Thomas Square, which last underwent a substantial green space rehabilitation five decades ago, is a bit scruffy.
No one is taking issue with that assessment. And some upgrades, such as a new blanket of grass that can handle recreational wear-and-tear and an irrigation overhaul, are now underway behind wooden barriers framing the historically important 6.5-acre park. Elements of the city administration’s proposed vision for subsequent improvements, however, are continuing to prompt objections.
The strongest are tied to a plan to transfer care of Oahu’s oldest park from the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation to the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), which runs pay-to-enter sites such as Neal Blaisdell Center, the Honolulu Zoo, municipal golf courses and the Waikiki Shell.
City officials are pledging to mandate by DES rule that admission to all events in the square would be free.
Even so, some area residents and others who first raised objections last year remain leery.
“We see that as commercializing the park,” which could change its character, said Sam Mitchell, a member of the Makiki/Lower Punchbowl/Tantalus Neighborhood Board. “We like it the way it is.”
City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi agrees that such a switch raises concerns. “If it goes into Enterprise Services, their mission is to have their projects self-sustainable. So even if today they say all events will be free, what about tomorrow when they see what all the expenses are?”
The state is the owner of the land under the square. But it’s unclear whether the state Board of Land and Natural Resources would have to approve Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s plan to change Thomas Square’s management to DES from Parks, said DES Director Guy Kaulukukui. Last week, the city was awaiting a BLNR letter offering guidance on the matter.
Regardless, Kaulukukui maintains that the city aims only to step up efficiency, breathe more life into a relatively passive park and honor history at the site where British Rear Adm. Richard Thomas read a declaration restoring sovereignty to the Hawaiian Kingdom on July 31, 1843, ending a five-month seizure of the islands by subordinate Capt. Lord George Paulet.
“We have the ability to maintain Thomas Square, going forward, at a very high level because we have all of the grounds crews, we have the equipment, we have the mowers, we have the expertise … right across the street,” Kaulukukui said. “We intend to be in the square daily to keep it looking the way we expect it to look” when the barriers are removed and it reopens this summer. Parks and Recreation, which handles upkeep in more than 300 parks, lacks the manpower needed to lavish daily attention on the square.
The current $1.18 million upgrades project, which started late last month, includes removal of mock orange hedge, grading, a new irrigation system, pruning of several large Indian banyans, removal of sick or unhealthy trees, and replacement of Bermuda grass with El Toro Zoysia grass across the entire lawn.
The Honolulu City Council deleted from its budget last year another $1.95 million the city had requested for additional work. Even so, the administration has earmarked about that much funding for commission of a statue of the restored monarch, King Kamehameha III, as well as a flagpole for the Hawaiian flag and other items now scheduled to be in place for the 175th anniversary of Restoration Day, in late July 2018.
Among the still unfunded wish-list items are a concession building, parking for food trucks, a bandstand tailored for Royal Hawaiian Band performances and terraced seating, and a re-configuring of space to fold an elevated bike lane into the square.
Last year, then-Council Budget Chairwoman Kobayashi contended that city departments had failed to adequately work with the community before seeking money for the Thomas Square plans. While there had been scores of project presentations and meetings with various groups since 2013, some participants in discussions, such as members of Mitchell’s neighborhood board, complained that other than small tweaks, the scope of the Thomas Square makeover was essentially fixed before community input was solicited.
Mitchell said most of the members of his board have recommended rejecting the long-term vision because of “too many gray areas” pertaining to site rules and usage.
Both Mitchell and Kobayashi support some sprucing up of walkways and the restroom area, for example. But Kobayashi said, “I don’t think we need to glamorize Thomas Square. At a time when we’re trying to save every penny rather than going to the public and raising taxes for rail (the city’s multibillion-dollar transit project) … why do we need a statue? Why do we need a stage?”
Such elements, according to the mayor, would serve as striking features in the development of a flowing, integrated corridor bounded by Blaisdell on King Street and the Honolulu Museum of Art on Beretania Street. Caldwell said he took note of a need for changes in the square at the start of his first term at Honolulu Hale, four years ago.
