International Market Place Will be horribly razed

I put it up on my facebook yesterday and at least a few more people have signed! I hope they don't go through with this.

Here is an old photo of a hula dancer next to the sign for Don The Beachcombers treehouse

Nice one Ron. Have not seen that one before...

"Capacity 2.

High in the giant banyan tree you taste succulent cuisine presented by master chefs and sip the nectar of the gods while people of the crosswords of the world stroll below. For information phone 937-377.

Ask for Don the Beachcomber, 'himself.'"

Save THE Marketplace

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2013-07-28 22:10 ]

I wonder if this will have any effect:
Hudson’s Bay to Buy Luxury Retailer Saks for $2.4 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-29/hudson-s-bay-to-acquire-saks-for-2-9-billion-including-debt.html
Here's hoping the new owners pull out and the deal unravels.
Either way, looking forward to the tour on the 16th!

On 2013-07-29 12:18, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:

Either way, looking forward to the tour on the 16th!

It'll be a good one. I was thinking 3PM. Hope that works for you.

I'll get to meet Pittsburgh Pauly on the 16th!!

On 2013-07-29 12:18, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I wonder if this will have any effect:
Hudson’s Bay to Buy Luxury Retailer Saks for $2.4 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-29/hudson-s-bay-to-acquire-saks-for-2-9-billion-including-debt.html
Here's hoping the new owners pull out and the deal unravels.

Unfortunately, I think Hudson Bay's purchase of Saks and desire to place the upscale retailer in a redeveloped IMP increases, not decreases, the probability of the development because Saks can be an anchor tenant, with a lot of square footage and a long-term lease, which will draw other retailers as the only Saks in Hawaii.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2013/06/owner-of-lord-taylor-interested-in.html

On 2013-03-27 10:12, Hale Tiki wrote:

On 2013-03-27 09:06, Luckydesigns wrote:
Is that the developing company who is withdrawing their permit request?? So the project is off?

No. Queen Emma Land Co is the company that wants to redevelop the area. Outrigger and Beachcomber are the ones that asked for the permit to be withdrawn.

Ancient bones also have been found where the Target was to have built.
No ruling on the Outrigger's appeal yet.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/print-edition/2013/06/28/who-says-you-cant-stop-progress.html

More slanted coverage.

more

So very sad... They claim 2500 new jobs will be created by the "revitalization" and I can't see how that will be true. Also, I think that at least several hundred who are currently employed at the IMP will lose their jobs. Many of these are local moms & dads and their family members who are very unlikely to be hired by the new high-end tenants.

Yes, the IMP has dead and declining areas and something needs to be done. It's just so sad that the solution more high-end stuff which Waikiki already has plenty of. Too much of.

I'm trying to find information on when the IMP will be closed so that I can make one last trip out to see it before it is gone forever. Sounds like a good reason to make me head out and spend a week on Oahu.

The conceptual rendering of the facade eliminates the inviting open air feel.
Instead, it looks like another shiny new mall, with Saks prominently featured in front.

At least the Royal Hawaiian did not sell its soul and preserved open space.
That space will now become my favorite Waikiki destination:

Keep seeing this on the news and can't help but say EVERY TIME, IT'S ANOTHER DAMN STRIP MALL!!! I really can't believe there going to build this mall... Sure they may leave the banyan tree but the characteristics of the old marketplace are gone.. Why couldn't they just rebuild it more in a way that would also let you remember the marketplace the way it was, instead of this concrete mall like you see basically in every city.

So Sad... RIP IMP!!

Agreed, and Honolulu has more than most for its small size: Ala Moana, DFS Galleria (2 of them), Royal Hawaiian Center, etc.

However, at least the Queen Emma Land Company is a philanthropic organization.

At least Kauai remains unspoiled by such out-of-control development.

In a rare ramble thru Waikiki recently (to promote a friend's great band) I noticed how it indeed has become completely Rodeo Dr. with no thot to anything but $$$$$$$$$$$$$ and the remaing 20% who have it. Somebody must be doing OK, yet there seems to be no money to pay local musicians a fair deal.

Aloha,

Last tour is set for August 16. It is a Friday. We think 3P is good at the entrance of King's Village on Kaiulani. Pittsburgh Pauley and Lori loves tiki are in. If any locals like come, email me. There may be a TV crew.

