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Sunday, September 9, 2001



art
STAR-BULLETIN / 1997
With a portrait of a regal Queen Liliuokalani looking
on at left, the Washington Place dining room was
ready for a governor's dinner in 1997.



Stately home
embodies island spirit

Washington Place is not only a hub
of politics, but also of family activities

GRACIOUS LIVING


Richard Borreca / rborrecca@starbulletin.com

It isn't just a house; it's a home. And it has been such for more than 150 years.

The distinctive, white colonnaded house on Beretania Street called Washington Place has had a family living in it since 1847, the longest that a house has been occupied as a residence in Hawaii.

The families residing within have been among Hawaii's most distinguished, including the last queen of the kingdom of Hawaii and every governor from Charles McCarthy to Ben Cayetano.

According to Jim Bartels, Washington Place originally had four bedrooms, but each family after the death of Queen Liliuokalani changed the arrangement, "sacrificing a sitting room for a bedroom."

Moving into Washington Place has always been a moment of great excitement. John and Jennifer Waihee were high school students sharing a bedroom in a two-bedroom Kalihi apartment when their father was elected governor.

"I finally got my own bedroom. ... It was very exciting knowing I would have my own room," said Jennifer Waihee, who is now an attorney with Goodsill Anderson Quinn and Stifel.

"It was pretty awesome," said John Waihee IV, who is now a trustee with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "It was the first house we lived in."

Gregg Quinn, who is one of seven children of former Gov. William Quinn, recalled that the house was always a lively center, if not for politics and government, for family activities.

"I remember that my sister had the Punahou sophomore class luau at Washington Place," he recalled.

Although there wasn't much communication from one first family to another, John Waihee recalled once finding a box of old chocolates in a closet left over from either the Ariyoshi or Burns administration.

The candy became an emergency birthday gift for a high school friend, he recalled.

"The next day, he asked, 'Hey, how old was that candy?'" Waihee said with a laugh.

Washington Place occupants all reported a profound Hawaiian feeling in the house.

Jean Ariyoshi, who as first lady with Gov. George Ariyoshi is credited with first starting the public tours in an organized fashion, recalled the large portrait of the queen in the house.

"The queen's presence was always felt there," she said. "My family was very happy there, and I think we were all inspired by the queen's spirit."

Waihee recalled that the room used by his grandmother, who was Hawaiian, was always the most peaceful room in the house.

"Her room was filled with Hawaiian artifacts, and there was always a good feeling there, even after she died," he said. "There was a very comforting spirit."

Vicky Cayetano, the current first lady of the house, and Bartels, the home's new director, are now working to both preserve the home and open it to more public inspection and interpretation.

Cayetano hopes that a new plan will be in place before the current administration ends in December 2002.

The plan is to continue to hold state functions and other public events at Washington Place.

A new governor's mansion would be built on the property through private funding, according to Bartels.



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