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Mid-century modern buildings The 1950s and 60s saw rapid growth in Honolulu and many of the residential buildings that went up in and around Waikiki at this time are considered to be of the tropical modernist variety. If you wander the streets between the Ala Wai canal and Kalakaua Avenue you’ll come across several low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise mid-century modern Read more...
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The 1960s was a period of rapid growth for the hospitality industry in Honolulu. With expanded air travel came more visitors and larger hotels, many of which were designed with tropical modernism in mind. Although this list isn’t anywhere near being complete, these are some of our favorite larger hotels, architecturally speaking, anyway, with corresponding photos above. We’ll continue to Read more...
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Mid-century restaurants Although the vast majority of Honolulu’s mid-century Polynesian-themed restaurants, drive-in diners and Tiki bars have long since been torn down, there are a handful of establishments still thriving after all these years. We’ll be adding to this list, but for now here are half a dozen or so that we like and one we wish hadn’t been turned Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings If you’re a fan of circular buildings – and what self respecting modernist isn’t? – then you’ll want to check out the Varsity Building on University Avenue. Designed by Honolulu modernist architects Wimberly & Cook, this 5-story concrete Brutalist beauty was built to house the First National Bank when it opened in 1963 and is one of Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Located on the windward (eastern) side of Oahu near Kaneohe, the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, best known for its 1960s replica of the 11th Century Japanese Byodo-In Buddhist Temple, was founded by real estate magnate Paul Trousdale (Racquet Club Garden Villas, Trousdale Estates) in 1963 and is the final resting place for thousands of island Read more...
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Mid-century modern structures The USS Arizona Memorial marks the final resting place for many of the 1,177 sailors killed aboard the battleship USS Arizona during the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The memorial structure itself, designed by modernist architect Alfred Preis and dedicated in 1962, is an exquisite 184-foot long bridge of sorts that seemingly floats above the submerged hull of the ship, Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Founded in 1907 and relocated from Thomas Square to its current Manoa Valley location in 1912, The University of Hawaii campus at Manoa expanded dramatically during the post war boom years leaving behind a legacy of mid-century modern construction by noted architects like Vladimir Ossipoff, I.M. Pei and Alfred Preis, among others. To put it mildly, this campus is a spectacular Read more...
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Hawaiiana & mid-century collectibles This shop is filled with vintage, retro, rare and collectable Hawaiian ephemera such as maps, fruit labels, advertising art, hula dolls, pin-up girls, postcards, Tikis, ashtrays, Polynesian restaurant menus, jewelry, movie posters, books and Aloha wear… and that’s barely scratching the surface! If Hawaiiana is your thing we highly recommend the Tin Can Mailman, located in Read more...
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Hawaiiana & vintage mid-century Off the beaten track, Then & Now is more of a warehouse than a storefront but worth seeking out for vintage mid-century collectibles and Hawaiiana. Located in the town of Kaneohe on Oahu’s windward side, in the light blue warehouse complex directly across from Windward Auto Spa and next to Kikuya Japanese Restaurant and Willie’s Auto Read more...
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Residential tropical modernism An exceptionally well preserved example of mid-century Hawaiian tropical modernism, the Liljestrand House was designed and built in 1952 by noted Hawaiian modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff for Betty & Howard Liljestrand and sits on a terraced parcel of secluded forest reserve on Mount Tantalus overlooking Honolulu. Many of the interiors and furnishings were also designed by Ossipoff and have been Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings This 12 block area in Honolulu’s Old Town and Chinatown – bordered by N. Beretania, Bishop, Nimitz and the Nu’uanu river – boasts a lot of architecture from the end of the 19th century and is home to a vibrant arts scene including many galleries, restaurants, clubs and theaters. Among the area’s mostly 1 and 2-story commercial Read more...
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Hawaiiana & mid-century collectibles Drop by this shop on any given day and you’ll find owner Ken Furukawa talking story with his customers. An avid collector, Ken has filled this double storefront with an awesome assortment of vintage collectibles and Hawaiiana including Aloha shirts, carvings, lamps and surf culture goodies as well as other mid-century items like toys, glassware and Read more...
