Question: The old Honolulu Advertiser building had a beautiful stained-glass window in the front. What has happened to this large and beautiful piece of art, which once could be viewed by the public from the street?
Answer: “This Earth Is Ours,” the faceted-glass artwork designed by Erica Karawina and installed in 1972, remains in its original place above the building’s front entry, said J. Gerry Majkut, president of Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co., which bought the building in April and is refurbishing it as its new headquarters.
Karawina’s artwork was shielded during renovations, taking it out of public view, even before the entire front facade of the three-story building at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and South Street was swathed in scaffolding and construction material. Rest assured that it will be seen again.
“The stained glass piece is being kept in place and not moved or affected in any way by the renovation. We are installing some light sources on the inside that may be used to illuminate the window from the inside, so it may be more visible at night from the outside,” Majkut said.
Hawaiian Dredging hopes to move into the building in May after the renovations are complete, he said. The building will be renamed for the company, which was founded in 1902 and is now headquartered on Merchant Street.
Karawina, who died in 2003 at age 99, created several other notable pieces on Oahu, including four large faceted-glass murals at the state office building and a skylight at Circuit Court, according to her obituary in The Honolulu Advertiser. Born in Germany, she moved to the U.S. in 1923 and eventually made her way from the East Coast to Hawaii, where she described the island sunshine as “superb” for viewing her work.
“Working from her Manoa home, Karawina created dozens of stained-glass murals and developed what she called ‘faceted glass works’ using rough-hewn glass resulting from hammering and chiseling pieces that were then placed in a frame and embedded in epoxy,” the obituary said.
The sparkling artwork was added decades after the Beaux Arts-style building was first constructed in 1929, with Renaissance Revival flourishes inside and out, including a grand staircase constructed of ceramic tiles and terra cotta balusters.
Originally home to The Honolulu Advertiser, the building at 605 Kapiolani Blvd. later housed both it and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and became known as the News Building, noted for its green exterior and distinctive red-tile roof.
The two newspapers merged in 2010 to become the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, with a newsroom at Waterfront Plaza and a press in Kapolei.
The former news site was sold for development of two residential high-rise towers on which Hawaiian Dredging is the general contractor. While the historic building under the red roof remains, a plainer concrete section added behind it in 1963 was demolished to make way for the residential development, known as 801 South St.
Tax reminder
Anyone who requested an extension to file their 2015 federal income tax return has a few extra days to finish this year. The deadline for the six-month extension is Oct. 17 (a Monday) because the usual Oct. 15 deadline falls on a Saturday this year.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the two guys in the light gold truck who drew our attention to a flat rear tire, which we were unaware of, on the H-1 freeway going Ewa near the Bishop Museum early in the afternoon on Sept. 24. Because of their considerate action, we were able to get off the freeway safely at the next exit and change the flat without incident. Thank you to a couple of good Samaritans. You guys surely have the aloha spirit! — Grateful in Mililani
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
