By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
The only way to see the Natatorium is through a
fence. The memorial has been closed since 1979.
A beach for you and me
at the NatatoriumSunday rally will demonstrate support
By Amy Arkoff
for turning memorial into kamaaina beachNormally only God can make a beach. In the crumbling structure of the Natatorium at Waikiki lies a magnificent opportunity: to take a concrete building and make a beach out of it. Not just any beach, not a beach for tourists, but a beach for you and me. Normally, I would not support demolition of an historic building. I was born and raised in Honolulu, and I've have seen too many historic buildings meet their end. Initially, I didn't oppose rebuilding the Natatorium. But after looking into it, I do.
Built originally in 1927 as a salt-water pool and memorial to World War I veterans, the Natatorium has been boarded up since 1979. Speaking as one who has swum at nearby beaches almost daily for a decade, I feel that we would long regret reopening the Natatorium.
I would much rather have a beach there for kamaaina, those beleaguered residents of Honolulu who work two jobs, live in small apartments, get stuck in traffic and see all of our favorite haunts overtaken by tourists and covered in concrete.
Objections to rebuilding the Natatorium are many. Mayor Harris and others have been shooting them down and saying that opponents of the project are misinformed. I don't think so.
Many credible people have come forward to warn of the risk of infection in a salt-water pool, most notably Dr. Gordon Edlin, professor of microbiology at the John Burns School of Medicine, and Dr. Bruce Anderson of the state Health Department.
Leo Daly, the project's architect, argues that improved circulation would take care of this, but this is unproven. Many people have told me that they don't swim in Waikiki right now because they get rashes and infections.
In the afternoons I sometimes see a slick of suntan lotion on the surface of the water at Kaimana or Queen's Surf. How much dirtier will the water be in an enclosed pool?
Tourists will be a problem. Anything of interest on this island is in danger of being overrun by them. Even in my neighborhood, Makiki, a constant procession of white limousines goes up Roundtop Drive like a train on a track. Incredibly, tourists now descend from vans to look at (and pick) the night-blooming cereus from the wall at Punahou School.
There seems to be no thought that we might not want to be overrun by tourists absolutely everywhere we go. I feel displaced in my own hometown.
A rebuilt Natatorium, with a gift shop and museum, would attract tourists who would descend in buses, vans, rental cars and on foot, taking whatever serenity that survives in that area.
Mayor Harris has mentioned having evening shows at the Natatorium. Beleaguered Waikiki residents would have to fight off one starry-eyed entrepreneur after another.
You could be charged to enter the Natatorium. A city representative said that the mayor hopes it won't be necessary to have an admission. That's not a promise.
The Natatorium would cost about $300,000 a year to run, compared to far less for a beach which would be healthier, more beautiful and open all the time.
The estimated construction cost of $11.5 million sounds too low. For example, take the nearby fountain: It cost $500,000 to repair, five times the estimated price tag. If the Natatorium restoration goes the same way as that fountain, it will cost $57.5 million!
It's time for the citizens of Oahu to stop feeding our tax dollars to the Construction God, and this is as good a time as any. It's overdue.
Of course, we must have a fitting memorial to World War I veterans. My own grandfather ran away from home and lied about his age to fight in World War I.
I suggest keeping the beautiful arch from the Natatorium, but bringing it forward onto the grassy area where it can have its own space, separate from the beach. It seems odd to have a pool or a beach as a memorial. Memorials should be solemn.
To the Natatorium, a building in pain, we should bid a fond and tearful goodbye. My heart aches for it, and for those who want to preserve it, but it should not be rebuilt.
Amy Arkoff was born and reared in Honolulu
and frequents Waikiki beach and Kapiolani Park on a daily basis.
