![Kawaiahao Church (19-13)18” x 14” $500This painting shows Kawaiahao Church in the late 1800s, when it was around forty years old and most of Honolulu was still undeveloped. No Waikiki yet, the Ala Wai Canal had not been dredged. What we know now as Ward Avenue was a swamp used mostly by duck hunters. Honolulu was poised for development, but further development of Honolulu would not really begin until a modern sanitation system was installed in 1900 [see Kakaako Pumping Station (10-10) below]. The stone church we see today held its first service on July 12, 1842, with the Hawaiian royal family in attendance. Previous thatch church structures were destroyed by fires and earthquakes. Kawaiahao Church is built with coral blocks chiseled from local reefs, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds, that had to be carried to the construction site for assembly.On March 13, 2020 Kawaiahao Church suspended services in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Although services eventually resumed, attendance continues to be limited by mandated occupancy restrictions and reservations are required.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f482dd650911e6a774daceb/1600223735806-WIG9P0EJ0QW7KB54ZPKQ/19-13+Kawaiahao+Church.jpg)
Kawaiahao Church (19-13)
18” x 14”
$500
This painting shows Kawaiahao Church in the 1880s, when it was approximately forty years old and most of Honolulu was still undeveloped. No Waikiki yet, the Ala Wai Canal had not yet been dredged. What we know now as Ward Avenue was a swamp used mostly by duck hunters. Honolulu was poised for development, but further development of Honolulu would not really begin until a modern sanitation system was installed in 1900 [see Kakaako Pumping Station (10-10) below].
The stone church we see today held its first service on July 12, 1842, with the Hawaiian royal family in attendance. Previous thatch church structures were destroyed by fires and earthquakes. Kawaiahao Church is built with coral blocks chiseled from local reefs, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds, that had to be moved to the construction site for assembly.
On March 13, 2020 Kawaiahao Church suspended services in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Although services eventually resumed, attendance continued to be limited by mandated occupancy restrictions and reservations requirements.
Washington Place (21-16)
14” x 18” $500
John Dominis, a New York sea captain, often stopped in Honolulu on his voyages. He fell in love with Honolulu and decided to make Honolulu his permanent home. He hired Isaac Hart to design and build his home, which was completed in 1847, but John Dominis never saw it because he tragically died at sea on a voyage to China in 1846, leaving the house to his widow, Mary.
The house was named Washington Place in honor of President George Washington, and King Kamehameha III issued a royal decree commanding that the name Washington Place be retained in perpetuity. In 1862 Queen Liliokulani made Washington Place her residence. In 1922 it became the residence for the Governor of Hawaii, and it remained the Hawaii Governors mansion until 2008. Located on Beretania Street Washington Place is still an impressive house today. The tree is a Kapok tree. Their buttress roots enable them to grow to great heights even in shallow soil. Kapok trees are originally from tropical Central and South America, but are now found in many tropical locations.
Murphy’s Bar & Grill (14-02)
10” x 13”
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Sailors and Hawaiian Royalty quenched their thirsts at 2 Merchant Street more than 150 years ago. In 1987 Don Murphy purchased the Royal Hawaiian Saloon and renamed it Murphy’s Bar & Grill, and for more than 35 years Don and Marion Murphy have been hosts to locals and visitors at their authentic Irish pub right in the heart of downtown Honolulu. This painting is on display in the restaurant.
Falls of Clyde (12-05)
18” x 14”
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Falls of Clyde, built in 1878, is the last surviving four-masted iron-hulled sailing ship in the world. It was built by Russell and Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, and it is named for a group of waterfalls on the nearby River Clyde.
Falls of Clyde transported freight all over the world for many decades. After retiring from service Falls of Clyde was given to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for restoration. Falls of Clyde was docked at Honolulu Harbor, and Bishop Museum opened it to the public in 1968. The restoration was never completed, and the museum could not keep up with maintenance, so it was closed to the public in 2007. In 2008 ownership was transferred to a “nonprofit” group for restoration, but that restoration never occurred. In 2017 a plan was announced to move Falls of Clyde back to Scotland for a complete restoration and return to sea duty as a training ship. We’ll see.
This painting done in 2012 shows a deteriorated Falls of Clyde, and it has deteriorated more since then.
Kakaako Pumping Station (10-10)
18” x 14”
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The Kakaako Pumping Station was built in 1900 out of local lava blocks to serve as the power source for Honolulu‘s first modern sewage system. This building was essential to the development of Honolulu as a modern city.