At that time, tents belonging to homeless campers and (de)Occupy Honolulu protesters were popping up on sidewalks edging the square at Ward Avenue and Beretania Street, and city maintenance crews repeatedly cleared the encampment. While the area is much now quieter, there are some lingering problems.
“We want to activate the park more. Part of the reason we have people … living there is because it’s not active, for the most part,” other than for regular dog-obedience training sessions, occasional plant sales and a few annual events including the La Ho‘iho‘i Ea, or Restoration Day celebration. “For most of the day, no one is there,” Caldwell said. “And so how do we activate it so that it becomes a place for all of us? And then those who are there to live there are less comfortable living there.”
The proposal asserts that the answer is to put some polish on the square and book a series of festivals along with weekly and monthly events there. Kaulukukui said: “Thomas Square is historically a gathering place for the people of Honolulu, from even before the restoration of the monarchy. … And what we really want to do is reinvigorate it as that place. We’d like to see Thomas Square be the city’s sort-of go-to location for ethnic and cultural events.”
If management is transferred to DES, the department will initiate a rule-making process for the site, which will involve public input, Kaulukukui said. Also, a “concierge” would be stationed in the square there during weekends and busy stretches to provide information about the parameters of everyday use and scheduled events.
Kaulukukui said event organizers and promoters would be charged a fee — as is the city’s policy for crowd-drawing events staged in its parks system. But with DES based at neighboring Blaisdell, he said, there’s a perk of sorts linked to proximity. “If you want to do your event there and need nothing, fine. You’re in. If you need AV assistance, if you need a stage, tables and chairs, production assistance, technicians … we can easily support those events.”
A HISTORIC LOOK AT THOMAS SQUARE
>> 1826: Kalanimoku (high chief in Hawaiian Kingdom) grants Richard Charlton — first British Consul General — a lease for harbor-front land, but the land belonged to Queen Kaahumanu and was not within his power to transfer.
>> 1841: Thirty-four British residents call for immediate protection, citing land and property disputes. Two years later, this leads to five-month seizure of the Hawaiian Islands by Royal Navy ship Caryfort, a 26-gun frigate.
>> 1843 (February): Captain Lord George Paulet threatens to attack Honolulu because of the disputes between British subjects and Hawaii’s government. King Kamehameha III, under protest, cedes the kingdom. Paulet destroys Hawaiian flags.
>> 1843 (July): Rear Adm. Richard Thomas arrives in Honolulu to undo subordinate’s actions by restoring sovereignty. King Kamehameha III’s restoration speech includes phrase that is now state’s motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono (“The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”).
The British flag is lowered and Hawaiian flag raised at site that is now Thomas Square. The flag used in ceremony, which had been used since 1818, becomes kingdom’s flag and later the state flag.
>> 1850: The Privy Council votes to create Thomas Square and dedicates it as a public park.
>> 1887: First evening concert by the Royal Hawaiian Band at Thomas Square in new band stand with seating for several hundred, which was built with private funding.
>> 1925: Territorial Legislature designates Thomas Square as a public park under the management of the Park Board of the City and County of Honolulu.
>> 1927: The Academy of Arts (Honolulu Museum of Art) is founded. Its courtyards are designed by Catherine Richards, Hawaii’s first landscape architect. She would also have a hand in design of Thomas Square in 1932 and Ala Moana Regional Park, 1934.
>> 1932: Construction completed of landscape elements: central fountain, circular walls, Beretania Street promenade, retaining wall and central stairs, radial coral pathway system and mock orange hedge.
>> 1964: Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall opens.
>> 1972: Thomas Square placed on National Register of Historic Places due to political significance.
>> 2016 (December): The city closes Thomas Square for upgrades, ranging from removal of mock orange hedge to replacement of Bermuda grass lawn with El Toro Zoysia grass. Caldwell administration proposes that the improvements are the first phase in a long-term renovation project.
Sources: Hawaiian Historical Society/City and County of Honolulu
