Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial

Our post the other day about a 1942 lifeguard picture brought to light a delightful related story. We mentioned that one of the people in the photo was Nana Veary, matron of the Natatorium and secretary to its superintendent, Walter Napoloeon. We also mentioned that Mrs. Veary, who became a well-known Hawaiian spiritual teacher and [...]

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Natatorium friend Noe Bell tells us that this lifeguard photo was taken on June 26, 1942. Noe’s father, Hiram N. Goldstein, is the handsome gentleman on the left in the back row, standing on the wall. Who’s who in this photo? Tell us in the comments! Tweet

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Sad news: Olympic gold medal swimmer and Hawai’i hero Bill Smith – a world record holder whose first competitive swimming experiences were in the waters of the Waikiki Natatorium – has died. Bill was 88 when he passed away Feb. 8, his family with him. Considered the world’s greatest swimmer for virtually all of the [...]

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Donna L. Ching, vice president of the Friends of the Natatorium, submitted this letter to the editor of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser marking today’s 85th anniversary of the opening of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Eighty-five years ago, on Aug. 24, 1927, Duke Kahanamoku dove in to take the ceremonial first swim at the War Memorial [...]

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Scottish novelist William Boyd recently published a New York Times opinion piece headlined “Why World I War Resonates.” He talks about why memories of that horror-filled war remain so vivid in our collective consciousness even now, nearly 100 years after the conflict began. Why it is lived and fought again and again in our films, [...]

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The city of Honolulu is starting work on Monday to correct what it describes as “hazardous conditions” caused by cracks in the walls of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Now, of course, the Friends of the Natatorium support doing what is necessary to ensure the safety of swimmers on nearby Kaimana Beach. But isn’t it [...]

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On Sept. 7, legendary Maui waterman, swimmer and coach Keo Nakama died at the age of 91. As two of the “original ditch boys from Camp 5,” Nakama and schoolboy friend and fellow swimming legend Halo Hirose learned to compete in Maui irrigation ditches under future Olympic swim coach Soichi Sakamoto. In college, Nakama swam [...]

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Here’s a slideshow of a commemoration Aug. 24 marking the 84th anniversary of the ceremonial opening of one of the state’s cultural and historic icons, the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. It was the Nat’s 84th birthday! Kahu Manu Mook offered the blowing of the Pu and Kahu Bradford Kaiwi Lum performed the Oli for those [...]

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Hey, does this sound familiar? A great natatorium opens in the 1920s. It’s a wonderful community resource; people from all across town come together there and enjoy swimming together. But there are years of deferred maintenance and neglect; eventually, it’s closed as unsafe. Same story; happy ending For once, we’re not talking about the Waikiki [...]

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