This’ll take you back! A look at photos taken across territorial Honolulu and Oahu in 1954, five years before statehood. Ala Wai Canal. Ala Moana Park. Waikiki. Chinatown. Schofield Barracks. Kaneohe Bay. Kamehameha Highway. Wow; how things have changed in less than six decades! And pay particular attention to the three photos onscreen from 35 seconds to 50 seconds into the video. Yup: That’s the Natatorium. Being used. Being enjoyed. Being exactly what it was meant to be: A place to honor those from Hawaii who served in World War I, simply by enjoying the freedoms they fought to protect.
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Archives for History
The Natatorium Problem: A Concrete Solution?
Natatorium naysayers argue – among other absurdities – that an ocean pool can’t survive being in, well, the ocean. We demonstrated with a post on the ocean pools of Australia just how wrong that kind of thinking is. Turns out, though, that we could have gone a couple of continents farther on and about 20 centuries earlier to make the point. To ancient Rome, in fact. As the science news site Futurity reports, the Romans were whizzes at building concrete maritime structures that have – literally – stood the test of time. Wharves, breakwaters, other harbor structure – all made
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A Natatorium sleepover story
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 author of Change We Must: My Spiritual Journey, was also the mother of Hawaii Music Hall of Fame singer Emma Veary. The Natatorium was her bedroom That brings us to the related story: How the Veary family came for a time to actually live at
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Natatorium Lifeguards from 1942
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!
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Sea Pool in Sydney, Australia
Inspiration for the new Waikiki Natatorium, what could be, again… – Take a look at the Sea Pool at the Bondi Swimming Club in Sydney, Australia
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History and Uncategorized.
Olympic champ/Natatorium friend Bill Smith has died
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 1940s, William Melvin Smith was 15 when he started his competitive career at the Natatorium in 1939. Just a year later, he placed second in the mile swim at the AAU Nationals in California, where he met coaching legend Soichi Sakamoto. He later moved to
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Guest post: Happy 85th birthday, Natatorium!
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 Natatorium. In his wake came other Olympians, swimming celebrities and generations of keiki and kupuna swimmers. The Natatorium was the jewel of Waikiki and the pride of Hawai’i. It was the site of international swimming competitions. It was a place of relaxation and fun for
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World War I and Wahi Pana: The Natatorium in perspective
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, in our literature, in dramas on stage, in dramas on television. Even in our poetry. “The last old soldier or sailor has died,” he writes, “and almost all of the witnesses have gone, but the war exerts a tenacious hold on the imagination. “ To
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Ironic, isn't it? The city moves to "protect public safety" at the Natatorium
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 ironic? The city is acting now on an emergency basis to mitigate a safety problem it caused and could easily have prevented. The city neglected the Natatorium for decades. It allowed this historic icon and civic treasure to deteriorate. And – in 2005 – it
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Natatorium swimming legend dies at 91
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 for national championship teams at Ohio State University. He went on to capture the world record for the 100-meter freestyle and won five Pan Am Games gold medals. At age 41, Nakama was the first person to swim the Molokai Channel. He was inducted into
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