Archives for History

Your Family Photos in a Natatorium Film?

19-Sep-15 | Comments Off on Your Family Photos in a Natatorium Film?

Do you have classic Natatorium photos like these? Hawaii’s TalkStory Productions is working on a film about the War Memorial Natatorium. You’ll see it this fall. This great film can be even better … if it includes your family photos, your home movies, your slides, videos or vintage post cards. How You Can Help Good times at the Tank back in the day? Check the photo albums, the slide carousels and those dusty boxes of 8 millimeter film. Let’s see ‘em! Send what you’ve got to producer Jason Lau at JLau@talk-story.com. Details, Please! Please be sure to send along caption
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Categories: Documentary, History, Images, Uncategorized, and Videos.
Tags: film, Friends of the Natatorium, The Tank, and Waikiki Natatorium.

The Natatorium: For the Weight Ohana, It’s Personal (See the Video)

05-Jul-15 | 1 Comment

The Weight/Napoleon ohana cares so much about the War Memorial Natatorium, for so many reasons. — Their ancestor, Sam Kainoa, who died in the service in World War I, is among the 10,000 volunteers from Hawaii honored at the Natatorium. –Another forebearer, Walter Napoleon, was superintendent at the Tank and captain of Hawaii lifeguards. –The family’s matriarch, Naomi Weight, daughter of Walter, practically grew up at the Natatorium on the shore of Waikiki, as did so many Oahu residents for generations. So you’ll see dozens of members of this great ohana at the Natatorium each year for the Memorial Day
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, History, Memorial Day, News coverage, Support, Uncategorized, and Videos.
Tags: Alex Quade, Frank Weight, Friends of the Natatorium, Naomi Weight, Waikiki Natatorium, and Weight ohana.

Do You Have Great Natatorium Photos Like This?

14-Feb-15 | Comments Off on Do You Have Great Natatorium Photos Like This?

Time to check your ohana’s photo albums, scrap books, storage boxes and slide carousels. We need photos of you, your family and your friends at the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki. If you have home movies, even better. Why? The Friends of the Natatorium are working with the film and television pros at TalkStory Productions to produce a documentary. We want to tell the Natatorium’s story. From the global conflict it was built to commemorate to the Olympic champions who swam at the Tank and international swimming records set there. But more than a sports history piece, it’s a love
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Categories: Documentary, Friends of the Natatorium, History, Images, News coverage, Uncategorized, and Videos.

Wow: What a Year for the Natatorium

31-Dec-14 | 1 Comment

A New Year’s Eve “Mahalo” for your outstanding support in 2014. This has been a year of important progress in the fight to save and reopen the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. An Amazing Year for the Natatorium In 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared the Natatorium one of America’s Treasures, and put its resources – and its terrific, experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated staff – behind our effort. In 2014, you turned out in large numbers for an open meeting on the city’s environmental impact study, demonstrating major public support for the preservation option. In 2014, you – more
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, History, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Tags: environmental impact study, Friends of the Natatorium, National Treasure, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Waikiki Natatorium, and World War I.

A Must Read: Hawaii’s Natatorium, as Seen from The Atlantic

23-May-14 | 1 Comment

This week’s big news about the Natatorium prompted The Atlantic to publish an absolutely must-read overview and thought piece. The story, headlined “The Improbable Persistence of Swimming Pools Built in the Ocean,” carries the byline of The Atlantic senior associate editor Adrienne LaFrance. She’s a former reporter for Honolulu Civil Beat, and has written about the Natatorium issue before. But the format of The Atlantic really gives her room to write a “big picture” analysis with knowledge, insight, grace and passion. The issue, she writes, isn’t just what to do with a unique 100-meter ocean pool anchoring one end of
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Categories: History, National Trust for Historic Preservation, News coverage, and Uncategorized.
Tags: Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, and Waikiki Natatorium.

We Need your Natatorium Stories!

17-May-14 | Comments Off on We Need your Natatorium Stories!

