[ A Walking Tour ]

---

Dr. Stangenwald’s
monument set
Honolulu’s height limit

---

Not many buildings can be said to have set an standard, but the six-story Stangenwald Building on Merchant Street defined Honolulu's skyline for more than 60 years. Not until the 19-story First National Bank of Hawaii Building was constructed in 1962 did Honolulu's downtown break the six-story mark, the only exceptions being the slender spires of Aloha Tower and Honolulu Hale.

Curiously, as the Stangenwald Building was being designed by architect C.W. Dickey, debate raged among the building's backers as to the final height. They finally settled on six stories, constructed on the site where Honolulu physician Hugo Stangenwald had his offices.

Stangenwald himself contributed $100 to have his name and the completion date carved on the upper story, but he died before the building opened for business in April, 1901. It was part of downtown construction boom in the wake of the terrible Chinatown fire that destroyed blocks of buildings.

The invention of the elevator made its towering height workable. It also featured a vent shaft for access to maintenance pipes, an underground parking lot for bicycles and the first shared law library in the islands, a feature that attracted lawyers as tenants for most of its life.

It's steel frame, concrete floorings and brick construction, plus built-in fire hoses and flameproof vaults on every floor, gave the Stangenwald the reputation of being the first "strictly fireproof" building in Honolulu.

Dickey's design incorporated office sizes suggested by prospective residents, and the exterior is a cheerful hodgepodge of Italian Renaissance and other influences. The six floors are balanced in the ratio of 2-3-1 from the ground up, with details like terra-cotta ornamentation, pressed-copper trim, a wrought-iron balustrade and arched windows.

For more than half a century the Stangenwald set an upper limit for Honolulu "skyscrapers," and the city expanded mauka and makai rather than skyward. No one really knows why.

---

Stangenwald Building

Architect:
Charles W. Dickey

Completed:
1901, renovated 1980

Address:
119 Merchant

National Register:
No

---

BACK TO TOP
|

STATE ARCHIVES Note that the Stangenwald Building is divided into decorative zones of 1, 3 and 2 stories. For half a century it dominated Honolulu's skyline.

---

BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM Today, the Stangenwald is overshadowed by Honolulu skyscrapers, but it is still considered a classy address for downtown businesses.

---

BACK TO TOP
|
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.

---

BACK TO TOP
|

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