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Mid-century churches A good chunk of Honolulu’s modern infrastructure was built after the Second World War resulting in what seems to be more modernist churches per capita than most American cities. We singled out this big modernist beauty – as opposed to including it in our other [growing] church listings – because it’s so readily accessible to visitors staying in Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings The International [Island] Style is on display at the Shinshu Kyokai Mission Dormitory on S. Beretania Street in Honolulu’s old Pawa’a neighborhood. Completed in 1961, this Robert Katsuyoshi designed residential building – which houses students from all over the world – is comprised of an L-shaped rectilinear low rise with wood slat louvered window openings and an Read more...
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Retro diner & memorabilia Including a restaurant on our vintage shopping page may not be an obvious choice, but this popular 1950s-style diner in the middle of busy Waikiki also stocks and sells a lot of mid-century memorabilia. Jukebox music along with classic burgers, fries & shakes share space with vintage popular culture collectibles including rare and highly coveted original Marilyn Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Currently known as the Kaheka Professional Center, this modernist mid rise office building at the corner of S. King and Kaheka streets was designed by architect Ernie Hara in 1956 and was Honolulu’s very first curtain wall structure. Hara breaks up the glass and aluminum facade, though – typical of the International Style – by incorporating sleek, horizontal Read more...
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Mid-century buildings The Pali Highway, also known as Hawaii Route 61, connects communities like Kailua and Kaneohe from the windward side of Oahu to downtown Honolulu. It’s a quick 20-30 minute drive through the Nu’uanu Pali tunnels (built in the 1950s) in either direction. On the way you’ll see a handful of pretty nice modernist buildings in the lush Nuuanu Read more...
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Mid-century buildings/Vintage Eats Since 1964 the Pagoda Floating Restaurant has been a fixture in the old Pawa’a neighborhood of central Honolulu; a kitschy, mid-century, circular building surrounded by a man-made tropical pond filled with Japanese koi fish and a waterfall. It’s classic Hawaiiana. The Pagoda exudes that authentic, artificial island-style tropical oasis feel – which includes an adjoining hotel with Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Located at the busy intersection of South Beretania and Pikoi Streets is the unique Occidental Life Insurance Building designed by Lemmon, Freeth & Haines, circa 1951. It’s a beautifully constructed early 1950s low-rise office building made from natural stone, concrete, aluminum and angled glass. Not surprisingly, though, the real attraction is the 1967 addition of a cantilevered Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Part Theater, part Convention Center, part Arena; the Neal S. Blaisdell Center (named for the city’s former mayor, 1955-1969) spans an entire city block and was designed by the architectural firm of Merril, Simms & Roehrig, as well as Adrian Wilson & Associates who designed its Arena. Upon opening in 1964, the Honolulu International Center – as Read more...
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Mid-century churches A good chunk of Honolulu’s modern infrastructure was built during the 1950s and 60s resulting in more modernist churches per capita than most American cities. These places of worship vary greatly in design but have one thing in common; they’re all mid-century amazing! We’ve listed a bunch here (in no particular order) and elsewhere on the See Honolulu page. Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Representing the only Statewide system of libraries in the United States, the Hawaii State Public Library System has twenty-three branches on Oahu and fifty locations in total, with a handful of their modernist buildings still in use. We’ve listed a few of them and will continue to add more when we can …click on addresses below for Read more...
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Mid-century churches A good chunk of Honolulu’s modern infrastructure was built during the 1950s and 60s resulting in more modernist churches per capita than most American cities. These places of worship vary greatly in design but have one thing in common; they’re all mid-century amazing! We’ve listed a bunch here (in no particular order) and elsewhere on the See Honolulu Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Like the rest of America during the post-war boom years, Honolulu banks and their building headquarters were all about inspiring consumer confidence and optimism. Bold designs capturing the State’s growing presence in the world while looking towards the future. And like most mid-century modern construction in Honolulu, there are lots of banks to choose from so we’ve Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Located northeast of downtown Honolulu, the residential area of Makiki (not to be confused with Makiki Heights) surrounding the Makiki District Park was mostly built up during the late 1950s through the 1970s and is a treasure trove of mid-century tropical modernist low-rise, mid-rise and even high-rise residential buildings by some of Honolulu’s foremost architects. Modernists could easily Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings The 1400 block of Liliha Street – between N. Vineyard Blvd. and Kiapu Place – is a delight of mixed-use and smaller low rise commercial buildings, some dating back to the 1950s. Most have seen better days but the area is definitely worth a look, especially for the modernist library. Listed from SW to NE … click Read more...