Did you learn to swim at the Natatorium? Spend weekends there with your best buddies? Cannonball off the old high dive? Did your kupuna tell you Natatorium tales of Duke Kahanamoku, or Keo Nakama, Halo Hirose and the ditch boys? Did you grow up with sagas of Johnny Weissmuller or Esther Williams? Then come talk story with us! Natatorium Oral History Project This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – May 20-22 – we’re videotaping the stories of people who spent the better part of their lives swimming at the War Memorial Natatorium. People who grew up there. And people who never
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, History, Uncategorized, and Videos.
Tags: Friends of the Natatorium, Natatorium history, oral history, and Waikiki Natatorium.

Floral Tribute Links Swimming History with Veterans Day

13-Nov-13 | 5 Comments

A small, “small world” back story for Natatorium history buffs: The floral display that adorned the front gate of the War Memorial during Monday’s Veterans Day commemoration was provided by Sono Hirose, daughter of pioneer swimmer Takashi “Halo” Hirose. Additional flowers and accompanying lei were hung on the gate after the somber, ceremonial playing of Taps by Johnny Sanchez with Bugles Across America. Sono Hirose’s father Halo was one of Hall of Fame Coach Soichi Sakamoto’s prodigies from Maui, a competitor in many Natatorium meets and one of Hawai’i’s most celebrated swimmer/soldiers. Among other accomplishments, he was a world record
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Categories: Events, History, Images, Uncategorized, Veterans, and Veterans Day.
Tags: 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Bugles Across America, Soichi Sakamoto, Sono Hirose, Swimming Hall of Fame, Takashi "Halo" Hirose, veterans, Veterans Day, and Waikiki Natatorium.

Op-Ed: Honor All Hawaii's Fallen at the Natatorium

09-Oct-13 | Comments Off on Op-Ed: Honor All Hawaii's Fallen at the Natatorium

The Star-Advertiser today published an opinion piece by Donna L. Ching, vice president of the Friends of the Natatorium. She salutes the efforts of the Memorial Task Force, now gathering input on how to honor Hawaii’s sons and daughters lost in Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror. Donna suggests that the best course would be to locate a Gulf War Memorial at or adjacent to our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, creating in effect a memorial park to honor Hawaii’s fallen from all wars. We urge you to read Donna’s piece on the Star-Advertiser website and leave your comments there.
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, History, News coverage, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Tags: Donna L. Ching, Friends of the Natatorium, op-ed, Star-Advertiser, and Waikiki Natatorium.

Another Natatorium Photo Mystery!

31-Aug-13 | 7 Comments

From the Big Island, Jim Reddekopp sends this retro-awesome Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium photo from his family archive. We only know two of the four guys in the picture, taken (we don’t know when) on the Ewa end of the Natatorium deck. On the left is Jim’s grandfather, Gene Froiseth, and on the right is Gene’s brother, legendary surfer Wally Froiseth, one of the developers of the Hot Curl board and a pioneer in the 1930s and 1940s of big wave surfing on the North Shore of Oahu. The Froiseth boys were part of the Natatorium’s glory days. Gene and
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Categories: History and Uncategorized.
Tags: Natatorium history, Natatorium photos, photos, surfing, Waikiki Natatorium, and watermen.

Happy Birthday, Natatorium!

24-Aug-13 | Comments Off on Happy Birthday, Natatorium!

It was 86 years ago today! On Aug. 24, 1927, our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium opened. There was a huge crowd of 6,000 in the stands and — according to reports from the time — spectators in every tree with a view of the pool. And the man who took the ceremonial first swim? There could not have been a more appropriate choice. He was the pride of Hawai’i and an Olympic swimming medalist (three golds, two silvers in the 1912, 1920 and 1924 games). And that was his 37th birthday. Yes, the first man in the water on the
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Categories: History and Uncategorized.
Tags: Duke Kahanamoku, Friends of the Natatorium, Natatorium history, and Waikiki Natatorium.