#Honolulu Museum of Art

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 [...]