The Hawaii Theatre is a historic 1922 theatre in downtown
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 ...
, located at 1130 Bethel Street, between Hotel and Pauahi Streets, on the edge of Chinatown. It is listed on the State and
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
History
When Consolidated Amusement Company opened the Hawaii Theatre on September 6, 1922, local newspapers called it "The Pride of the Pacific" and considered it the equal in opulence to any theatre in San Francisco or beyond. When it opened, it was Consolidated Amusement's flagship theatre and the largest (1,760 seats) and most ornate in Hawaii. The company's offices were also in the building.
Honolulu
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s Walter Emory and Marshall Webb employed elements of
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
for the exterior—with
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
,
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
Beaux-Arts architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorp ...
inside—Corinthian columns, a gilded dome, marble statuary, an art gallery, plush carpets, silk hangings, and a
mural above the proscenium. The interior was wide and shallow, with a single balcony and two rows of loge boxes. On the main floor, two private boxes flanked the stage.
The exterior originally had a simple canopy with a small reader board listing the attractions, and a vertical sign lit by electric bulbs. In 1938, a large, new marquee was installed with the largest neon display in the islands.
The Hawaii Theatre presented both
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
entertainment and silent films through the 1920s. It had its own full orchestra for live shows and a large Robert-Morton pipe organ used to accompany silent films. Following the introduction of
sound films
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befor ...
, it operated as a downtown movie theatre through the 1960s.
Decline and Revival
With the shift in entertainment and retail venues away from downtown beginning in the 1960s, theatre attendance gradually declined into the 1970s and early 1980s. Consolidated Amusement decided not to renew its lease and the Hawaii Theatre closed in 1984. Concerned about the Hawaii's potential demolition, several members of the theatre's pipe organ volunteer group formed the non-profit 501(c)(3) Hawaii Theatre Center and, joined by others, united to save and restore it, eventually undertaking major fund-raising efforts. In 1986, the organization was able to purchase the theatre and, subsequently, several adjacent buildings. An extensive renovation of the interior followed in 1994, coordinated by the architectural firm of
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates' (HHPA) was an internationally recognized American architecture firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Established by Hugh Hardy, Malcolm Holzman and Norman Pfeiffer in 1967 in New York, HHPA was noted ...
of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. The theatre reopened in 1996, while exterior renovations continued through 2005. The large marquee from 1938, which had deteriorated and been removed, was replicated and installed, and featured new electronic display panels.
Current Operation and Accolades
The Hawaii Theatre is once again a popular venue for stage shows and concerts, and continues today as a successful performing arts center.
In 2005, the League of Historic America Theatres named it the "Outstanding Historic Theatre in America"; in 2006, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the Hawaii Theatre its highest "Honor Award" for national preservation; and in 2006, the Hawaii Better Business Bureau presented its "Torch Award for Business Ethics" to the Hawaii Theatre Center, the first small nonprofit to receive that award.
The Hawaii Theatre is the last surviving, operating historic theatre in Honolulu. Guided tours of the theatre are regularly offered.
Gallery
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-proscenium-stage.JPG, Proscenium and stage
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-interior-ocean-side.JPG, Interior, left sidewall
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-organ.JPG, Robert-Morton
theatre organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements ...
(1922)
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-ceiling-dome.JPG, Ceiling dome
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-Hamlet-bas-relief.JPG,
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
in balcony
File:Mural by Lionel Walden, c. 1922, Hawaii Theatre, Honolulu, Hawaii.jpg, Lionel Waldren mural above proscenium, "The Procession of the Drama"
Image:Ht-lexvenetiae.JPG,
Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as a ...
in
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
in balcony
Image:Hawaii-Theatre-window-art.JPG, Decorative exterior windows