By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Romeo Apuya tears out unstable concrete on the Waikiki War
Memorial Natatorium steps, and Jeremiah Farin pulls out
concrete and reinforcing bars to be replaced.

Chipping away
the rust

Natatorium restoration
under way

Star-Bulletin staff

LIKE it or not, restoration work is in full swing at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. City contractor Healy Tibbits Builders is repairing the land portions of the 72-year-old facility: the facade, archway, bleachers and restrooms. Chuck Lowther, project manager for Healy Tibbits, said most of the work being done now is structural, with workers using jackhammers to chip away loose concrete on the bleachers. The condition of reinforcing steel bars also is being assessed.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Loreto Saludares makes repairs to the wall above the seating area.

Work on the main archway will begin in the next few weeks. Workers will make molds, or templates, of the ornate eagles and other objects that grace the facade before checking their structural integrity, Lowther said.

"We want to keep as much as possible, and the rest of it we'll pretty much have to build back," he said. The restoration project is slated to be done by late December or early January.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Crews working inside the natatorium.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Crews working outside the natatorium.