News – Page 87 – Historic Hawaii Foundation

Duke Kahanamoku’s 125th Birthday Recognized by Google

Below is a re post from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Blog. August 24, 2015 Today Google released a Google Doodle featuring Hawaii’s most famous waterman, Duke Kahanamoku, and his iconic 16-foot, 114 pound wooden surfboard. Duke, who would have turned 125 years old today, was a legendary competitive swimmer and a key figure in the history the Natatorium. In 1911 he broke the world record for the 100 meter freestyle by 4 ½ seconds in Honolulu Harbor. He would go on to win five gold medals in swimming for the U.S. in the next two decades (despite the cancellation of the 1916 Games during World War I). Many believe that Duke’s accomplishments were the inspiration to build the Natatorium as the Territory of Hawaii’s official War Memorial. Duke was such a legend following his Olympic successes that he was invited take the inaugural lap in the Natatorium. In fact, the opening ceremonies were timed to happen on the occasion of Duke’s 37th birthday, August 24, 1927. The crowd roared as Hawaii’s “Ambassador of Aloha” plunged into the pool before a packed house. “I will never forget it,” he later exclaimed, “the intense interest shown by everybody, the color, that wonderful Waikiki pool. I had to rub my eyes and pinch myself to see if it were not all a dream.” Here is a video of Duke winning the 100-meter freestyle at the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, his second gold medal in the event. Also check out some vintage footage of Duke surfing at Waikiki Beach.

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:16-10:00August 24th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: Duke Kahanamoku, Waikiki Natatorium|

History and Art Merge at Maui’s Historic Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center

PRESERVATION IN THE NEWS: Magical Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center offers guided walking tours of the 25 acre historic Kaluanui Estate rife with history, botanical gardens and art studios. Maui estate celebrates visual arts and history By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi Honolulu Star Advertiser August 2, 2015 COURTESY MIEKO PHOTOGRAPHY Artist Stephen Fellerman instructs students in a glass-blowing class. Classes are held in the studios, and artists often can be found working there. Visitors, both on the guided and self-guided tours, are welcome to take a quick peek at what’s going on in the studios. Potter's wheels spin; paintbrushes sweep across canvases; beads, shells and wire turn into pretty rings and bracelets. On any given day, creativity blooms at Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center. Art and history go hand in hand on these 25 Upcountry acres overlooking the West Maui Mountains and the verdant north shore. East Maui Plantation opened on the site in 1850. When it closed in 1885, entrepreneur Henry Baldwin bought the property. Three decades later his son and daughter-in-law, Harry and Ethel Baldwin, retained famed architect C.W. Dickey to design a home for them there. The elegant two-story mansion was completed in 1917; its name, Kaluanui, means "big pit," referring to nearby Maliko Gulch. HUI NOEAU VISUAL ARTS CENTER Built in 1917, Kaluanui, Harry and Ethel Baldwin’s estate, is now the home of Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center. Ethel Baldwin founded the hui in 1934. Ethel and her daughter, Frances Baldwin Cameron, were patrons of the arts, and in 1934 they formed Hui Noeau ("coming together for the development of artistic skill"), a group of 20 women who initially met at Kaluanui to pursue their shared passion for [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:16-10:00August 19th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #Makawao, #VisualArts, Historic Walking Tour, Hui Noeau, Preservation|

Preserving the Kona Way of Life

Living History in Kona by Christine Thomas At its root, Kona remains a committed farming and ranching community. While the coast may be dotted with visitors and resorts, the mauka region is dedicated to growing crops,raising cattle and working the land. Housed in the old H. N. Greenwell general store in Kealakekua, the Kona Historical Society (KHS) upholds the mission of preserving Kona’s past to share it with future generations. It manages a robust Kona-centered archive and two historic sites--the Greenwell Store and adjacent Uchida Coffee farm, both run as living history museums. When KHS acquired the 7-acre coffee farm that had been run by the Uchida family for three generations in 1996, preservation was the goal. KHS decided to not only preserve the coffee mill, but the entire farm as a second living history museum to showcase the way of life of generations of Kona residents. Historic Hawaii Foundation (HHF) helped KHS find consultants and conservators to help bring the farm back into working order, restore the orchards and 100-year-old trees, and create an unforgettable experience that brings visitors back to the 1920‘s-1940‘s era of the farm during the coffee heyday. The property was painstakingly repaired to ensure historical accuracy, and today even includes chickens and a donkey, which would once have been used to pack and deliver bags of coffee. HHF continues to help celebrate and acknowledge volunteers and community members who actively preserve the Kona way of life, the way generations of Kona residents were raised. Farms provided a lasting foundation and ethic of hard work that can be seen in such pioneering families as the Uchidas. What was a way of life then, for many Kona residents, still is. Fast [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00August 12th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #Historic, #Kona, #KonaCoffee, #restoration, Hawaii, Kona Historical Society, Preservation|

