#leineweber

By Shayna Yatsuhiro, guest contributor Spencer Leineweber in 2011 (courtesy: AIA Honolulu) In 1996, a group of 66 walkers met at Kamānele Park to join a tour organized by Mālama Mānoa.  Strolling for a couple miles through verdant Mānoa, the group was eager to view and learn more about the historic homes that had stood in the neighborhood since the 1920s and 1930s. Leading the group was Spencer Leineweber, a professional architect, longtime educator, and Mānoa resident by way of New Jersey.  On this inaugural walk, Spencer spoke to the unique architectural properties and special qualities of the stately houses along their route.  Her depth of knowledge and commitment to telling the stories of Hawai‘i’s special structures and places was to establish this as one of Mālama Mānoa’s most popular events, but this was just a small taste of Spencer’s commitment to Hawai‘i’s communities and histories. In addition to her work at Mālama Mānoa, Spencer and her husband Michael were original charter members of the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in 1974 and remained at the forefront of preservation efforts throughout their lives. Spencer received HHF’s 5th Annual Frank Haines Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.  Additionally, Spencer gave walking tours around Honolulu’s Chinatown district and served in numerous leadership roles in professional and community organizations, including serving as a juror for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.  She served as the Director of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Heritage Center and was a prominent professor in the School of Architecture, where she also served as the Chair of the graduate program. Today, UH's Hamilton Library holds a large collection of Spencer’s work materials from 1977-2015, including field notebooks, photos, and drawings. As an architect, [...]