’t control demolition,” says Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of the Historic Hawaii Foundation. What can be done? Federal and state tax programs provide important tools that neighborhood groups can use to encourage homeowners to put down the wrecking ball, so educating homeowners is an important first step. But in the long-term, preservation has to be made a priority by local government through the creation of special [...]

UPDATE: 2012 – A WORK IN PROGRESS Article Written By: Kathryn Drury Wagner, HONOLULU Magazine When listed on the Most Endangered List in 2010, renovation of the state-owned, mid-century building had stalled. It’s moving forward again, one of the five projects identified in a May 2012 directive issued by Gov. Neil Abercrombie involving Project Labor Agreements [this regards unions] for state construction projects. It gave the project estimate at $32.9 million; the plan includes major renovation of the existing building, asbestos removal and infrastructure work, including electrical and plumbing repairs. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2010 Article Written By: Jenny Quill, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? In 1968, the state purchased this 53-year-old building located at the intersection of King and Richards Streets from the Hawaiian Trust Co. for $2.5 million. It housed the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs until 2003, when the building was closed for renovation due to various safety issues, asbestos among them. What threatens it? When the state closed Kamāmalu for repairs, the plan was to have the building open and operational again within a few years, but the renovation costs kept mounting—in 2007, the cost estimate was $27 million. “As we went along, the costs to refurbish kept going up and up,” says state comptroller Russ Saito. “Thus far, we’ve taken care of the health and safety issues. It’s a shell, but it’s safe for now. But to go beyond the work we've done so far, the costs would be too high to be recovered in any reasonable economic interval.” The alternative to letting it sit around collecting dust is to have someone purchase the property, level the building and start from scratch. It’s a win-lose situation: A sale would [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo UPDATE: 2012 Work on the structure began, and the historic medal grille has been removed and the covered driveway demolished. Plans have been changed to turn the building into student dormitories that will be marketed to Hawaii Pacific University students. What is it? Some historic buildings don’t appeal to our aesthetic sensibilities. They may be old enough and interesting enough to merit historic protections, but their design seems outdated rather than charming. The infamous Queen Emma Building, with its pockmarked appearance, is a prime example. Designed in the 1960’s by Jo Paul Rognstad, it was originally named the York Building, after the York Barbell Co. Built for physician and weight-lifting guru Dr. Richard W. You, the eccentric, brutalist design touches are fitting for a building inspired by feats of brute strength. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2011 Article Written By: Victoria Wiseman, HONOLULU Magazine What threatens it? According to its current owner, Maui-based developer Greg Hatcher of GP Pacific Inc., the building has been vacant for more than five years. It has changed hands twice in that time: in 2006, it was slated to become university student housing, but went back on the market in 2008. Hatcher purchased the building in late 2010 and has plans to turn it into 106 condominiums for residents 60 years or older, re-branding it the “Queen Emma Regency.” His plans are to scrap the exterior of the building. “We’re going to take down the metal façade and replace that with a blush glass curtain wall and put metal panels over the brick,” Hatcher said. What can be done? “It never occurred to me to keep it like it is, so I’m actually interested to hear [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo UPDATE: 2011 The DOE closed the school and stated that the facility would be re-purposed for DOE personnel. What is it? Lili‘uokalani Elementary in Kaimukī opened in 1912 and was personally dedicated by its namesake, Queen Lydia Lili‘uokalani. While the original administration building was torn down years ago, its cornerstone still exists, and is now located in the corner by the basketball court. The current administration and classroom buildings were all built within the last 50 years, says principal Dr. Raelene Chock. The school has about 130 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2010 Article Written By: Jenny Quill, HONOLULU Magazine What threatens it? In August, the Department of Education (DOE) released its consolidation study for the Kalani complex, which includes the Lili‘uokalani, Kāhala, Liholiho, Wai‘alae, Waikīkī, and Wilson schools. The study examined the benefits and drawbacks of shuttering Lili‘uokalani, noting that the savings from the school’s closure would be about $370,000, and that, with the exception of Wilson Elementary, all of the schools in the complex were under capacity (Lili‘uokalani was 115 students below capacity). As we went to print, the Board of Education (BOE) was reviewing the DOE’s report, and a public hearing was tentatively planned for the end of October. Should the BOE vote in favor of consolidation, Lili‘uokalani’s students would likely be divided up between Liholiho and Wai‘alae schools. “In every community the neighborhood school is a special place for its people,” says Chock, “and the prospect of consolidating Lili‘uokalani Elementary School is emotional and even painful for many whose lives have been touched by the school.” According to the BOE, the City and County of Honolulu owns the property and, should [...]