Phillip

It is a shame I can't sign it twice.

Mr. Roberts I just found your thread on tiki in waikiki and will be there Sept 10th. I know I missed the tour (bummerz) but where can I get your book when i get there. I will try the self guided approach though I would much rather have the pro do the TC version.

Aloha,

Let's try a FaceTime / phone tour... Maybe I can walk you through some stuff at the Market place... You have my number!

Just got home from 2 weeks on O'ahu and found Waikiki Tiki right away. What a great book full of some great history. Everyone that loves
This poly pop craze has to get this book. And anyone who thinks there is little tikiness in Hawai'i...should just never go. Wow. Some half decent Mai tais if you look hard enough and several tiki bars. Hula lamps, tiki mugs and carvings everywhere. To bad you have to put it all in a suitcase. The IMP really is hurting but it would be nice if they could put a Donn's at the front and keep the banyan tree and some of the cool shaped structures. Fact is primo square footage could do so much better than 50 similar shops full of Hong Kong trinkets.

So sad. Several shops now have "closing-everything must go" and "clearance sale" signs up. A few have already shut their doors. Makes me tear up....but, time stands still for no man.

It's happening. End of an era. Sadness and despair.

Aloha,

On 2013-09-28 01:22, Kilaueakyd wrote:
Just got home from 2 weeks on O'ahu and found Waikiki Tiki right away. What a great book full of some great history. Everyone that loves
This poly pop craze has to get this book.

Thanks! I'm glad you like the book and (I hoped most people would have it by now, but realize many don't. Bess Press has plenty at the best price and I have a few left, btw) had a good vacation. Did you get the 1st or 2nd printing? The second has this shot...

and a few others of the International Market Place (including a Brownlee original hiding in plain sight) toward the rear of the book. (I had to replace a photograph or two for reasons I won't go into in detail here.) I'm actually glad those got in because I'd missed them before. (The story is in the official thread...)

I tried to save the Market as best I could. Not enough people cared to sign the petition and kick up a fuss I guess. At least I got to take the pictures and save the memories for the future. I'll do a last walk-through to see what's left December 7th before my wedding the next day.

Really crummy news. Thanks for all your efforts, Phillip, and for documenting for the future.
We signed way back when you first posted it. Wish it could've made a difference.

From Honolulu Advertiser on August 10th:
International Market Place landowner signs lease deal

Queen Emma Land Co. has finalized a deal to lease its International Market Place property in Waikiki to previously tentative development partner Taubman Centers Inc.

The lease signing, announced Friday by Queen Emma Land, allows the roughly $350 million redevelopment of the 56-year-old retail bazaar to commence as expected around year's end and finish in spring 2016.

Aloha,

I'm hearing that all vendors have been told to be gone by December 31, 2013. ;(

I will be in Oahu in mid November, so hopefully I will get to see it before it is gone.

The vendors have lots of going out of business signs and some deals can be had. A guy from tiki town ( a temporary tiki bar there) said they will have an auction after it shuts down. I found a coffee shop/juice bar upstairs that had a few mugs but they would not sell them. I also saw aome other carvings that seemed from a lost era. Any ideas Phillip?

Aloha,

Yes, The slit drum from Papua New Guinea is cool. It's at the Waikiki Town Center (also slated for demolition with the Market and the Miramar Hotel,) and in the book about 174 pages in. (It's where the Bird Guy Bruce sets up shop on the Kuhio side. I hope he doesn't grab it.) I have a better shot of the dual head, but can't seem to find it now... But, Here's a bit of one of the rough layouts that I did for that page...

(I really do need to go through those one of these days and see what else the got left out of Waikiki Tiki...Obviously the head didn't make it in so this is really an outtake...)

The Queen Emma Foundation owns that property as well. I hope he doesn't grab it. The bench is also original to the International Market Place...

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2013-10-07 22:37 ]

I'm still shaking my head about this upcoming loss. I remember seeing the International Marketplace in "Blue Hawaii" a couple months ago. I am seriously looking at squeezing in a trip soon - it would be great to spend some time on the island before the horrible demolition.

I find it strange knowing that, on future trips, there will likely be very little new to draw me into the development. The only exception would be plain curiosity to see what may be left behind, like the magnificent tree.

