Honolulu
Tropical modernism structures
This one’s for you, Tikiphiles!
In 1962 the designer of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Alfred Preis, was enlisted to create an eye-catching entry building for the flourishing Honolulu Zoo, resulting in an awesome Polynesian-inspired Hawaiian modern undulating A-Frame, with design elements not dissimilar to that of his USS Arizona Memorial.
This island-style structure served as a first impression to visitors of the Zoo for nearly 50 years but in 2011 it was shuttered and replaced with a new entry building.
The Preis structure was to have been demolished but fortunately it was designated historically significant and is still a fixture at the Zoo, albeit a seemingly neglected one for now. In time it’s to be restored and repurposed as a Visitors Center.
You can still enjoy it though if you stroll through Queen Kapi’olani Park.
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