HERE ON THE BIG ISLAND – Architectural Gems of Hilo – The Art Deco Years August 18, 2008
Posted by Kelly in : Big Island Hawaii, HERE ON THE BIG ISLAND, Hawaii Travel , add a commentHERE ON THE BIG ISLAND
By Kelly Moran
Architectural Gems of Hilo – The Art Deco Years
In the years between the first and second World Wars, the architectural styles that were all the rage first came to public attention in a 1925 Paris exhibition of “arts decoratif et moderne” – decorative and modern arts. The term “Art Deco” was coined fifty years later, so it encompasses both the highly “decorative” style of the 1920s, that often features elaborate terra-cotta tile work; and the “modern” style of the 1930s, that has hardly any ornamentation at all, and seems almost to be “streamlined.”
Hilo has some wonderful examples of the former, and only a few of the latter; but if you’re a fan of Art Deco, they’re all worth a look.
Starting on the Bay front, on Kamehameha Ave., what is now a charter school and a multiplex-movie house still has its original “Kress” department store sign, and a busy frieze of blue-and white terra-cotta tiles.
A block away, at the corner of Kalakaua St. stands the Pacific Tsunami Museum, which was originally a Bank of Hawaii. Like many bank buildings, it’s in a “Greek Revival” style, with tall columns.
But the details – love those eagles! – are Art Deco all the way.
The Palace Theater, in the first block of Haili St., is a 1925 “picture palace” where, besides movies, theatrical and musical programs are now presented. It has a nicely tiled lobby (where its original projector is on display); and there’s a local preservation group, the Friends of the Palace Theater for the building’s ongoing restoration.
Around Kalakaua Park, several fine structures stand out. On Kalakaua St., the first building you come to was originally the front-office for the local telephone company,
and it has (I think) the most beautiful terra-cotta tile work in town.
Today, though, it serves only as an extension of the newer structure behind it, and it’s filled with telecommunication equipment; so no entry is permitted.
But you’ll want to go inside the building next door, which – though not as fancy – has the same basic form. The East Hawaii Cultural Center, at 141 Kalakaua St., is an art gallery on the main floor, and a performance venue upstairs for concerts, theater and dance. Walk up (there’s an elevator if you need it), and go out onto the second-floor lanai, which has nice vintage floor tiles, and a great view of the park. This charming building was originally Hilo’s central police station!
Along the makai side of the park stretches a lovely pergola and reflecting pool which is Hilo’s memorial to the fallen in war. Unlike pergolas that imitate European styles, however, this one is definitely moderne.
And where the Park touches Waianuenue Ave., stands one of the three “streamlined” 1930s structures in town. The Carlsmith Building (a law office) has plain white sides, practically no ornamentation, and a hexagonal window overlooking the park.
Rare for this rainy climate, but consistent with the dictates of the moderne style, it has a flat roof.
The two other 1930s buildings in town are: the main fire station, at Kinoole and Ponahawai Sts. – though you’ll have to look hard to see the streamlining;
and the office building for the old Hilo Iron Works, where Kam Ave. crosses the Wailoa River.
Though only two stories high, it was obviously designed to look like a skyscraper (well, like the base of one, anyway). There’s not much of its original interior décor left, but it is open to the public, with an art gallery and small offices inside.
HERE ON THE BIG ISLAND – Architectural Gems of Hilo – The Early 20th Century August 11, 2008
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By Kelly Moran
Architectural Gems of Hilo – The Early 20th Century
In the first half of the 20th century, Hilo enjoyed an economic boom – mainly from growing sugar cane. Much of that financial bonanza was channeled into new buildings; and as you might expect, most of the architecturally interesting examples were built Downtown.
Chief among these is the Federal Building, on Waianuenue Ave.
With its tall columns, indoor-outdoor galleries on the second floor, and a tiled fountain in the courtyard facing Kalakaua Park, it’s a great example of how a turn-of-the-century public building in the classical-revival style, was adapted for our tropical climate.
Since the 1950s, Koehnen’s furniture store has occupied the huge Bayfront corner at Kamehameha Avenue and Waianuenue Ave.
But it was built in the ‘teens, as the local branch of Honolulu-based H. Hackfeld & Co., one of the Islands’ “Big Five” corporations. (Anti-German sentiment in World War I forced the owners to change its name to American Factors.)
The majority of Downtown Hilo’s buildings went up between 1900 and 1940, including almost all of the two-story structures between the Wailuku River and Ponahawai Street.
Timber-framed, and clad in wood siding, most have – or had – first-floor overhangs sheltering their sidewalk frontage from the rain.
Nearly all had – and some still have – mom-and-pop retailers or restaurants on the ground floor, and small white-collar offices upstairs.
These modest little gems aren’t in any one style; and there’s not much that’s fancy about them. But it’s a treat to look up, above the second-floor windows, or on the corners, and see the names of the builders or original owners, like S. Hata, Holt, and Wah Yuke Chock.
Sugar may have been the dominant industry here, but those companys’ offices were out of town, at their mills. These downtown buildings, the backbone and ribs of Hilo’s day-to-day economy, were where everybody else worked.
HERE ON THE BIG ISLAND – The Great Outdoor Circle August 11, 2008
Posted by Kelly in : Big Island Hawaii, HERE ON THE BIG ISLAND, Updates , add a commentHERE ON THE BIG ISLAND
By Kelly Moran
The Great Outdoor Circle
In my last blog I mentioned Hawaii’s billboard laws in passing. But they deserve a blog of their own . . . and a round of applause.
They may be unique in the United States in that they forbid the erection of billboards, not just in some places but everywhere in the Islands. And the idea of banning billboards didn’t come from “green” politicians in the 1990s, nor from hippies in the 1960s. The movers-and-shakers who successfully lobbied the government to ban billboards were women – housewives, mainly – and they did it more than 80 years ago!
They were members of a club called The Outdoor Circle, that had been formed in 1912 with the goal of keeping Hawaii green and beautiful. Some were descended from Hawaiian royalty, but many were the (mostly haole) wives of Hawaii’s mostly haole) richest and most politically influential men. Like “women’s clubs” elsewhere, the Outdoor Circle had gotten trees planted along streets and avenues. But for the women of Hawaii, that was not enough.
Despite the revenues that billboard advertising would generate, and the likelihood that billboards would draw customers to their enterprises, the businessmen of Hawaii agreed with their women-folk that, to preserve the Islands’ unique beauty, they would support laws forbidding large outdoor advertisements and severely limiting other kinds of signage.
The first of these laws was passed in 1927, and more were added as new technologies, such as neon lighting, became available. Additional laws were enacted in 1948 to prohibit aerial advertising, such as sky-writing and the towing of banners by aircraft.
Today, there are no billboards even in the densest commercial or industrial zones; and strict regulations limit the size of signs on a building that proclaim what businesses are inside. The Outdoor Circle has also taken a stand against “Admobile” trucks that don’t haul anything except a rotating set of billboard-size ads on their flanks.
Laws covering other fields comply with the billboard laws here, too. There are size limits on electioneering signs for candidates and issues; and as I noted in my last blog, after an election has been held, those signs have to come down. Under real estate law, the “For Sale” sign in front of a house or property must be removed after escrow closes.
The Outdoor Circle’s current mission statement is: “To protect Hawaii’s scenic environment by advocating for the planting and protection of trees, burying of utility lines, promoting recycling, and fighting for a billboard-free Hawaii, among other issues.” The Big Island branch of the Outdoor Circle is headquartered in Waimea.
