Post #180330 by Kailuageoff on Wed, Aug 17, 2005 12:51 PM

Renovating IMP will be bad no matter what the plan is. Lovingly restoring what is there should be the only socially acceptable plan.
Termites? I'm sure Iolani palace was full of them in its former days of decay. Did the state tear it down and put up a hotel? No way.
If the state gave a darn about Hawaii's mid-20th century history the way they care for ancient Hawaiian and Hawaiian monarchy period cultural sites, they would take the time to catalog all of the "tiki period" artifacts and architecture that still exists at IMP, declare it a protected state landmark (kind of like St. Petersburg did with Sunken Gardens), and charge big leases to operate shops and restaurants there.
The Royal Hawaiian shops across the street from IMP is a perfectly ugly example of how old Waikiki is being destroyed and replaced by "up-to-date" mega-tourist-revenue-producing structures similar to those found in every other major tourist destination on the planet. Ugh!
There are two reasons for this, the almighty dollar of course, and locals who reject "tiki" culture as some kind of cultural embarrassment. I can't believe how narrow Hawaii's vision of itself can be sometimes. I guess it comes from living on an island.
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff 2005-08-17 12:54 ]