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By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
New entrances and pathways are part of the upgrades
for Liliuokalani Gardens in Hilo.

Liliuokalani Gardens
looking better

The $2 million improvement
project in Hilo, pushed by Mayor
Yamashiro, nears completion

---

By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

HILO -- Completion is nearing for $2 million in improvements to Hilo's Liliuokalani Gardens, the outgrowth of Mayor Stephen Yamashiro's vision of a better place to take a Sunday stroll.

On walks with his wife, Della, Yamashiro passed a series of water features -- Waiolama Canal in Bayfront Park, Hilo Bay, Waihonu pond in Liliuokalani Gardens near Banyan Drive's hotels.

"Most cities would kill for the kind of features we have," he said.

But Yamashiro and his wife also had to dodge traffic where there were no walkways or tramp through muddy grass.

He developed a vision of unobstructed walkways from Hilo Harbor to the Wailuku River in downtown Hilo, similar to a concept outlined in a 1975 county plan but never implemented.

Yamashiro's former parks director, George Yoshida, remembers the day two years ago when Yamashiro walked key Cabinet members through Liliuokalani Park, declaring, "We have a jewel in our back yard."

Across Hilo Bay rose Mauna Kea. Around them lay a Japanese garden with stone lanterns, pagodas, small bridges and lion sculptures.

The origins of the park aren't clear. Kiyoshi Okubo, operator of the Hawaii Shima Japanese Immigrant Museum, said Queen Liliuokalani donated five acres from her personal lands in 1911.

An account from Lyman House Memorial Museum says park development started in 1907.

Paul Keliipio, whose family once lived on part of the park land, said Hawaiians expected a Hawaiian theme.

One fact seems firm: In 1914, Laura Kennedy, wife of Waiakea Sugar Mill manager Charles Kennedy, was impressed by Japanese gardens during a trip to Japan. Returning to Hilo, she donated money to give the park a Japanese theme.

The early development, including expansion to 18 acres, was plowed into mud by two tsunamis. The park was rebuilt, but some damage was never repaired, and Yamashiro's Cabinet saw decay.

An old stone wharf lay in rubble. A former dock area had no landscaping. A conduit to the sea from Waihonu Pond was crammed with trash. Wheelchair access was impossible. Dense trees kept sunlight out and wet areas muddy.

With $2 million in bond money, the county built sidewalks, surfaced a road, renovated restrooms and re-landscaped.

The passive nature of the park -- don't look for a baseball diamond here -- was retained. A rocky shoreline prevents swimming, but fishing remains common.

The only new Japanese elements added in the renovation were three new torii gates, and the park remains partially closed for another $500,000 in improvements on adjoining lands, said parks official Glenn Miyao.

Yamashiro leaves office in December, but hopes the new mayor will continue shoreline development. "At least we've got it going. Hopefully, there's enough momentum for people to see the functionality and the beauty," he said.