• ADDENDA • Article and speeches by Robert R. Midkiff: "The Renaissance of Our Downtown." The Honolulu Advertiser, November 12, 1980: B-1. • "Preserving Historic Lahaina." Speech to the Social Science Association, Honolulu, June 6, 1983 . "Bringing the Ownership of Bishop Trust Back to Hawaii-A Mid-Course Correction in planning." Speech to the Hawaii Corporate Planners Association, Honolulu, n.d. "The Good Beginnings Alliance." Speech to the Social Science Association, Honolulu, April 7, • 1997 . • • • • • • • A-1 • • • • • • • • • • • The Honolulu Advertiser November 12, 1980 B-1 The renaissance• of our downtown slon,, but instead the committee fly lluiM'tl II. Miolkilf three problems : the ecunomit'8 ot downtown. lhe tlttrktng tne5s, and would make the selertlon directly. ~,,.. fi.l ''' l 'l•r -'•hrrti••·r the need ror an overall ma!lill'r plan. Any arrhlt~ct anywher~ In the world l'lannf'r Uon Wolhrluk 1mt togeth­ would bo ellglblo. providing ho olll•d n my M uinland lra,·els I have hlnuelf with a lural team of archl­ noticrd latPiy how fashionable er a " plen fur l'lannhtR." We hired O an lntrrnational t'onsultant flrm to terh and engineers fomUiar with if hu!~ t)t>rome for Americans to com­ plain about thl:'ir seeming inability to study lrofflc an•l pnrklnR. which re· our clhnate, building and zoning re­ •ullrd lhrco new city porklng go­ qulrtments. 01ake positive chtm~t"s in their lives, In Allo~elher. 39 dl•llngulshed archl· Ult'ir ncl~hburhoods, their communi· rages. We were geltlng under way. lectural groups showe1t Interest and 1it·~ . hen we hired Mainland real es­ 28 followed through with presenta­ .. Thl• country lsn"l whol II u•NI lo tate cnn~ultant Jarne" Uown~ to b<• ." " ··Yuu cnn"l buck Clly ltoll ." " T tions. t'Valuatt" flonolulu ' s ('("000111it' fU· John Carl Warnecke, with the "You ran·t win. Why bnthcr?" lure. In 1959 Uowns KPVe us a simple local Dell, Lemmon & l.o team. I think these st'nlhncnts are only a but cfrectlve presC'rlpUon: 1 pa!\~lntc maloi~e. a symptont of our First, we would hove to anchor the rurrent dUUrult\cs on the inlernn­ ~h ::'tf\(~:,,!~1 ~r: ~~~:;:,a:,~ec~~~~t;~'a.;: tt:overnrnent deri!'liun-makinJC renter the U.S . Emh&I\AY In DanRknk. That tiun~tl !tC'f'hC, ur t~rhaps uf a sorlt>ly by lnctlinK thr. new stuh:o Capltnl in huildlnte, thrU!ItlflJ: UIJWarcls from a rt·~ruuJ•lntc itArlf nn tht• rve uf a na· rcntul llunufulu, thuf. rn~uring that mlrrot·t•tl t•otll nf still water, seemed tlun••l pre~lclt•ntlul t"let'ltun. all i'latc, dly and h.•dt•ral ht•a•lc&uor­ appropriHie for tlowoll. Thr truth, uf ruunl'. ~~that Amf'rl· tcts bulldinMt were a part ot down­ The major l'0111pctllor was the rans whu care do ha\'C ~ower tu tnt · town. prnve.• lht.•h lh·es. their t'nvlrunmt•nt locol tram of t::rnr.~t llara, Keunl•lh Stt•ond. w~ would have lu 1nchor Uruwn , Tetl VIerra ond neorge ntut IIH'lr h,¥~· fi!J t1nd dli,•s . Uut this lht• hu~inc~~ ~ tl('t.' i~lun ('t•nlcr ur the lluoghtaillng . In tht• t•nd Wnrn,•t·ke dtan..:e hu• In l'UIIH! by chuh:e and M)th !Iiiah• tlu\\•ttlown by buihllu~ a by 1•lan. and n... u. t.emnwn & I.Al were select­ sort or "Ruc-kt'Crlter Cent~r" to rd l.ly a narrnw maq:~ln . l>owntuwn llonotulu 15 1 prlmt serve as a hu1lt1f'SS magnf't and The recently restored Jolanll-alaco : Thounnds ol volunteer hours and $1 mUIIon from the slate. exAmple or how p('ople who cared c:atal)·st. The ft... inancla) l'laza or the eanwhile, Srolly Koga and his d~rply - and at the riKht time - Pacific would be thl!\ anchor. M suhcommlttee were visltlng have changed the fat·e of an OC'~an­ Third. we would h•ve to revUaliu ~lght or the newe!lit state C'apitols on Out when Hill Quinn lost th~ 1902 mcetlnf!! weekly lo work on each splt'e ror both "own-office" and sidr ntl.'trupolis trorn po~t-World War the retail business or downtown the Mainland, shufylng spa('e needs election, I held my breath. What spec:ifiC' problem or the handcrafted rental space In the proposed devel­ II dec•y nnd stagnutiun to a plare of llunolulu hy enllt·lng tnurl!llts away and tht! runcllonal uus. We were would the new guvr.rnor cfrddl•1 reslorRtlon rtror1 which so far has opme-nt . rh;nm and beauty cltrd admiringly from Walklkl Into the central city. belnf( thorou,::h . I round out In J unuary 196:1. at the bt·en runded by the !'ihte with over Wt' looked at an archltet·tural by the publt!iihcn of Suruc!l M aga­ This would require restorAtion of our At rtrst Warnecke wanted to ex­ present•tlun or thl• ('fHnpleted CApi­ Sl million. St'ht•nH! pr<'parfif hy orchitttrt ).