Did you see it? The Natatorium made its first guest-starring appearance in Monday night’s episode of the new Hawaii Five-0. If you missed it, you can catch the episode, titled “Powa Maka Moana,” on streaming video on the Hawaii Five-0 web site. A little over 11 minutes in, there’s a beautiful aerial shot from the ocean side, followed immediately by an establishing shot of the Natatorium’s gateway arch. That places Five-0 detectives Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan) in Kapiolani Park, where they’re looking for informant Kamekona (Taylor Wiley) who may have information to help them
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Archives for News coverage
Just before Veterans Day? Really?
Published online today — the day before Veterans Day, of all days! — is MidWeek columnist Bob Jones’ call for demolition of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial. Naturally, we object — not only to the sentiment, but also to the column’s repetition of baseless assertions often heard from the small, but vocal, anti-Natatorium crowd. And we object, especially, to the choice of the eve of a holiday honoring veterans to call for the destruction of a state memorial to Hawai’i veterans and war dead. Peter Apo, president of the Friends of the Natatorium and newly elected trustee of the Office
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HPR reports on Memorial Day service at the Natatorium
Hawai’i Public Radio’s Adrienne LaFrance was on hand for Sunday’s 22nd annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Natatorium and filed a report that aired Monday and Tuesday. The story does a fine job of both capturing the spirit of the event and updating listeners on the natatorium issue. One excerpt from the story seems particularly worth thinking about. It quotes our keynote speaker at Sunday’s ceremony, Lieutenant General Benjamin Mixon, commanding general of the U.S. Army, Pacific. LaFrance observes that “veterans from World War I, the soldiers the memorial was built to honor, are no longer alive to see it.”
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City Contracts Demolition EIS as Memorial Day Weekend Begins
Honolulu Weekly is out with an update on the Natatorium fight. The bottom line: As we head into Memorial Day weekend, the city is inching ahead with efforts to (unbelievably) demolish Hawai’i’s official memorial to World War I soldiers and sailors. Veterans, preservationists, environmentalists and — importantly — the law and regulations stand in the way of those efforts. As you’ll read in the Weekly’s story, the Friends of the Natatorium are still fighting. We’re confident of victory, but the fight may be a long and hard one. What can you do? You can contribute to the cause. You can
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Hokule'a Crewman, Beachboy and Waterman: Clifford Ah Mow is Remembered at the Natatorium
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 far and wide across the open Pacific long before the arrival of Europeans. It was a feat intended not only to support an important historical theory about the origins of the Polynesian people, but also to focus pride and revitalize Hawaiian culture. After remembrances at
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Perspective from Honolulu Weekly: The Natatorium at dawn
The Honolulu Weekly has posted a gallery of photos of the Natatorium at dawn, taken by photographer Laura Chartier. She writes of another early morning visitor to the site who saw her shooting her images, approached and began telling her about his memories of “the days of Duke and when his family used to visit.” “I could tell,” Laura writes, “the Natatorium was a special place for him, as it was for so many people.” And as it could — and should, and can — be again. The Natatorium at dawn, photo by Laura Chartier, copyright 2009 Honolulu Weekly
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Images, News coverage, and Uncategorized.
Natatorium op-ed: A call for moral and fiscal reason
A hugely respected national voice — Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation — has added that voice to the debate over our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. His terrific op-ed in today’s Honolulu Advertiser sums it up this way: “Demolishing this historic treasure would be both morally unconscionable and fiscally irresponsible. … While there are plenty of other beaches, there is only one natatorium. The mayor should invest in Hawai’i’s heritage instead of flattening it.” Thank you, Dick Moe!
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Last Living WWI Vet Appeals to Congress
The last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, now 108, appeared before a congressional committee this week calling for a memorial on the National Mall to veterans of the Great War. Find news coverage of Frank Buckles’ Capitol Hill appearance here, here and here. Well done, soldier! (VA photo by Robert Turtil)
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News coverage, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Don't let them tell you the Natatorium fight is over
Hawai’i Magazine’s reporter seems to believe that demolition of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is a done deal, reporting yesterday that the battle has “seemingly reached an end.” As we reported to you over the weekend, nothing could be further from the truth. The fight has simply shifted to other arenas, arenas the city does not control. For more on that, see the letter to the editor from Peter Apo, president of the Friends of the Natatorium, in today’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin. It’s the third letter down here. As Peter points out, a legal expert from the National Trust for Historic
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The fight for the Natatorium: On to the next round
Mayor Hannemann has now endorsed his own task force’s recommendation that the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium be razed. This is hardly news. It was no surprise in September that an advisory panel appointed by the mayor would provide the advice he wanted to hear. It is no surprise now that he has adopted a recommendation that tracked so closely with his own often-expressed preference. Hannemann’s so-called “partial preservation” plan would destroy the entire War Memorial — pool, bathrooms, bleachers, volleyball courts and parking lot — thereby wasting more than $4 million in completed, much-used improvements and restorative work. Hannemann’s plan
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News coverage, Statement, and Uncategorized.
