Bill Text: HI HCR98 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Natatorium; preservation

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-18 - (H) Referred to WLO, EBM, referral sheet 30 [HCR98 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HCR98-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	98
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

strongly urging the department of land and natural resources and the city of honolulu to honor act 15 of the 1921 territorial legislature by preserving the waikiki war memorial natatorium in its original location on the waikiki shore.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Twenty-Fifth Legislature finds that in upholding the legislation passed by our forefathers, this body perpetuates the integrity of the Hawaii State Legislature and further ensures that the laws passed today are protected and upheld by those elected to precede this Legislature; and

 

WHEREAS, in 1921, the Territorial Legislature of Hawaii passed Act 15 which approved the construction of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, a “Living Memorial” to honor the 102 servicemen from Hawaii who were killed during World War I; and

 

WHEREAS, completed in 1927, the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium located in close proximity to Diamond Head, across from Kapiolani Park, and situated between San Souci Beach and the Waikiki Aquarium; and

 

     WHEREAS, designed by famed architect Louis P. Hobart, the façade features a Beaux-Arts style ornamental arched entryway featuring four stone eagles measuring over twenty feet tall; and

 

WHEREAS, the actual Memorial is a 100 by 40-meter tide fed saltwater pool where Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weismuller trained for the 1928 Olympics and has also been host to world-renowned national and international swim competitions, featuring figures such as Duke Kahanamoku, Bill Smith, Ford Konno, coach Soichi Sakamoto and more; and

 

WHEREAS, although the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium has deteriorated since its initial construction, in 2001, over four million dollars of repairs were completed on the site including a façade restoration and the renovation of the bleachers and public restrooms; and

 

WHEREAS, the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is listed on both the National and Hawaii Registers of Historic Places, is not only an architectural anchor for the Waikiki District, but the repository of Hawaii's swimming, ocean sports and Olympic history; and

 

WHEREAS, in September 2009 The Waikiki Natatorium Task Force announced that by a 9-3 vote its recommendation to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu was that the Natatorium be demolished; and

 

WHEREAS, in November 2009 City and County of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced that he had accepted The Waikiki Natatorium Task Force's recommendation to demolish the Natatorium; and

 

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of this State to preserve Hawaii's uniqueness and cultural identity for the benefit of all its residents as well as its visitors; and

 

WHEREAS, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has proven that Cultural Heritage Tourists are overall more affluent, stay longer and spend more while contributing to global understanding through cultural exchange and commerce; and

 

WHEREAS, cultural and heritage visitors spend, on average, $623 per trip compared to $457 for all U.S. travelers, excluding the cost of transportation; and

 

WHEREAS, heritage tourism and more broadly, historic preservation and the efforts of the Heritage Caucus not only benefits the State socially but economically as well; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the City and County of Honolulu honor Act 15 of the 1921 Territorial Legislature by preserving the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium in its original location on the Waikiki shore; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and the Honolulu City Council.

 

 

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Natatorium; preservation