By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Building near Kaiulani Elementary School.
The only mismatched team of fire horses, black and gray, in Hawaiian fire history were named Jack and Jill, and they were stationed at Fire Engine House #4 in Palama. For years after they retired and were sold to a vegetable dealer in Chinatown, whenever fire sirens would wail, the horses would bolt for the action. History a hot topic
This sort of detail is part of the history of the fire house, which still rises over King Street. Except it's no longer a fire house; it now houses the University of Hawaii Community Colleges Employment Training Center. Acting director Angela Chaille-Meixell is such a fan of the building's history that she has a fire helmet hanging on her wall and historic photos and blueprints as part of the building's decor.
"It's really nice, except that it's hot!" said secretary Carolyn Antonio. Chaille-Meixell said that air-conditioning is in the building's future, but that it must be carefully installed so as not to damage the historic structure. It includes a "loggia" or arcaded lanai overlooking King, and a 75-foot hose-drying tower rising dizzyingly in the middle. Unfortunately, said Chaille-Meixell, the old fireman's poles are long gone.
Designed by noted Honolulu architect O.G. Traphagen in late 1901, it's the oldest public structure in Honolulu from the Territorial government period and cost $18,945 to build.
When the '60s dawned, the building was outmoded as a fire station, and offered to the city. The city declined, and the building became the property of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Various state offices have leased it from DLNR, the most recent being the ETC.
And if you want to know more, there's a history of the building at ETC's web site: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~etcinfo/history.htm.
Burl Burlingame, Star-Bulletin
