Canoe club remains architectural marvel on 50th anniversary

This year, the Outrigger Canoe Club celebrates the 50th anniversary of its traumatic move from the heart of Waikiki to its present Diamond Head location. Formerly where the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach now stands, the club’s beginnings go back to 1908. Founded by a South Carolinian named Alexander Hume Ford, its mission then, as it is now, was "to make this a place where men and boys ride upright on the crests of waves."

The original lease rent of $10 a year, which escalated into a probable $65,000 annual fee by the 1960s, forced the club to look for a new site when the building boom of the 1950s began. By then, there were many second-generation members who considered the Outrigger a second home, and the thought of leaving was unacceptable. After every effort to remain was exhausted, and the club nearly disbanded, a decision was finally made to move to the Diamond Head site, leasing approximately 74,000 square feet from the adjoining Elks Club. As a result, many members resigned, and many who remained were dubious about the new location.

Renowned architect Vladimir Ossipoff was chosen to design the new facility, and when it was completed cynics and skeptics alike were impressed with the architectural masterpiece he had created. Blending natural surroundings, landscaping and design into one harmonious whole, Ossipoff took advantage of such elements as location, sunlight, wind direction and typical weather patterns. It was a far cry from the original grass houses acquired from a defunct zoo in Kai­muki that served as the original clubhouse.

A grand opening was celebrated in January 1964 when the club’s koa canoes were paddled from the old site to the new, with Duke Kahanamoku steering the club’s cherished canoe, Leilani, and kahu Abraham Akaka of Kawaiaha‘o Church offering the blessing.

As exemplified by the Outrigger Canoe Club, and many of Ossipoff’s other buildings throughout Hono­lulu, he integrated environmental sensitivity into his architectural work, such as Hawaii’s tropical climate and its culture. One of his major goals was to make people aware of their beautiful surroundings. Known for incorporating native materials into his plans, he had chunks of coral from directly offshore embedded into the concrete walls and columns throughout, and koa was used extensively for walls and trimming.

Landscaping has always played an important part in the overall concept of the club’s design. When it was built, all trees and vegetation, with the exception of a large monkeypod tree at the entrance, were removed. Eighty coconut trees, at least 25 years old, were hauled to the site on flatbed trailers and lifted by cranes into pre-dug holes, making it appear as though a new building had been planted in an ancient coconut grove.

The new facility included a lobby, volleyball courts, a snack shop, the traditional Hau Terrace, a dining lanai, locker rooms, bar, logo shop and a multideck parking garage obscured by tropical palms and vines.

Although a visitor walking through the premises may not be aware of it, the clubhouse is not one, but several different buildings. Noted restoration architect Geoffrey Fairfax, in his book "The Architecture of Honolulu," describes it as "not a building, as such, but rather a series of congenial spaces flowing indoors and outdoors, and moving up and down with varying floor levels and ceiling heights. As it moves toward the ocean, it becomes part of the beach … still pleasantly resisting confinement."

Over the past 50 years, repairs and renovations have taken place, but the design of the building has remained intact. Attempts to make major changes to the club, which proponents believed would enhance overall membership satisfaction, have been vigorously turned down, fearing they would compromise Ossipoff’s original design concept. And so the structure remains unchanged, an icon along the coast, resisting age and obsolescence, a part of the surrounding beauty of our island paradise.

Keep Hawaii Hawaii is a monthly column on island architecture and urban planning. Robert M. Fox, president of Fox Hawaii Inc., studied architecture in California and Japan. He was one of the founders of the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in 1974. Barbara Del Piano is author of “Na Lani Kaumaka, a Century of Historic Preservation,” “The Outrigger Canoe Club, the First 100 Years” and “Emma, Beloved Queen of Hawai‘i.” She also co-authored “Ei Nei, Do You Remembah?” and “Ei Nei, You Remembah Too?” She is a charter member of both Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and the Calabash Cousins of the Daughters of Hawai‘i. Send comments to keephawaiihawaii@staradvertiser.com.