Old Honolulu: A Guide to Oahu's Historic Buildings

Honolulu: Historic Buildings Task Force. Very Good. 1969. First Edition. Softcover. [scuffing and rubbing to covers, spine a bit faded]. Trade PB (B&W photographs, map) A survey of then-surviving landmark buildings in and around Honolulu, issued at a time when the importance of preserving historic architecture was only beginning to gain a toehold in the wider public consciousness. (The National Trust for Historic Preservation -- whose "first principle" is quoted in the book's introduction -- was established in 1949, but didn't officially acquire its first property until 1957, and wasn't really kicked into high gear until the passage by Congress of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966.) Like many such putatively "outdated" guidebooks, the fascination and value in this one lies in the question it inevitably raises: how many of the buildings featured herein still survive, more than half a century later? If you live in Honolulu, that question can probably be answered by taking a Sunday-afternoon drive around the city; if not (since the introduction notes that "all the buildings located are visible from the street"), you could make it a Google Maps project. (Just for the heck of it, I picked a couple of buildings at random and did my own checkup, and am happy to report that both the Stangenwald Building (Honolulu's first skyscraper, at six stories) at 119 Merchant Street and the Julia Morgan-designed YWCA building at 1040 Richards Street are still standing -- as is the 1890-vintage Royal Saloon (now Murphy's Bar & Grill) at 14 Merchant Street.) .