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When last we visited, the building had been empty since 1955 and awaiting a sugar daddy to spruce it up. Today, nothing's changed, except more windows are broken, and the grounds are a dumping site for construction materials.

Grand plans have come and gone. The Historic Hawaii Foundation was going to lease it for a nominal fee and operate a learning center, but then state planners -- the site is on ceded lands -- demanded "fair market" rents based on commercial, not educational, usage. Then the Hawaii Community Development Authority asked for proposals, figuring the "best use" of the property is one that generates lots of cash.

They struck a deal with South Carolina developer Weiser Cos., who spun off schemes such as theme restaurants. But Weiser -- who was supposed to start paying rent on Jan. 8 -- missed the state's deadline and the deal collapsed.

Back to square one. "The bottom line is that it's not easy to do that building," said HCDA director Jan Yokota. "Since it's a historic structure, it has to be restored and then revenue has to be generated from it. You can't tear it down and build on the site."

Even if another state agency were interested, they'd have to pay for everything and then generate revenue, and that's generally not how government services work.

And so it remains a crumbling monument to how little the state cares about its own history, even though the landmark building is seen by every single tourist coming to and from Waikiki.

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