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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
1859 clock proves
difficult to repairQuestion: There is a clock on the top of the Judiciary Building, behind the King Kamehameha statue on King Street. The clock has been broken for a long time, the time stopped at 3:20. I reported this to the Judiciary, but nothing has been done. It is a shame to see this fine piece of machinery disabled. You would think the state could surely come up with some money to repair it. Neglecting the repair gives the public the impression that government doesn't care about its historic buildings, especially this one, which has such fine architectural features. Why are repairs being neglected?
Answer: The clock has been broken for the past year, acknowledged state Judiciary officials, but they say it is not being neglected.
The problem is that the clock is 145 years old and in a building -- officially known as Aliiolani Hale, or "House of Heavenly Kings" -- that's designated a historic structure.
Because of the clock's historic significance and because it still has its original parts, the Judiciary "is proceeding cautiously in pinpointing the cause of the problem and locating the best qualified vendor to repair it," said spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa.
Several vendors have given price quotes for services ranging from basic cleaning to a complete overhaul. But local vendors don't have much experience with historic clock towers, so it's difficult to determine exactly what needs to be done, Kitagawa said.
"Unfortunately, the clocksmith who had repaired the Aliiolani Hale clock tower, as well as others on the U.S. mainland and in foreign countries, passed away a couple of years ago," she said.
And there are no other experts readily available, she said.
The clock was manufactured by E. Howard Clock Co., which discontinued producing this type of clock tower in 1903, Kitagawa said. Replacement parts are no longer made and new parts that may be needed cannot be made locally.
When asked how much it would cost to repair the clock, Kitagawa said the bidding process is continuing so no figures are being released.
There's also no timetable as to when the clock may once again be running, other than "as soon as" the problem is identified and a qualified clocksmith is found.
Aliiolani Hale was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It originally was designed as a royal residence for the Hawaiian monarchy, but never used as such. Instead, it has housed the Hawaii Supreme Court since it was built in 1874.
Of historic note, politician and businessman Sanford Dole stood on the steps of the building on Jan. 17, 1893, to announce the end of the monarchy and the establishment of a provisional government. He served as president of the provisional government, then as the first governor of the Territory of Hawaii from 1900 to 1903.
Auwe
To the driver of a Honda Acura, who was racing and weaving down the H-1 Freeway, eastbound at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, near the Punahou Street cut-off. With all the recent accidents, it's amazing he doesn't have any more common sense. -- No Name
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