Roy E. King Hawaii sculptor-McInerny Department Store

The blog post has been copy and pasted.

http://roykingart.blogspot.com/2010/04/mcinernys-department-stores-and-roy.html

In 1947 Roy King designed and executed sculpture and decorations for McInerny’s Ltd. Department Store located at Fort and King Streets in Honolulu. He carved out of native Koa wood a large, 8 foot by 10 foot, sculptural logo of the company, the “house-mark”, for the exterior of the building. “My most important or imposing work was some (2) Hawaiian God columns in McInerny’s Basement Store, carved in existing lava rock 3’x3’x8’.” He carved massive Hawaiian gods, Ku and Hina, in a lava rock, kunia stone, for the Men’s department. Ku, the male element, the architect and builder of Hawaiian theology, and Hina, the female element, earth mother, were used in ancient ceremonies and worshipped in the temples. Located on the basement level of the building, these were the columns supporting the main floor beams. At the opening of the store, March 8, 1948, there was a dedication and blessing of the building according to ancient Hawaiian rituals. In front of the two carved gods, David K. Bray, a Hawaiian, whose ancestors were high priests to Hawaii’s Kings, performed the blessing ceremony. He purified the building by sprinkling salt water as he walked into the sacred area before the gods. Attired in the robes of a priest, he chanted a prayer to the gods. He then offered the gods awa and coconut water, asking their protection for the people who work in the buildings. He then offered an egg, symbol of productivity, and a young growing taro plant. With these offerings he chanted praises to the gods and asked that the business flourishes and prospers like the growing taro plant.
For McInerny’s Waikiki store in 1952 Roy provided similar wood and stone carvings of Hawaiian gods, carved wood table lamps and introduced the use of local sandstone facings for the façade of the store. Both the Honolulu and Waikiki stores have been demolished and the art lost.

-Lori

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2014-11-10 09:22 ]

Aloha,

Now, that is good stuff!!

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

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2014-11-10 09:44 ]

Great find! Love those Ku monoliths!

Thanks tikilongbeach, Roy King is a very inspirational individual to be sure!

Wow! Wonder what happened to the large stone Tikis? Are they still in the basement holding up that building?

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2014-11-11 20:04 ]

GOOD question, Mike! Often, because they cannot be removed, load-bearing Tikis are just covered up upon renovation for a new space. This is what happened when the Kapu Kai was turned into a country-style roller rink.

Just recently, gold leaf mural maps were uncovered after being boarded up for decades with a more politically correct motif at the Golden Bar in Munich, Germany:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=43223&forum=10

Or perhaps the basement was just filled in, like the legendary Cellar Bar at the Tropics Motel in Palm Springs:

Dedicated urban archeologists are needed to find out!

Great find, a real Tiki mystery!

The Waikiki store had the great palm trees-through-the-roof design as seen in this postcard and photo.

There were also Tikis located out front in the arcade area.

DC

Waikiki location

Present day view of 2233 Kalakaua
Looks like a demolition and rebuild instead of a remodel.

Looks like the Honolulu location with the monolithic Tikis was at the corner of S. King st and what is now Fort Street Mall (pedestrian)
Nothing there now that resembles the old store
https://www.google.com/maps/@21.3091837,-157.8621189,3a,75y,48.09h,89.34t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1suWLk3y4dsJsVO4sGWaIaqQ!2e0?hl=en
It must have been torn down too?

According to the blog. "Both the Honolulu and Waikiki stores have been demolished and the art lost."

I came across a United Airlines Promo video on YouTube that has a shot of "Kalakaua Avenue" with some tikis. That appears to be in front of this same location.

UNITED AIRLINES 1960s TRAVELOGUE FILM "HOLIDAY IN HAWAII"

Another Angle

[ Edited by SBJiminyC on 2024-03-14 13:52:49 ]