Today is the 120th birthday of the ultimate Hawai’i waterman, Duke Kahanamoku: Olympic swimming champion, surfer, diver, paddler and sailor. And it’s the 83rd birthday of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial, inaugurated by Duke with a ceremonial first swim on Aug. 24, 1927, the day the champion turned 37. That ceremony kicked off the four-day [...]
Archive for the 'History' Category
As Natatorium supporter Chris Boyle said when he sent us this link with 12 cool swimming pools, “I think this list is missing one pool, in Hawaii.” That’s for sure, Chris! For decades, from the first stroke taken by Duke Kahanamoku the day it was dedicated in 1927, the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial was on [...]
Swimming at the Heart of “Living Memorial” Design
Posted in History on May 9th, 2010
It was a bold, out-of-the-box decision to build a pool – a pool “of Olympic proportions” – as Hawai’i’s official World War I memorial. The story of the Natatorium’s conception, design and construction is told in the final chapter of the 1928 book Hawaii in the World War by Ralph S. Kuykendall. That chapter is [...]
Hokule’a Crewman, Beachboy and Waterman: Clifford Ah Mow is Remembered at the Natatorium
Posted in Events, History, News coverage on Apr 26th, 2010
Hundreds gathered at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium Sunday to remember an icon: waterman, lifeguard and surfer Clifford Ah Mow. Ah Mow was one of the 17 original crewmen of the canoe Hokule’a; in 1976, they piloted the double-hulled craft from Hawai’I to Tahiti without modern instruments to demonstrate that Polynesians could indeed have navigated [...]
The Natatorium: The place to be
Posted in History, Images, Slideshows on Mar 20th, 2010
Here’s a slideshow of some wonderful historic photos of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, unearthed in the collections of the Hawai’i State Archives. Several of them show the Natatorium as it was meant to be: A living memorial to Hawai’i’s honored war dead, a lively, active fun place where families and athletes and all of [...]
The Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is not only a memorial to Hawai’i history, but itself a part of that history. The world premiere run of a new play, The Three-Year Swim Club, is a good occasion to remind ourselves that this commemoration of Hawai’i’s war dead was always meant as a living memorial, full of [...]