Lanikai Monument actually on city property
By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer
For years it has made Windward visitors and residents scratch their heads and wonder, "What in the world is it?"
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Tourists think it's a great photo opportunity. Neighborhood kids find it a good place to play.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation recently learned that the Lanikai Monument at 'A'ala Point is on city-owned land and therefore falls under the department's care.
The Lanikai Monument, which marks the entrance of Lanikai at 'A'ala Point (though some people dispute where Lanikai begins), even stumped officials at the Department of Parks and Recreation in April when a resident asked who owned the 25-foot-high, aging hunk of cement.
The lighthouse-shaped monument needed repairs when cracked cement, a loose bronze plaque, rusted chain and unkempt grounds posed a risk to people, said Donald Secor, a seven-year resident of the exclusive enclave just south of Kailua.
"Since the city's properties change every year sometimes, we had to first establish if it even was on Park's property," said Wilfred Ho, Windward Districts Parks manager. "We had no idea at first, but according to the property tax maps, it was like, 'Surprise, we have a monument!'"
The Lanikai Monument sits on a tiny corner of Kailua Beach Park, making the monument the department's property and responsibility, Ho said.
Director of Parks and Recreation William Balfour went to the site recently, and within a week, weeding and masonry crews cleaned the area and repaired the superficial damage to the structure.
"We addressed the original concerns of the community," Ho said. "The issue of safety dealt with the parts that were going to crumble and the metal plaque that was coming loose. At least that is taken care of."
The rusted chain is also broken, and repair crews will return to the site to take the chain off once they receive confirmation from Balfour, who is on vacation until Wednesday.
Basically the monument informs people that they are entering Lanikai, and the department hopes the Lanikai Association wants to adopt it, said Ho.
The monument was erected in 1926 when Charles R. Frazier, Lanikai and Mid-Pacific Country Club's developer, wanted to make a sign for the new area, said Dr. Michael Okihiro, chairman of the committee that recently released the book "Mid-Pacific Country Club: At the Turn of the Century. 1936-2001."
"Some say the shape of the monument is very macho," Okihiro said with a laugh. "But, it looks sort of like a lighthouse to symbolize the nautical environment of Kailua and Lanikai."
