International Market Place Will be horribly razed

On 2014-01-06 13:24, TikiTacky wrote:
Thanks for the video. It's nice to see what everyone was talking about.

I can't believe that some of those stalls were paying $8,000 a month in rent. That's just insane.

Yes, with the merchandise prices so low $8,000.00 seems to high to keep the doors open.

This place doesn't compare, but:

Waikiki Shopping Plaza Tiki Products store.

Any recent pics
Ghost town or gone???

It's all fenced in & covered. You can't see in. THat includes the whole area on the backside as well...Mandarin Hotel.

Apparently the groundbreaking ceremony was yesterday.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/24876384/groundbreaking-ceremony-for-new-international-marketplace

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2014/03/03/taubman-queen-emma-break-ground-on.html

yuck.

A cruel irony that the name "International Marketplace" will be maintained, even though its historical integrity has been destroyed. But, it is for a good purpose, of providing low cost health care, which is necessary if there is no single-payer option.

At least the Banyan tree is preserved:

Dumb.

Meh

On 2014-03-05 07:41, christiki295 wrote:

Looking more closely, the proportions seem inaccurate.

Is the Banyan tree really 5 stories tall?
Also, the Banyan tree would have to be substantially - even severely - trimmed
to fit the width of the building on the left, which is at least 5 columns deep.

I also don't care for the wall of glass facade with a single, small entrance.
It looks like a huge mall, stuck on the sidewalk, with no public piazza.

[ Edited by: christiki295 2014-03-06 07:22 ]

Equally disturbing is the lack of a set-back with a green belt or Tiki torches.
Having a some tropical landscaping and coconut trees in Hawaii does not seem to be asking that much.

Even the Royal Hawaiian Center incorporated Tiki torches and tropical landscaping:

The Banyan tree would have to be severely trimmed to fit
Be prepared to be severely bummed, and anything better will be a nice surprise.

Thanks for the pic. Does anyone have any information if any of the carvings or any other "historical" items were saved? And if so, where they went and if they might return?

:(

OK, so, I'm not happy the old IMP is gone. But, it IS gone & what's done is done. I was somewhat encourage by this preview of the plans on our local news. At least it does seem to retain some open air feeling, the tree is preserved, and even though sadly upscale (like we need more of THAT), it at least looks "ok."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Rvdond6kY

"the tree is what people remember" If that's all people really remember about IMP then they must be post-boomer young to not remember what made the whole place special. The video tour did nothing but reinforce the sense of loss 40 years ago, not "a sense of place" (I'm SO sick of agenda idiots misusing that phrase!), and that they expect locals to be flocking there... it better be exceptional in ways they probably don't have any concept of.

[i]On 2014-03-29 12:40, msteeln wrote:

they expect locals to be flocking there... .

Waikiki is not particularly for locals, and Saks Fifth Avenue, the anchor store of the new IMP, certainly is not.
The Queen Emma Foundation should attempt to justify the destruction of a historical landmark by saying "the increase rent we can charge Saks and other high-end retailers" will maximize profits, which then can be used for healthcare for locals."

My first experience of seeing how locals were treated in Waikiki was seeing some Polynesian-looking young men, riding in a pick-up, pulled over by the police when they were trying to enter Waikiki.

[ Edited by: christiki295 2014-03-29 13:57 ]

Here's what it looks like today...... Sad

That's just so sad.

Hear that gentle whirring sound? That's Donn, spinning in his grave. He was such a proponent of the Islands, and worked hard to keep their heritage alive. What a shame.

Well at least Waikiki still has...

1. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel
2. Mai Tais at the Halekulani
3. The Musabi guy inside the Food Pantry
4. The honky tonk street scene of Kuhio Ave... competitive drink specials, strolling hookers, and drunk tourists. It's like a surreal time machine back to 1970's Las Vegas !!

Sad, loved that place, no matter what happened to it. Lot of good memories with Phillip.

JOHN-O, thanks for posting your short list of cool things to see and do in Waikiki. There are definitely still some nuggets there for those who care to look and find them.

I need to spend an evening and post photos from my last visit to the IMP. I knew the place probably wasn't going to last, but I don't think I knew yet that it was going to be torn down. And I really enjoyed the cheap souvenirs --- there was so much competition from all the booths that both pricing and selection exceeded what was available at the stores and open air markets pretty much at any of the islands. As sucky and trashy as the booth vendor environment was at times, it was still one of the best places to find neat new stuff to take home. The open-air market at Kona, however, had people selling old stuff, like real vintage (but overpriced) tiki mugs and other swap-meet/flea-market type stuff.

The IMP offered a lot of vendors selling real made-in-Hawaii clothing at unbelievably reasonable prices. If you needed a matching pair of outfits for you and your significant other, no problem, they had all kinds of matching stuff in addition to the usual high-quality island-made aloha shirts and related clothing. Again, because the shops were all so close together, the competition kept prices very reasonable. In one fell swoop you could pretty much find anything you wanted in a short period of time and at very reasonable prices. That's how I came home with a lifetime supply and selection of kukui nut necklaces which I sometimes wear to tiki events.

I keep hoping there will be something like it again later, maybe not on the main drag, but somewhere nearby. A "peoples" marketplace for the non-glitzy craftsmen, artisans, and families to sell their low-end but still very cool stuff. Maybe I'll retire to Hawaii and set something up. "Ace The Old Guy's Bizarre Bazaar." And then somewhere I must have a Dole Whip stand with hollowed-out pineapples overflowing with fresh pineapple chunks and overflowing with soft-serve Dole Whip just like they serve at the Dole Plantation. And right next to it, a refrigerated market that I'd call the "Poke' Palace." Gawd, I miss the poke' in Hawaii where you can walk into a big grocery store and they sell 20 different varieties of poke' in the deli section.