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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop The Tiki Bar and Restaurant at La Mariana Sailing Club has been serving up the best Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails on the island since 1957 and is one the last vestiges of Honolulu’s glory days when Polynesian Pop themed bars & restaurants seemed to be everywhere. Hawaiiana abounds at this tropical watering hole where many of the Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings It’s been called the Miracle Mile of the Pacific, a reference to the mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles where a plethora of deco, streamline moderne and mid-century modern architecture styles have come together over the years. On Honolulu’s tree lined Kapi’olani Boulevard – between Kalakaua and King Streets – there are no less than a dozen modernist structures Read more...
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Vintage mid-century & Hawaiiana On Oahu’s windward side there’s a handful of nice shops that specialize in mid-century collectibles and Hawaiiana. Kauilua Pickers (in Kailua) offers up nearly thirty different dealers under one compact roof, each displaying their vintage wares which include Tikis, Polynesian restaurant ephemera, homeware items and highly sought after 1940s and 1950s Fire King dishware. Located in the parking lot Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Designed by noted modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff for computer giant IBM in the early 1960s, this iconic building exudes tropical modernism primarily because of its unique precast concrete honeycomb facade; a brise soleil designed to keep the structure cool as well as to look like the automated punch cards synonymous with the computer industry at the time. The building Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage curiosities Vintage, mid-century, industrial and … taxidermy? If these words are in your wheelhouse then Hound & Quail is definitely worth checking out. Curating a unique collection of diverse vintage items from Hawaii, the mainland and around the world, you can expect the unexpected here. Mid-century sofas? Sure. Vintage filing cabinet? Yep. Anatomical skeleton model? Absolutely! They Read more...
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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 Read more...
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Hawaiiana & mid-century collectibles The Hawaii All-Collectors One Day Show and Wiki Wiki One Day Vintage Shows take place throughout the year at the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall and if you’re lucky enough to be in Honolulu when they’re happening we highly recommend checking them out. For strictly vintage, the Wiki Wiki shows in March, October and November are where Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Oahu’s modernist architecture was not limited to commercial and residential developments in the 1950s and 60s, in fact, some of the island’s most inspired mid-century designs could be – and fortunately still can be – found in its memorial parks. Like the Valley of the Temples, also situated on Oahu’s windward (eastern) side, the modernist structures at the Read more...
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Vintage fashion and more The thrift store to end all thrift stores, the majority of Goodwill Hawaii’s vintage merchandise – which includes retro furniture, housewares and some really great vintage Aloha wear – comes from donations. They are also largely a volunteer-run operation which enables them to put their proceeds straight back into the community which assists those in need Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Near the end of Kalakaua Avenue, past Waikiki towards the base of Diamond Head, sits a strip of mid-century buildings on the Makai side (ocean side) of Kapiolani Park. Plantation style and contemporary houses also fill the neighborhood further along, but for our purposes it’s the mid-rise and high-rise buildings that give the “Gold Coast” its tropical modernist Read more...
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Mid-century brutalist buildings/plaza Comprised of three stunning Brutalist buildings and an inspired outdoor space, the Financial Plaza of the Pacific was originally conceived by Victor Gruen Associates in the mid 1960s as part of a four block revitalization project to make downtown Honolulu more pedestrian friendly. Only one block was fully realized – opened in 1968 – and consists of the 6-story Read more...
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Mid-century modern furniture Finding classic mid-century furniture on the Hawaiian islands is harder than you’d think. Fortunately there’s one-stop shopping at the Design Within Reach store, a mainland staple, located at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Modernists looking for furniture and accessories for their home and office can find brand new editions of classic pieces from Herman Miller, Knoll and Artemide Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings As demand for office space increased in Honolulu during the booming 1950s, low-rise buildings gave way to mid-rise construction before the high-rise boom of the 1960s. The Continental building is a marvelous example of modernism at this time, and executed to perfection. Designed by Edwin Bauer and built in 1955, this 6-story office mid-rise exudes a tropical modernist Read more...
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Modernist comfort stations Located at dozens of beaches and parks throughout Oahu, the majority of Hawaii’s “comfort stations” – aka restrooms, changing rooms, toilets etc. – were built during the post war boom years of the 1950s & 60s which gave local architects an opportunity to incorporate the period’s predominantly modernist esthetic into what would otherwise be overlooked utilitarian structures. Read more...