If nothing else, then there should be some sort of commemorative plaque placed on the property to commemorate the memories of the old place and the many appearances it made in films, photos, etc.

Aloha,

On 2013-10-08 06:02, AceExplorer wrote:
If nothing else, then there should be some sort of commemorative plaque placed on the property to commemorate the memories of the old place and the many appearances it made in films, photos, etc.

Funny, I just had a conversation with a journalist a day or so ago where I suggested a statue of Don the Beachcomber and a small museum with the remaining relics be placed near the front...

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2013-10-08 09:58 ]

I like the Donn Beach statue idea! I have that lousy feeling in my stomach when you know it really is going to happen, same feeling I had when Waikikian and Tahitian lanai went down. I just watched the incredible Pan Am Worldport saucer at JFK go down. Delta airlines and Taubman could care less about this stuff. But the Tonga Room was saved, so we must always fight, sometimes with a little luck you can defeat the corporate titans.

My wife and I stayed at the. princess Kailulani next door to the marketplace last weekend. A friend who works at the Princess told me that the hotel will be closed for three years due to major renovations. The 27 story tower directly adjacent to the marketplace is the only building that will not be razed. My friend did not know the name of the corp. doing the work or who was funding the project. She too is hopeful that the Banyan tree is not removed and that the site will be beautiful when the project is complete although rumors abound about Nieman- Marcus and other high end stores coming in. Construction is to begin early next year on the Princess, same as the marketplace.
Hope this is not old news.
Btw,a good number of the tikis at tiki town are foam- that's not to say there are not of lot of items worth saving at this historic site. Tugs at my heart strings, I was first there in 1966. So sad.

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2013-11-06 02:06 ]

Aloha,

On 2013-11-06 01:56, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
A friend who works at the Princess told me that the hotel will be closed for three years due to major renovations. The 27 story tower directly adjacent to the marketplace is the only building that will not be razed. My friend did not know the name of the corp. doing the work or who was funding the project. She too is hopeful that the Banyan tree is not removed and that the site will be beautiful when the project is complete although rumors abound about Nieman- Marcus and other high end stores coming in. Construction is to begin early next year on the Princess, same as the marketplace.
Hope this is not old news.

Yes, the Princess Kaiulani is slated for construction 8/2014 according to my informants.

Yes, all vendors at the International Market Place have been told to be gone by 12/31

I'll be leading two last Waikiki Tiki walking tours... 12/7 and 12/13 (Friday). PM me for details if you'll be in town and want to come along. (Will also do some filming for the Waikiki Tiki e-book)

Btw,a good number of the tikis at tiki town are foam- that's not to say there are not of lot of items worth saving at this historic site. Tugs at my heart strings, I was first there in 1966. So sad.

Yeah, Rick does them... He's a partner at Tiki Town. Foam pour or not, at least they are Tiki... Here's his website

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2013-11-06 08:09 ]

Phillip,I am glad you are there and able to sort this all out.
Interesting-the foam tikis are "poured". I thought they were blocks of foam glued and carved.
Mahalo

Is it known whehter the vendors going to relocate anywhere?

A very good question! You would think that in a down economy there would be someone else with underused space who would welcome the vendors and provide a place to relocate. Simply relocate what you can to a new place, call it a "historic district" or something similar so as to be a nod to "old Waikiki." And do this in the similar manner that Kalakaua Street, Chinatown, Maunakea Streets, etc. have become known for their consolidations of lei stands and specialty shops. So if we can't prevent the loss of the IMP, then perhaps someone can profit by providing an alternate location and building a new destination-of-interest. (Profit is required to keep most things open, right?) I'm actually surprised I haven't heard anything from the local Chamber of Commerce or tourism promoters -- or do they all think the IMP became some sort of blight in the heart of Waikiki and needed to be permanently eradicated? I am a bit puzzled that the IMP didn't have a few alternate locations proposed, but I may have missed out on all that discussion if it happened.

Yes, maybe on the other side of Waikiki, by the Ft. Debussy park, just blocks away from Beachwalk.

Don't know if the federal government will lease "their" land. Also, don't know if the vendors pay enough rent for a larger private property owner to lease it to them, as opposed to some other commercial development.