Hawaii Tourism Conference to Feature Heritage Tourism Mobile Workshops

Two mobile workshops at this year's Hawaii Tourism Conference will provide an opportunity for members of the tourism industry to learn more about heritage tourism and how historic sites and attractions can be incorporated into visitors' island experience. Today's travelers are constantly in search of new experiences, and Hawaii's unique culture and heritage offers some of the best opportunities to attract and engage with both visitors and residents. For the first time, HTA is partnering with the Historic Hawaii Foundation to offer Heritage Tourism Mobile Workshops at historic sites on Oahu. Participants will learn about each area's cultural significance, impact and opportunities for incorporating and supporting these sites and experiences into offerings for visitors and residents. WHAT: 2015 Hawaii Tourism Conference WHY: The Hawaii Tourism Authority, the state's tourism agency, will hold its annual Hawaii Tourism Conference. The two-day conference is Hawaii's premier tourism stakeholder event featuring local, national and international leading experts in their fields sharing insight on tourism issues and trends unique to Hawaii's visitor industry. The Conference is attended by all stakeholders of the Hawaii travel and tourism industry including hotels and resorts, bed & breakfasts, timeshares, restaurants, festivals & events, retail stores, attractions, cultural organizations, restaurants, community leaders, and other related organizations and businesses working together to attain the State’s vision for a Hawaii that is the best place to live, work and visit. For the conference schedule and additional information on the Hawaii Tourism Conference, click here. WHEN: August 27-28, 2015 WHERE: Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu 1801 Kalakaua Avenue Honolulu, Hawai‘i REGISTRATION IS OPEN: Registration fees include conference sessions, breakfasts, Tourism Legacy Awards luncheon and a pau hana reception. Early bird rates are available through Aug. 3 at $195 per person or $185 per person [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 31st, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #heritagetourism, #Historic, #HTA, #Tourism, Hawaii|

Disappearing Lanai – A Pictorial Essay

Preservation in the News: This stunning pictorial and historical account of Lanai will leave you breathless. Disappearing Lanai by: Derek Paiva, Photography by Grant Kaye | Hawaii Magazine - Jun 25, 2015 Lanai has always been the definition of home for Grant Kaye. Of his 36 years, the Oahu-born photographer has been a full time resident of the island for only four—from the days following his birth up until his parents, Robin and Sally, moved the family to Pennsylvania just as Kaye was about to begin school. Now living near Lake Tahoe, Kaye returns several times annually to visit his parents who, a decade ago, finally moved back to retire in the home they long ago bought, moved away from, but always kept on Lanai. Ultimately assuring Kaye could call nowhere else in the world home, however, were the summer vacations he’d spend on Lanai from grade school through his high school graduation—times spent reconnecting with friends, his extended hanai ohana (adopted family) and the island itself. On Lanai, the Pennsylvania kid would revel in days and nights spent spearfishing, camping, beaching and exploring with his summer buddies. Guided and educated by family friend “Uncle” Albert Morita, a game warden who was raised on Lanai, Kaye found the little-populated, largely undeveloped 140-square-mile island an undiscovered country ripe for exploration. “Every trip back, my dad and I would spend as much time as we could with Uncle Albert, who would always want to take us to somewhere that we’d never been before,” remembers Kaye. “His family had lived on [Lanai] forever and he had such a deep love for the island and still does. We’d go to see petroglyphs or a heiau, always someplace different.” Those summers [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 23rd, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #fishpond, #Historic, #Lanai, #restoration, Hawaii, Preservation|

