In 1921, an amorous Walter Dillingham built a mansion on the slopes of Diamond Head for his new bride, Louise Gaylord Dillingham, who requested that their new home replicate the Italian villa where they spent their honeymoon.

The couple named their creation La Pietra (which means "the gem" or "the rock") after the original mansion, and soon the property lived up to its name. During the couple’s reign among the nation’s glitterati, their home sparkled as the center of Honolulu social life welcoming the likes of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walt Disney, and many other national and local celebrities. However, it truly turned into a Waikiki gem in 1969 when it became the permanent site of what was once known as the Hawaii School for Girls, which opened in 1964 at Central Union Church. Now known as La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls, the school will celebrate its golden anniversary on Sept. 14 with a Sunset Jazz benefit concert on the Great Lawn. Jimmy Borges and Shari Lynn, a longtime Waikiki entertainer who now serves as La Pietra’s music director, will perform at the event, which benefits one of the last all-girls schools in Hawaii.

"We believe in our product — great human beings going off to great institutions," said Mahina Eleneki Hugo, the school’s head, whose ties to La Pietra go back to the days when her high-school-aged father served as the driver for Louise Gaylord Dillingham, who liked to go shopping or to visit other Dillingham holdings in Mokuleia.

"We want them to be confident and philanthropic once they’ve reached the age where they can give back," Hugo said. "They are amazing, and we’ve got different events planned this year to honor 50 years of their legacy."

After La Pietra became a school, Hugo said she recalls accompanying her grandmother to its annual children’s fair, where she delighted in learning about the history of this Waikiki treasure.

The photogenic school, which serves as a venue for all kinds of events including tourist weddings, has a storied history that began even before the Dillingham days. Honolulu Star-Advertiser columnist Bob Sigall said that about 200 years ago, the school site was occupied by Papa’ena’ena, a heiau that was dedicated to surfing.

"They are on a place that is rich in history. It was a heiau and a historic home for one of Hawaii’s top builders, contractors and business people," Sigall said. "The richness of this history probably adds an additional note of seriousness to their studies. The fact that Hawaiians came there to pray and to be educated provides context for what is happening there today."

Hugo, who has worked at La Pietra since 1992, said since the school’s opening in 1964 it has produced about 1,400 graduates, many of whom have achieved amazing accomplishments. While other private schools have struggled with enrollment amid rising costs, Hugo said the $18,500-a-year school has held the line.

"I’ve been here about 23 years now," said Hugo, who was a Wahine volleyball star on the 1987 national championship team. "Our numbers are where they need to be and there continue to be many proud moments. I love seeing the students come in as sixth-graders and graduate as confident women. I feel like a mother hen releasing them out into the world."

She said Lauran Bromley, class of 1976; Kelly Banks Hoen, ’75; and Brooke Israel Watson, ’97, are just a few distinguished alumnae who stand out. Bromley went on to own several Chuck E. Cheese’s and independent corporations, while Hoen became the general manger of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Watson owns SoHa Living in Kahala Mall. Last year, a more recent graduate, Angela Assante, received a perfect ACT score and a National Merit Scholarship. Her achievements were included in the record $7.4 million in merit scholarships earned by the class of 2013, which included only 31 young women.

"They were an exceptional group," Hugo said. "However, I believe that we have a great single-gender environment that allows us to start grooming our girls at a young age. We know that they learn differently and we cater to that. Yes, we are college prep and 100 percent of our students go to college, but it’s about being the best at whatever calls to you in your future."

La Pietra seniors Siera Tanabe and Xochitl Cornejo, who were on a school team that was recognized last year by the National Energy Education Development Project for its aquaponics project, say they are planning careers in the arts. However, La Pietra also nurtured their interest in science.

"It’s a close-knit environment. It’s very friendly and accepting and that’s made me more confident," said Tanabe, who wants to major in creative writing in college.

Indeed, Laurie Callies, who was in the school’s first seventh-grade class, attributes much of her life’s success to her school years, which included the move to La Pietra from the former Central Union campus.

"The learning style at La Pietra is very unique," Callies said. "It’s all girls and we are committed to keeping it that way. The environment challenges young women to engage in critical thinking and be confident about what they are doing. I went on to own Baby Face Productions and start the nonprofit ProjectFocus Hawaii.

"We’ve produced a lot of entrepreneurs," added Callies, who previously taught at La Pietra, spent 10 years on its board, and loves the place so much that she visited its Italian namesake over the summer.

"They can’t get rid of me; I keep coming back. Once you leave your heart is always here," she said.

That was certainly true for another alumna, Pa’ahana Kincaid, who completed her freshman and sophomore years at La Pietra in the 1990s and recently returned to its hallowed halls when she enrolled her sixth-grade daughter Mahana Leafchild just prior to the anniversary celebration.

"It was the only school that she applied to," said Kincaid, who fondly recalls her time at La Pietra. "I love the small class size, the individualized attention and the campus, which is really beautiful. When I was a student, I used to imagine what it would be like to be a family living there with their horses and all the grand parties and get-togethers."

Hugo said seeing Kincaid escorting her daughter to school was a chicken-skin moment.

"I taught her, so this was history repeating itself," she said. "We’ve come full circle."

HISTORIC TIMELINE

1921: Walter F. Dillingham builds La Pietra on the slopes of Diamond Head for his bride Louise Gaylord Dillingham.

1962: Lorraine Cooke and Barbara Cox Anthony form a board of trustees who obtained a Hawaii State Charter for the school in 1962. 

1963: Walter F. Dillingham dies.

1964: Louise Gaylord Dillingham dies. 

1964: Hawaii School for Girls opens at Central Union Church with 55 students and a faculty of nine under founding headmaster Joseph H. Pynchon.

1969: Hawaii School for Girls, with an enrollment of 210 girls, moves to its own campus at La Pietra, where classes begin after  renovation by the Dillingham Corp. and the school family itself.

1973: The purchase of the former Dillingham Estate is completed.

1977: A six-classroom building named for Lorraine Cooke is dedicated.

1980s: The gymnasium student center is dedicated, completing the school’s original master plan. The Scott Art Center is completely rebuilt. The library is redesigned and expanded. A computer classroom is donated by the James Gary family. 

1991: Scott Meiklejohn succeeds as second headmaster and serves until 1995.

1996: The Bachman Science Center is completed.

2007: Nancy D. White, the third head of school, retires. Mahina E. Hugo, a member of the 1987 NCAA championship volleyball team at University of Hawaii, is named the fourth head of La Pietra.

2013: Three students represent La Pietra at the Coastal America Partnership Student Summit on the Ocean and Coasts in Washington, D.C. Student Angela Assante receives a perfect ACT score and a National Merit Scholarship.

2014: La Pietra’s Science Olympiad Team places second in a regional tournament.  Science teacher Kim Strong receives a certificate from Hawaii for her contributions to the state Science Olympiad.