On Politics: At 50, Hawaii’s beautiful Capitol building needs better care

Happy Birthday, Hawaii State Capitol: Here’s hoping we can take better care of you, so you can last another 50 years.

With all the daily pushing and shoving, it is easy to forget that Hawaii is the new kid on the block; the youngest state among the 50. The Capitol came into being as state government exited Iolani Palace in 1969 for a building created exclusively to be the focus of Hawaii government and democracy, where elected public servants would meet and work.

For 70 years before that, all of territorial and then state government was crammed into the palace with a run-down conglomeration of shacks hanging off all four sides of the palace built for Hawaiian royalty.

Hawaii’s new building now features a great central entrance to government, open on all sides, without a dome, allowing in both the sunlight and the rain.

Architectural Digest ranks it as one of the 15 most beautiful state Capitols.

The Thrillist website describes it as “Honolulu’s pitch-perfect blend of the tropical and the official.”

Only the webpage Top Ten Lists talks trash, saying in a piece entitled, “U.S. States With the Worst Capitol Buildings,” that our Capitol “totally fits in with the whole beachy architecture but not fit for a State Capitol.”

Beachy, indeed. There’s a place for La Mariana and tiki bars, but this is our state Capitol we are talking about. Show some respect.

That respect should start with the caretakers of the Capitol, the Ige administration. So far, state government has shown neglect and indifference to the historic integrity of the building’s architecture, faulty repair and delayed maintenance of the building’s structure, and an inability to perform even regular cleaning.

Every visitor notices or smells the reflecting ponds. They were a beautiful idea, fed by brackish underground streams, but built without drainage. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on unsuccessful attempts to remedy the situation. The only answer the state has come up with involves maintenance workers hand-draining and hand- scrubbing the twin ponds, which are home to various fish, including, at one time, a barracuda.

Perhaps the biggest disrespect came in 2016, when the fifth floor’s arched ceiling blue tiles started to fall. Instead of following the building’s historic integrity by replacing the tiles, they were just dumped and a blue mortar base was spread in their place. Prosaic penny pinching neither soars nor inspires.

“The blue tiles will be removed and replaced with a blue textured plaster finish … these improvements will help to prevent future potential problems,” a state report said, adding that the upwardly curving ceiling is “very difficult to access.”

Alan Downer, State Historic Preservation Division administrator, said in 2016 that there is an obvious safety issue and “the cost to replace the tile would be prohibitively expensive.”

Historic Hawaii Foundation recently hosted a symposium on the Capitol’s 50th anniversary. Kiersten Faulkner, the foundation’s executive director, said many of the nearly 300 who attended the all-day meeting said they were concerned about the Capitol.

“General upkeep, maintenance, housekeeping and addressing issues as they occur,” Faulkner said, ticking off concerns raised in a survey.

“When major issues are noted, they should be addressed in a way that honors the original design and materials,” Faulkner added.

Paying to care for what we have should be part of state government’s mission. So far it is missing in action.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.