Community Workshop Scheduled to Revisit Vision for Pearl Harbor Historic Trail

Preservation in the News: Imagine an 18-mile shoreline trail from Aiea to Nanakuli incorporating historic sites, recreation areas and various other related attractions? Come to the community meeting and workshop at Aiea Elementary School on Wednesday, July 22 to discuss and help form the vision. Pearl Harbor Historic Trail meeting set By Jayna Omaye, Honolulu Star Advertiser Jul 16, 2015 The vision of the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail took root nearly 15 years ago when Aiea and Pearl City residents helped to compile a master plan for a trail along the shoreline to Nanakuli from Aiea that would host, among other things, improved bicycle and pedestrian paths, boat tours and a cultural learning center. City officials are now making efforts to relaunch the project that seeks to drive economic development and establish historic preservation plans on an 18-mile trail linking neighborhoods to various attractions, historic sites and recreation areas along the old Oahu Railway & Land Co. corridor. The master plan, developed in 2001 through community input and adopted by the City Council in 2003, serves as the basis for the revitalization of the shoreline that currently features a city-run bike path from Pearl Harbor to Waipahu and Ewa Beach, with the hope of extending it into Nanakuli. A long-term goal was to operate a steam train along the entire historic railway by extending a route that the Hawaiian Railway Society currently operates from Ewa Beach to Kahe Point. In 2005, then-Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill that officially recognized the path from Halawa Landing near the USS Arizona Visitors Center through Waipahu as the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail, which was seen by proponents as a breakthrough in moving forward with the master plan. Officials [...]

HistoricHawaii2017-04-21T01:01:17-10:00July 20th, 2015|Categories: Blog|Tags: #fishpond, #Historic, #Lanai, #restoration, Hawaii, Preservation|

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|

Historic Cemetery Preservation and Community Capacity Building: Free 2015 Workshop
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Historic Cemetery Preservation and Community Capacity Building: Free 2015 Workshop

Historic Cemetery Preservation and Community Capacity Building: Free 2015 Workshop

June 1st – June 5th 2015 Throughout the Hawaiian Islands, historic cemeteries are falling into disrepair. Worn down by the passage of time, weather, vandals, and a persistent lack of funding and support, many of these once vibrant community spaces are now overgrown and neglected. For those cemeteries which are maintained, their grass may be mowed, or their headstones swept of debris, but more serious issues such as sunken graves, fallen headstones and crumbling mortar remain unaddressed. Complicating the matter is the myriad of complex jurisdictional issues regarding who owns and has responsibility for these burial sites. This project seeks to address these issues through a free week-long community workshop on Historic Cemetery Preservation and Community Capacity Building that will be held from June 1-5, 2015 on the University of Hawai‘i’s Manoa campus. Up to 30 students and members of the public will learn hands-on techniques on topics such as headstone documentation, cleaning stone grave-markers, and lifting and hoisting stone markers. Guest speakers will provide a broad cultural context and will include representatives from community-based cemetery preservation initiatives in Kalaupapa and Mo‘ili’ili. The final day of the workshop concludes with actual fieldwork at Ma‘ema‘e Chapel Cemetery, a small historic cemetery in Honolulu. Finally, a free public presentation on Saturday, June 6, will enable at least 60 more people to learn about these community efforts to address the needs of historic cemeteries. The workshop will be led by Dr. William Chapman, Director of the Historic Preservation Certificate Program of the University of Hawai‘i’s American Studies Department. Community partners will include entities such as the State Historic Preservation Division, Kalaupapa National Historic Park, Mo‘ili‘ili Cemetery Beautification project, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and Kaumakapili Church. For additional information, email [...]

HistoricHawaii2015-07-14T14:55:15-10:00July 14th, 2015|Categories: Events - Past|

Development and Redevelopment in a Historic District

By Kiersten Faulkner, Executive Director With the advent of the City and County of Honolulu's transit oriented development (TOD) project spurring many questions from the community, we wanted to take a moment to share some of our thoughts on development and redevelopment in a historic district. The best type of redevelopment in a historic district is to use rehabilitation and adaptive use of existing structures. There are opportunities for hidden density by increasing use of currently vacant second floors in existing buildings. Many of the second floors of historic buildings could be used for housing, office, small-scale manufacturing or even retail. There are also a few underutilized lots or surface parking lots scattered in the area (especially mauka of Beretania Street) that could accommodate low-scale, new development that would fit with the scale and character of the area. Maintaining, preserving and upgrading existing buildings would also utilize the existing fabric in a way that respects the heritage and character, and also is more affordable and less environmentally damaging than new construction. Both Chinatown and Downtown Honolulu are already transit-oriented developments, so any additions or changes to the districts should use a light touch, polishing or investing in the existing urban fabric rather than trying to re-invent the entire area. The City’s transit oriented development (TOD) zoning overlay district specifically calls for plans, development and implementation actions to preserve individual and groupings of historic and cultural resources through the application of architectural and other design guidelines and standards for development; and also requires that TOD zones and implementing regulations include objectives addressing neighborhood character, unique community history, and protection of historic resources. The draft Downtown TOD plan includes specific goals and objectives to protect and preserve [...]

HistoricHawaii2015-07-14T10:36:38-10:00July 14th, 2015|Categories: Ask an Expert|Tags: #Historic, #HistoricHawaiiFoundation, #HistoricSites, #TOD, 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|