("u lhle In ··nawoll. a Guide lo All tho gn•at hi5toriral ami c-ultural e~seh , tend the Civic Ct'ntrr rrorn llichards tol design plaus fur (;ov. John /\ . Thl!'i again undernores the value Wou. Ills 1nitlal plan ~ ('flllf'rl tor ar­ l<latlds"" · suC"h as lolanl l'alac.-, the Mis!lllon Slrtt t to 1'hon11s Square. Thls caus­ Uurns . I sot. very ~mall , in th...- back ami power or a commllteed rUit.rnry cades and ruundrd winduws hnrmn· '"llonolulu II •n enllclng mIX or llouses Mu!l.f'UIII ant..l Chlnoto>A"n . ed an uproor, and we hAd to settle or the room while llenHlf'rRt Srolty rlediratrd to the Jlte!lienhtion •nd rn­ nlzlng with thr acljacenl old Uavl,·s ye ~ tcnby anct today, of lhe Or\ent ror an allt~malt' piAn - a Civic Cen- Kuga oHil'latrcf. Jat·k Warnet'ke hnnrt•rnrnt or rommunlty values. building, somewhnl like the l>of:e·s anct Americ-a . buildin~s or lla­ Palarc In Venire. chtevln« tht'St' three goAls be - (~r corrit.lot star1ing from the tup o( made An ehlcJuen~ 11resentation. A The gllstrning new palace Is devei­ \\' ail's ml~siunarlcs and nmnarchs A came my C"onsuming interest runc-hbowl and Oowlng tu Ute sea, hush came over the t\ltlltt whilt' the llis second plan left the entr-an,·e Ami Oriental hnmtttrants stand he­ Otlinte Into an important tduraliun11l to the Amerlran Savintts & l.oan lor the next 10 yrars. bound~d by lti<'hards and South new governor quietly con!iiidrrt•,t. Ar­ aUractlun. now drawing hundreds Of ~lcle snphhtil'ated new hlgh -rlsr In 1959 lh<' l..e,::islature Bl•vrupriat- stretots . At Wf' rvaluntect tralllc. ter somr long , conternlll::.tiv~ mo­ bulldlnte 8 fef't ahuve thr Fort Sln·ct lu<'ol nncl out - uf - !Stnt~ visitors t.lully . tu>Arrs . mulls. t•orks, t•lulaA, sculp­ ('tl $1UIJ ,OUCJ tn tlrsh:n A IH..'W Cnpllot, ,,ctle!\trhm acc-ess and the like, land ments, <:uv . 1\ul'ns' t· rn~J:)' . l.im·ul­ slcl('wallt . Only a numlH•r of pt·rsunol The Mission llou~es Museum, which ture. stores, an•l restauranls . for whkh tt"Vr.r·ul sites were bdntc values In the Civic C~ntcr area nc!lique lace cracked Into a broad ralls to Antf'rican Savln~ts' n11tlon3l "lso undtorwcnt conq•letr r~stora ­ Suint:' of the n~w strurtures and most pr e ~idt"nt in Salt l.akt• City kept tht' propo!\ed. A lnt of lnHghttna was al· bl'gan tu 1oum as It became pppar- smile. llon, is l'nother vital historir aUrae­ of the new pt"destrian Spi<'C"S Iff' rom1•an)' in thl.' proje rt . Fortun ... tcly. tract)• untler WR)'. tnt that here. Indeed, would be the ·· tliko it.'" he said ... What llowall lion helping to carry out that early handsome; sume ohl buildings that My undt', Atlwrtun ltil'hards, pro- sUe fur the n('W Capitol. ne('ds Is a Rreat ~tnte Cn1,ltnl. And a this presidf"nt hRd furml'rly liv('tl in presc:ris,tlnn of Jim I> owns : ·· 8rln1 ('ontrtlmte to llonotnlu's hl!iitnriC' cun­ moted the wah•rlront at Fort Arm - Thl'n a locnl physician announced great football team!" Kahala near my hume and had tc'ven the touri~ls downtown!" tlnuit)' are belnl savt'd and en­ stronte and proposed a largr rountaln he was going to hulld a hlgh-rb.e me rldt•s to my duwnlown offict• hl holln•d ." of wate r ca!u•actlng from the roor of building looking smack down on the ot long efterward thtt state There have bt ~ en hits and rnlsses those slntJII('r days when we \\"f'rc a Oowntown llonolulu was not the Copltol a~ D landmark ror visl- Capitol (rum his lot on the corner or N moved lolimi Uarrnrks, t'orot1 in this program . The spark to ener­ one-t'ar ramily and I hil('hhllted to elways the envy of our Mainland tors stf'aming lntu llonululu llar~Jr . Hotel and Punchbowl streets. Scotty block by coral block, rrorn Us origi­ gize redevelopme nt or Chinatown work. nl'ighbors. Arter World War II, the Harold Castle orfered to don·atr. the Koga beseeched the rlty ami rounty nAl site to make way ror the mokai was tn ht! the ffiR!'islve new Cultural For the cunrfomln,um projN·t to dty atrophied atMI slumped tutu the prc&ent lot•a lion nf llawail Loa Col- to hold up the building permit .