Walked through IMP yesterday and took some pictures...much sadness there. Some of the restaurants in the food area have closed & quite a number of shops have shuttered their doors. It's heart breaking.

I think I'm going to cry! so many memories over the last 35 years of going there..

Kaiwaza those pictures gave me chicken skin! Things take a lot longer in Hawaii to change but seeing those pictures drive home the reality of the situation, The International Marketplace is pau!

It may be that Waikiki has sold its soul for the development dollar, even if I don't necessarily completely blame the Queen Emma Foundation for maximizing its revenue to provide low cost healthcare and hospitalization. Now, to walk down Kalakau is to be surrounded by malls and hotels. There is little "Hawaii" left.

Sad, considering the history loss. Nevertheless, it now may be time to pass on Waikiki, in favor of Kaua'i. The Coconut Marketplace has the same IMP vibe, and it is off the ocean.

I spent some time at the IMP the last few days. A lot of the shops are shuttered and empty. but there are still a lot of vendors there and the prices are really good. It really is a shame that it will be closing. The rest of Waikiki is pretty much just a giant shopping mall. Everything everywhere else is grossly expensive. I don't think I would really want to go back to Waikiki again. We had fun, but after three days of being stuck there without a car I was ready to leave. Now we're on Maui. Only been here a few hours, but I have a feeling I am not going to want to leave here.

I suggest that you cannot simply "pass on Waikiki" because there is still much to see and do there and on the rest of the island. Even though true Hawai`i is fading from Waikiki and the waterfront, it's still out there to be found. You just have to look a little harder. The same is also true for all the other islands.

Setting tiki aside for a moment, there is some incredible modern cocktail mixology to be found on the Waikiki waterfront. Consider having a couple drinks seated on the Waikiki Beach waterfront with Diamond Head in the background. It's definitely worthwhile, at least for an afternoon or evening. And if you stay one block inland, the room rates are surprisingly affordable due to the current economic downturn.

Yes, oceanfront cocktails do still exist. I suppose one could go to Tiki's, although there are so many umbrellas on the patio now, I could barely see the Pacific ocean when I was there last year, or to the Royal Hawaiian, although a round of Mai Tais for 2 and a pizza cost approx $50.00.

But, in Waikiki, one practically has to be Sherlock Holmes to find true "Hawaii." On the street level below Tiki's, this is what one sees:

Yes, absolutely true in Waikiki - it has become a high-end pukefest for those who seek some of the area's more real roots. I was suggesting not to write off the entire island. Those who look carefully, those who do research, and those who care to ask others for advice and information, can still be rewarded, even in Waikiki.

I will remember the IMP with fondness. (Especially when I see it pop up in the background of Elvis' "Blue Hawaii.") Progress is sometimes a strange irony, especially in this case. But the lack of "real" Hawai`i amid all the concrete and high-end retail may come to inspire someone else in the future. I will not give up hope that this is just a temporary and intermediate step in the ongoing evolution of Waikiki. Island tourism is merely 65 or 70 years old, and that's young. There will be others after us who may also come to miss the old Waikiki and the lush plants and trees and other features of the IMP. In my mind I will not be closing the book on what once was and what may come to happen again.

I should have said high-end and low-end pukefest... Just looked at that last photo again - it really is a ghastly mix of stuff there.

I will have to post some of my photos here in the next few weeks. Not much time remains before walls go up and the wrecking ball is invited into the once-grand and beautiful grounds of the IMP.

I think George Carlin said it best on mindless consumerism (wow does it apply to the IMP or what?). Excuse the curse words but I think it helps drive home the point.

It looked pretty good. It was pristine. Paradise. Have you seen it lately? Have you taken a good look at it lately? It’s fucking embarrassing. Only a nation of unenlightened halfwits could have taken this beautiful place and turned it into what it is today: a shopping mall. A big fuckin’ shopping mall. You know that? That’s all you’ve got. That’s all you’ve got here folks. Mile after mile of mall after mall. Many, many malls. Major malls and mini malls. They put the mini malls in between the major malls. And in between the mini malls they put the mini marts. And in between the mini marts you got the car lots, gas stations, muffler shops, laundromats, cheap hotels, fast food joints, strip clubs, and dirty bookstores. America the beautiful: one big transcontinental commercial cesspool.