[ A WALKING TOUR ]
Basement makes
building isle rarityJames S. McCandless arrived in the islands in the late 1800s, took a look at the struggling sugar industry and declared that artesian wells would save their bacon.
Joined by brothers John and Link, the McCandless boys roamed the islands drilling wells.
They got to know the lay of the business landscape and soon invested in several small firms, and Link went into politics while James became a Shriner. When the "Committee of Safety" schemed to deprive Hawaii of its monarch, the McCandless boys were on board.
By 1906, they built their own office building. The architect was one H.L. Kerr, who started with a modest bluestone, two-story-structure, which in mid-construction became four stories, and later a fifth floor was plopped on top in a rather inappropriately different architectural style.
The design is Beaux Arts and rather drably commercial. It resembles many such office structures in downtowns across the United States. Unlike many Honolulu buildings, it includes a functioning basement. There's marble and tile in the entryway, concrete everywhere else. The office suites are home to dozens of small businesses and start-up companies, and at one time, also the home of a couple of engineering unions.
McCandless Building
Opened: 1906 Architect: H.L. Kerr Style: Beaux Arts Address: 925 Bethel St. National Register: No Hawaii Register: No
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BURL BURLINGAME \ BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Today, the McCandless Building features an additional story plopped right on top.
HAWAII STATE ARCHIVES
During the 1920s, it was easier to see where the two-story design had additional stories added. Note also the wide arcade overhang.
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Quicktime VR Panorama
Click on pictures to view panaromas
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin Travel section, rediscover the charms of old Hawaii through a tour created by the Honolulu Historic Trail Committee and Historic Hawai'i Foundation and supported by the city's Office of Economic Development. The yearlong project commemorates Honolulu's bicentennial.
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See Honolulu City Highlights
Various Honolulu historical organizations have clamored for years to have some sort of survey created of downtown Honolulu's historical sites. The mayor's Office of Economic Development stepped in last year to create order, and 50 locations were chosen as representative of Honolulu's history.
There is, of course, far more history in Honolulu's streets than indicated here, but these sites give the high points and can be visited on a walking tour lasting about three hours.
To commemorate Honolulu's bicentennial, the Star-Bulletin kicks off "Holoholo Honolulu" today, a year-long project to examine these historic properties. For the next 50 Sundays in the Travel section, stories and photographs will illuminate these sites.
But that's just the tip of the architectural iceberg. Viewers can step right into these locations via the magic of QuickTime Virtual Reality, a computer process that allows visitors from around the world to feel as if they're standing right there on the street.
WE'RE ALSO looking for old photographs of these sites to scan for public use. If you have anything, let us know:
Write to:
Holoholo
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
7-210 Waterfront Plaza
500 Ala Moana
Honolulu, HI 96813.E-mail:
bburlingame@starbulletin.com
