Ever since it opened 50 years ago as the Honolulu International Center, the Neal S. Blaisdell Center has been a venue for memories.
Teenagers have packed the arena for the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll. Young adults, too, their lighters held aloft during shows that smelled of tobacco and marijuana.
Parents and grandparents have celebrated high school graduations nearly every year since it opened, in the arena and in the concert hall.
And athletes — from high school players to the pros — have provided a rich history of triumph and heartbreak for fans.
Even President Barack Obama, whenever he looks back on his graduation from Punahou School, will remember the Blaisdell.
In 1971, Helen Gibson Ahn and a friend went to see Grand Funk Railroad but couldn’t afford anything but the cheap seats in the upper part of the arena. Undeterred, they were able to climb over the balcony railing and drop about six feet into a crowd of helpful fans who stood at the top row of the floor seats.
And just like that, the two teenagers were able to secure a spot at the edge of the stage, right in front of the handsome, bare-chested lead singer Mark Farner. Of course, that was their goal all along.
"We were right up in front of these big honking speakers," said Ahn, who was a senior at Kalani High School at the time. "I couldn’t hear anything for days."
When bands came to the arena, their concerts became major events on every teenager’s calendar, said Ahn, who grew up in Hawaii Kai and still lives there.
"Barely half of us had driver’s licenses, so it was a neat thing when a concert came to town and you would scrape up money to go," she said. "To me it was more than just a concert. It was a big social thing. As high school kids, we didn’t have a place to hang out."
Ahn went to nearly every concert that came to Honolulu, she said. When James Taylor came to town, she brought a homemade plumeria lei, walked right up to the stage and, to her surprise, he leaned over so she could put it around his neck.
"Things were a lot simpler in those days," she said.
Beth Perri, whose production companies have supplied sound and lighting equipment for concerts for nearly 50 years, said the Blaisdell — which she still refers to frequently as "the HIC" — was a dream come true for concert fans.
"That was a very big deal," said Perri, owner of Paradise Productions. "It meant they could see the groups they had been listening to on the radio and buy their records — actually see them live and in concert. People were absolutely thrilled to death."
The first event hosted by the arena was the Queen Pageant for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in March 1964.
The first runner-up and Miss Popularity was 18-year-old Carole Kai, who would go on to have a career as a singer and entertainer.
She said the arena was packed, but it might have been due to public curiosity about the new venue. Pageant organizers never let the contestants forget the event’s historic significance.
"They made such a big deal out of it, and we were really scared because it was such a big venue," said Kai, whose last name then was Shimizu. "When it was dark, it was like being in a cavern. And there were a lot of people there. It was exciting."
Several schools have held graduation ceremonies at the center practically since it opened. Punahou moved its ceremony there in 1966, said Sheryl Dare, an English teacher at the private school who was part that graduating class.
"That was supposed to be a big deal because all of the graduations previously had been at the Punahou gym, which was stuffy," Dare said. "We were all impressed with how serious this was."
Dare feels the arena ceremony, which allowed for a much larger audience of family and friends, con- tributed greatly to the Hawaii graduation experience — the sign-waving hysteria and madhouse that has only grown in recent years.
"I think it changed the experience," said Dare, whose two daughters graduated from Punahou. "I do think it’s fun to think that the HIC perhaps changed the whole culture of graduation by allowing for so many people to come and celebrate."
The Blaisdell Center was also the scene of a precious memory for Donna Rego Ede, an education specialist.
"My husband and I were married on Sept. 28, 1968, and our reception was held at the newly opened reception hall."