Article Written By: Kathryn Drury Wagner, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? The five-story Varsity Building was designed by local firm Wimberly and Cook in 1963 to house the First National Bank. It's one of a posse of circular buildings that went up around Oahu in the 1950s and 60s, including the Waikiki Circle Hotel and Waipahu's branch of American Security Bank. Curved buildings are examples of the mid-century Modernism movement, which showcased bold experimentation in shapes and materials, such as concrete, which had not been widely used previously. What threatens it? For the past four years, Kamehameha Schools has been collecting pieces of property in the Mo'ili'ili area, forming a contiguous area slated for redevelopment. The assemblage is complete, says Paul Quintiliani, director of Kamehameha Schools' commercial real estate division. “We have begun to shift our focus towards what makes the most sense.” The overall goal, he says, is to “enhance this part of urban Honolulu by creating a heart for the community that simultaneously improves the gateway into UH Manoa.” He says this will include greater pedestrian connectivity, public spaces, and new dining and entertainment options. KS is still in the planning phases; some of the possible permutations include the varsity building, some do not. What can be done? If you're a fan of Modernism, speak up, as community input will be important. Quintiliani says that architectural historians have been consulted to better understand the context of the Varsity Building, and that KS “does not approach redevelopment with the view that demolition is the approach of first choice.”

Photos: Courtesy of Rae Huo UPDATE: 2011 The Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society, a nonprofit organization, that has managed the pond since 1995 received a Preservation Commendation Award at the 2011 Preservation Honor Awards for their preservation and cultural education efforts. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2010 Article Written By: Jenny Quill, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? Waikalua Loko is one of the few remaining intact ancient Hawaiian fishponds in the state. Located in Kāne‘ohe Bay, the approximately 400-year-old fishpond exemplifies the ancient Hawaiians’ skillful management of natural resources. The Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society, a nonprofit organization, has managed the pond since 1995, working to eradicate invasive mangrove and maintain the pond’s kuapā (wall) and mākāhā (gates), work done strictly by volunteers. “Since we began,” says Herb Lee, executive director of the Pacific American Foundation (PAF) and one of the founders of the preservation society, “we’ve had tens of thousands of people come down to help.” What threatens it? The fishpond is located on property that is part of the Bay View Golf Course, which recently went into foreclosure. “The cultural, educational and restoration activities are threatened by the uncertain priorities of new landowners who may prefer to develop the property rather than restore a fishpond,” says Hal Hammatt, the president and principal investigator for Cultural Surveys Hawai‘i. Then there’s the small matter of the proposed Kāne‘ohe sewer upgrades project. “The fishpond itself will not be impacted by this project,” says Department of Environmental Services director Tim Steinberger. “Parking associated with the fishpond, however, will be impacted during construction. The city will be working with various community organizations during preparation of the draft EIS to address the parking issue, and is already working with stakeholder [...]

Photos: Courtesy of David Croxford Update: 2010 Article Written By: Jenny Quill, HONOLULU Magazine According to Janice Okubo, a spokesperson for the Hawai‘i state Department of Health, the 12 support buildings built between 1936 and 1954 at Waimano Ridge, formerly Waimano Training School and Hospital, are set to be demolished. At press time, a contract had been awarded for the demolition of the structures and work was expected to begin within a few months. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2009 Article Written By: Jenny Quill, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? Located on approximately 265 acres of land above Pearl City residential neighborhoods, Waimano Ridge was home to the Waimano Training School and Hospital (WTSH), an institutional incarceration facility for people with developmental disabilities. Established in 1919, the hospital, which was originally known as the Waimano Home for the Feebleminded, was shuttered in 1999 following years of rumors about dingy conditions and questionable patient treatment. Today, Waimano Ridge is a medical facility in transition. It currently hosts a number of state organizations and programs: The old Waimano Training School and Hospital was renovated and is being used by the Department of Public Safety. Other buildings house Department of Health (DOH) offices, the DOH Laboratory facility, Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant offices and a juvenile sex offender program. “[Waimano Ridge] is definitely being used, which is appropriate given our terrible economic situation,” says DOH director Dr. Chiyome Fukino. What threatens it? Following the hospital’s closure, its support buildings, the oldest of which were built in the mid-1930s, and the newest of which, Hale Aloha, was built in 1977, languished into disrepair until the Department of Health decided to transform Waimano Ridge into a modern medical community. Bringing the site up to code, however, has required significant updating. [...]