The building was designed by Oliver Traphagen who also designed the Moana Hotel and the Palama Fire Station in Honolulu, and many other buildings worldwide. In 1955 the original steam powered system was replaced by diesel power, and pumping operations were moved to a larger nearby building. This building remained empty for decades until it was converted to a “Senior Community Resource Center” in 2014.
The Kakaako Pumping Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
1900 Chinatown Fire (23-11)
18” x 14”
$500
Bubonic Plague came to Honolulu on October 20, 1899 when the Nippon Maru delivered a shipment of rice. No one was allowed to disembark because the Nippon Maru was known to have passengers sick with Bubonic Plague. However, rats escaped. On December 9, 1899 You Chong, a bookkeeper in Chinatown, developed symptoms and died three days later. Honolulu authorities fought the plague first by disinfecting buildings. That didn’t work, so in early January 1900 authorities began burning infected buildings. Controlled burns occurred every day, and on January 20, 1900 the winds unexpectedly picked up and changed direction. By the end of the day most of Chinatown was charred ruins. Only four burned out buildings were left standing, and 4,000 people were homeless.
Honolulu Malting & Brewing Building (20-11)
12” x 16”
$380
The Honolulu Malting & Brewing Company Building, located on Queen Street and also known as the Royal Brewing Building, was designed by New York architect Hermann Steinmann in 1899, opened in 1900, and it produced its first Primo beer in 1901.
Puunene Sugar Mill, Maui (15-02)
20” x 16”
$640
In 1901, when the Puunene Sugar Mill opened on Maui, sugar dominated the economy on Maui and the other major Hawaiian islands. Extensive railroad networks were essential to the Hawaiian sugar industry. Trains brought workers to the sugar mills early in the morning; delivered harvested cane from the fields to the mill; delivered processed sugar from the mill to the shipping docks; and brought workers home at the end of a long day. By the middle of the 20th century trucks replaced trains. Sugar production declined in the second half of the 20th century, and in 2016 Alexander & Baldwin harvested sugar for the last time. They closed the Puunene Sugar Mill, the last surviving sugar mill in Hawaii, and ended the Hawaiian sugar era.
Trivia question: Where was Hawaii’s first sugar plantation located? Manoa Valley on Oahu.
First Chinese Church of Christ in Hawaii (24-03)
18” x 14”
$500
The First Chinese Church of Christ in Hawaii was originally chartered by King David Kalakaua in1879. The building you see here on South King Street was designed by architect Hart Wood and completed in 1929. This church was built with local lava blocks and then coated with stucco.
U.S. Immigration Building (99-01)
36” x 18” $1,300
This U.S. Immigration Office on Ala Moana Boulevard opened in 1934. The lead architect was C.W. Dickey, who also designed the Alexander & Baldwin Building, the Halekulani Hotel, and the Kamehameha Schools campus buildings. C.W. Dickey’s trademark architectural feature is the double-pitched “Dickey Roof” with its wide overhangs. This building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2014 Immigration Services moved to another location, and the U.S. Homeland Security Administration Services moved in. They closed the building to the public, installed protective gates, and the beautiful grounds have been neglected. This painting was done in 1999 when it was still a well-maintained and beautiful building that was open to the public.
Ching’s Punaluu General Store (12-09)
24” x 12”
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Ching’s Punaluu General Store opened in 1935, and it is still here. The next time you are driving around Oahu stop in for a visit. The beverages are refreshingly cold, the Ching family hospitality is warm, and the ocean view across the street is stunning.
The store features historical displays of Hawaii history including when the store was destroyed by a Tsunami in 1946 and rebuilt.
This painting is on display in the store.
Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower (12-02)
14” x 18”
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In 1968 the Rainbow Tower was added to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, and it features two 31-story ceramic tile murals on the makai and mauka sides of the building. At 286 feet tall and 26 feet wide they are the tallest tile murals in the world. About 16,000 tiles were used by artist Millard Sheets. Forty-six years later, in 2014, the murals required restoration. All 16,000 tiles were replaced with 31,000 smaller tiles. Additionally, the spot lights that illuminated the murals at night from the ground were replaced by 8,040 LED lights that were installed along the edges of the murals, and they now illuminate the murals evenly from top to bottom.
This painting, done in 2012, precedes the restoration.