The H. Alexander Walker Residence or Walker Estate is a historic home located in the upper Nuuanu Valley of

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

History

The house was built in 1903 by George Rodiek of Hackfield and Company, a naturalised German immigrant. Originally the estate comprised a two-story home with a series of

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s featuring ferns, rocks and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s, sometimes called the oldest formal

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desi ...

in Honolulu. Rodiek served as German consul as well as president of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association. In 1917, he was accused of involvement in the

Hindu German Conspiracy Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

to foment revolution in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Though subsequently given a presidential pardon, he sold the house to Alan Wilcox in 1918 and moved with his family to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, never to return. In the 1930s the house was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. H. Alexander Walker. Mr. Walker was president of American Factors, the successor firm to Hackfeld and Company, and Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association. Mr. Walker, whose father J.S. Walker was a member of King Kalakaua's cabinet, dubbed the gracious estate "Mamalu", meaning "Shady Lawns." The Walkers turned the estate into world-famous orchid gardens. During World War II, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz enjoyed many dinners with his friends the Walkers and playing horseshoes at the residence. The irony was that the Walkers' cook, a Japanese National named Hara, could have poisoned the entire Pacific Fleet high command during hundreds of meals. Nimitz always congratulated him for his fine meals. What a paradox it was, but Hara was totally loyal to the Walkers and an honorable man. On April 24, 1973, at the request of Una Walker, H. Alexander Walker's widow, the house was added as site 73000665 to the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu __NOTOC__ This is a list of properties and districts on the Hawaiian island of Oahu that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Oahu is the only major island in Honolulu County. The location of the city of Honolulu, Oahu is the m ...

and listed as a "valuable historic property" by Hawaii Historic Places. Una Walker maintained the estate by making the grounds available for weddings and visitors and as a movie and television set. It appeared in many Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum PI shows. Una's grandson, former Hawaii Attorney General Michael A. Lilly and his wife Cindy Walter were the last members of the Walker family to live on the estate. In 1989, two years after Una's death, the house and its grounds were sold by the Walker heirs to Masao Nangaku of Minami Group (USA) Inc. for $8.5 million. His intention was to restore the original house to be used as a corporate retreat. He renovated the house and received a Preservation Honor Award from the Historic Hawaii Foundation, as well as a Grand Award in the Building Industry of America's Renaissance competition. After Nangaku experienced financial problems, Richard Fried and partners took the property over and, in 1998, asked for planning permission to build a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

to facilitate weddings on the site. When this was refused, the estate was sold to Holy-eye. Master Sun-Don Lee is the founder of Holly Eye, LLC. In 1999, he has renamed the property to Forshang Garden and dedicated this place to his beloved teacher Master YuanDao Bodhisattva.Master YuanDao Bodhisattva was initiated at the age of 14, after twenty years of unrelenting dedication, he became enlightened in 1956 The house and grounds are still being maintained in their original condition.

References

{{Reflist Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Houses in Honolulu County, Hawaii Houses completed in 1903 National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu County, Hawaii 1903 establishments in Hawaii