Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial - Creation of The Memorial

Creation of The Memorial

In March 1918, the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors first proposed a memorial to the more than 10,000 men from the then Territory of Hawaii who volunteered to serve in the great war. The Honolulu Ad Club agreed with the idea and on November 20, 1918, appointed an investigative committee led by Colonel Howard Hathaway, Ned Loomis, and W.D. Westervelt to bring together representatives from all civic organizations to collaborate on the concept of a memorial beginning with a conference which was held on December 6, 1918. At this meeting Colonel Hathway was appointed Chairman and Fred W. Beckley was appointed Secretary of the general committee on a war memorial. At the second meeting, a subcommittee was formed to investigate and prepare a report on a design and cost estimates of a war memorial. This subcommittee included:

• Princess Kalanianaole
• Mrs. Walter Macfarlane
• Mrs. A. A. Young
• Mrs. J.M. Dowsett
• C.R. Hemenway
• Senator John H. Wise
• J.D. McInerny

Upon the report of the subcommittee, a plan to acquire the former William G. Irwin Estate (located between the shoreline and Kapiolani Park in Waikiki) for a public park for the memorial gained unanimous support. To pursue the idea, John Guild, Mrs. Walter Macfarlane, Mrs. John Baird, Mrs. A.G.M. Robertson and Alexander Rume Ford took the lead in pursuing the property.

A bill passed through the territorial legislature with "practical unanimity" according to the Historical Commission of Honolulu. The act was signed by the governor on April 29, 1919 providing for the acquisition of the Irwin property through the sale of territorial bonds and provided that the property should be named "Memorial Park" for the memorial concept being discussed by the committee on a war memorial.

Memorial Park was formally dedicated on the one year anniversary of the signing of the armistice with the dedication organized by the recently formed organization, the American Legion.

In 1920, with the memorial's site now acquired, a committee to study and recommend designs for the memorial itself was organized. The Honolulu Historical Commission, Territory of Hawaii, lists the members of the memorial committee as:

After much deliberation, the committee reported its final recommendation for the war memorial. According to the Historical Commission of the Territory of Hawaii, "the scheme evolved called for a memorial natatorium with a pavilion and attractive landscaping of Memorial Park, the swimming pool itself to be of Olympic proportions".

On the opening day of the 1921 Territorial Legislature, Senator L.M. Judd introduced a bill for the construction of a war memorial at Memorial Park, to be funded by issuing territorial bonds. The bill specified that the memorial is to be dedicated to "the men and women of Hawaii who served during the great war" which was an expansion from the initial concept which was to honor the men of Hawaii who died in service during World War I.

The bill was passed by both houses of the legislature and signed by the governor on March 15, 1921, becoming Act 15.

Act 15, set three requirements for the design of the memorial:

1. It is to be located at Memorial Park, Waikiki
2. That it "shall contain a swimming course of at least 100 meters"; and
3. All other design elements were to be determined by a design contest with features chosen by an Territorial War Commission appointed by the Governor.