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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Restoration of City Hall Annex back on track

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

After a nine-month delay, the city is again moving forward with its plan to restore and renovate the historic City Hall Annex buildings, formerly known as the Mission Memorial buildings, starting with the auditorium.

The city is moving forward with its plan to restore the historic City Hall Annex buildings, starting with the auditorium.

Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

The $2.9 million project will include restoring the auditorium to its original condition and upgrading the electrical wiring to make it compatible with the computer age.

"We've got the historic drawings from the state Historic Preservation office and will be following pretty much the original design," said Ben Lee, the city managing director. "We are going to make it into an auditorium space with a public meeting room. It will also be used for training city staff on information technology."

Lee said after the project went out to bid early this year a losing contractor protested the winning selection, triggering an investigation before the bid could be awarded.

"It finally got sorted out," Lee said. "Work will start in February with a nine-month construction schedule."

The red brick auditorium and neighboring colonial-style building are across from the Mission Houses Museum on King Street. They were built in 1915 by the Hawai'i Evangelical Society to hold records from New England missionaries who came to Hawai'i in the 19th century.

A smaller building on the diamond head side was also built by the society in 1930 and used for Christian education. It is now the Municipal Reference and Records Center.

The city took over the property in the 1940s for a planned civic center that failed to materialize, and city departments moved in during the '50s.

In June, city Human Resources personnel formerly located in the auditorium were moved to the 10th floor of the municipal building.

The mission buildings are listed on both the national and state historic registers as part of the Honolulu Capitol District.

An undated photograph shows what the interior of the auditorium looked like — and what it will look like soon.

Mission Houses Museum

Architectural consultant Stanford Lee of Next Design said the current offices and wall partitions will be removed to restore the interior to its original use as an auditorium.

The hardwood flooring will be replaced to withstand the anticipated pedestrian traffic, and damaged exterior windows will be refitted with double-hung, custom-fabricated steel windows matching the profile and appearance of the existing windows.

The interior light chandeliers will be custom fabricated to match the original light fixtures that once hung in the auditorium, he said.

Various moldings and interior wood trims that were rotted and termite-damaged were recorded and documented and will be replaced.

Adjacent to the building, a landscaped area will be created for gatherings associated with functions inside the building.

Curbs, doorways and toilets will be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and air conditioning will be added but placed in the attic and basement areas so the system does not affect the overall appearance and character of the auditorium.

Ben Lee said the larger makai building will be looked at next and a Request for Proposals could go out next year.

Lee said nothing will be done with the larger building until office space can be found for the city workers still occupying it.

"Eventually, we'd like to move the human resources people into the municipal building as well so it is not all spread out," Lee said. "It would be nice to have them all in one building."

David Scott, director of the Historic Hawai'i Foundation, said he envisions the complex becoming a historical center with exhibits and research in the front building, films in the auditorium and archives in the library.

"It's an opportunity for an orientation center for the whole Capitol District," Scott said. "It would have a public function again. There is a possibility that it could all happen."

Lee said he also sees that potential for the historic buildings.

"We would like to, in the long term, take a look at the buildings," Lee said. "Those old red brick building are part of that Capitol District vintage."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.