Yeah, I like these ideas. Sometimes progress is actually going back to the past. Kind of like our re-discovery of tiki and craft cocktails.

For all the negative things that have been said about the IMP in the past, there sure were a lot of good things there.

On 2013-11-08 04:10, AceExplorer wrote:
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.

Any news regarding the vendors relocating?

On 2014-06-10 18:10, hiltiki wrote:

Sad, loved that place, no matter what happened to it. Lot of good memories with Phillip.

Thanks Doll!

On 2014-06-11 07:46, christiki295 wrote:
Any news regarding the vendors relocating?

Not any that I have heard yet, although Philip lives there and might be one of the first to share good news when it comes.

The place meant enough to families, merchants, and restaurateurs economically that I am expecting someone to eventually step up and build something new. And if they learn from some of the "mistakes" inherent in past IMP operations, then they could really have something successful on their hands. Imagine what a new IMP could do for some currently low-traffic off-the-beaten-path money-hungry venue. I really am expecting it to happen in a new, re-imagined, and improved sort of way.

Sucks. In recent years it was pretty much unchanged since I went there as a kid in the 70's and probably WAY before that. A fun area to go. Certainly a reminder to enjoy places that you like while they are here, as you never know when things might change...

Aloha,

Yes, it does suck. And in response to several queries about the "stuff, Tiki, and others things in the International Market Place," that made the place what we love, let me just say that the people in charge over there were "not preservation minded."

Quick plug! If you haven't read "Waikiki Tiki: Art, History, and Photographs" it's still in print and available. The book is full of great pictures of the IMP.

Waikiki Tiki is a great book! Happy to have it in my collection. Although if there's ever a reprint, I really hope there's an index.

"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron

[ Edited by: TikiTacky 2014-06-20 12:51 ]

On 2014-06-20 12:48, TikiTacky wrote:
Waikiki Tiki is a great book! Happy to have it in my collection. Although if there's ever a reprint, I really there's an index.

Mahalo Nui Loa. We did not do page numbers or an index because it was designed as an art book. I wanted you to have to look through often and appreciate the photos en mass. If you want to do an informal index here or elsewhere, I'll be happy to chime in.

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

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2014-06-20 12:57 ]

Philip, that's a great explanation on why no page numbers or index. I get the concept, thanks for sharing that. (Serious tiki folks still look for and appreciate an index, though, heh.)

Renderings and video on the new IMP are on the developer's site:

http://shopinternationalmarketplace.com/gallery/#prettyPhoto/3/

The renderings of the new IMP resemble the imposing glass and steel Waikiki Shopping Center, without a green setback, and looks like a mall in any metropolitan area.

Noticeably absent in the new IMP's renderings are setbacks from the sidewalk or exterior tropical green belts acknowledging that the new IMP is located in a tropical paradise. The Royal Hawaiian mall attempts to satisfy these elements, even though it is a space undeniably dedicated to retail and commerce.

Also absent is the greenbelt found inside of the Royal Hawaiian Center.

The interior of the new IMP is better than its interior, as the magnificent Banyan tree is preserved, but it's tropical plantings in an otherwise regular shopping mall, look just like the Ala Moana, and do not incorporate any of the open air charm of its predecessor.

[ Edited by: christiki295 2014-06-22 11:42 ]

Well, it could be a lot worse. After watching the video, there is still quite a bit of open space there..the banyan, a waterfall, and a hula stage. There seemed to be all restaurants on the 3rd floor although nothing looked like a food court. I'm rather a fan of food courts in Waikiki for cheaper eats. I guess they are still going to call it the International Market Place. It looks fine, but, yes...it doesn't seem to offer anything different than what we don't already have plenty of in Waikiki.

I, also, am a fan of cheaper eats and the former food court at the IMP. There are few things worse than being in Waikiki (where there are a lot of things to see) and being forced to spend lots of time and money eating three times a day.

I'll tell you that on my last visit I was able to spend more time and money exploring the beautiful waterfront hotels and bars simply because we ate a few pretty good quick meals (and Dole Whips) at the IMP food court. And as cheesy as it was, it actually added positively to the ambiance of the trip because it was low-stress and low-worries as opposed to more formal dining. Oh yes, we made a trip to the original Roy's for one of our fine dining meals, but that was all we felt we needed.

"Progress" isn't always what we want. We lost a lot of the wonderful mid-century Polynesian pop which we can now again enjoy because we banded together to help preserve what's left and to bring some of it back. I hope that someday the same type of comeback will happen for us somewhere in downtown Waikiki when others, also, come to recognize the loss of green spaces and natural beauty of Hawai`i.

Has anyone ever seen the "robotic" car parking directly behind/to the left of the old IMP hula stage? I've never seen anything like it, and from the video, it appears that it's gone. I parked my car in it several times, and I'm kinda surprised I don't recall seeing it mentioned somewhere here.

Any recent photos of the area???

End of October, only the Banyon tree remains...

Thanks John-O

The new structure should be called the IMP Tree, it's the only good part of the whole mess.

A couple of flickr photos to hearken back to the good old days - Tikis at the International Market Place.

DC

Today

Full view

Aloha,

That's just so sad.

Ever seen a grown man cry,
I just missed these on craigslist by a few hours

I hope somebody here got them so we can see where they end up

Not making much progress... At least the signs are getting tagged.

Found these 2 postcards today

Latest news story...."Tower of Fire"
http://www.kitv.com/news/new-fire-tower-added-to-international-market-place/36061630

YUK.