Many people will be familiar with the fountain at the far end of Kapi‘olani Park, close to the base of Diamond Head. Since it’s been there for almost 60 years, it’s understandable that few will be aware that this is actually the third water feature in this area.
This story starts in 1912 with the ascension to the Japanese throne by Emperor Taisho. Thousands of Japanese immigrants in Hawai‘i at this time still felt strong ties to their homeland, so their pride in their original culture made many of them want to support the suggestion of the Japanese Consul in Honolulu that a monument to Emperor Taisho be erected in a public place in Honolulu. This concept was proposed at the time of his ceremonial coronation in 1915. The Honolulu Board of Supervisors agreed to accept the planned fountain as a gift; it was to be 20 feet tall and topped with a metal sculpture similar to one in Hibiya Park in Tokyo. The pool at its base was planned to be 25 to 30 feet in diameter. November 10, 1916 was the targeted date of the structure’s dedication.
Actually achieving this idea, however, did not take place on schedule. A celebratory “carnival” held at the Japanese Consulate in November 1915 attracted thousands of attendees who paid a steep admission of $1 each (comparable to over $30 today), which raised nearly $8,000. This was not enough though, and another fundraiser program at the Honolulu Opera House in December 1915 netted another $200, but this was still $800 short of the goal.
All the elements of the fountain were to come from Japan. In March 1916, completion was stated to be in “a few months.” But it wasn’t until November that the 228 carved stone pieces actually arrived by ship and the finish date was now projected to be February 1917. And this in fact turned out to be when all the stone work ended up in place, which was noted by an inscription in the structure’s base. But still not received were all the metal parts, which, like the stone, had been ordered from the Tokio Fine Arts College. The fountain stood incomplete for the rest of the year.
In May 1918 work was to “commence soon” as the metal elements were expected in early July. Except … none of it got to Honolulu till September. This consisted of the iron phoenix which would stand with outspread wings at the top, plus two bronze basins, one larger than the other. By January 1919, completion (as usual) was expected “in a month or two.” By now the total cost was over $10,000.
At last, the dedication ceremony was scheduled for February 11th. But in the same pattern already established, this had to be postponed due to continuing casualties in Honolulu from the terrible flu pandemic that had begun killing millions of people internationally the previous year. So it was not until after this medical emergency subsided that on March 16, 1919 — nearly four years after the initial announcement of the project — it finally, really, was finished.
As can be seen by the photos included here, the complex structure was undeniably dramatic. Water issued from the beak of the phoenix at the top and ran down into the smaller bronze basin, from which it overflowed into the next, larger basin below it, before finally reaching the round pool at ground level. However, most surviving photos of the fountain show no evidence of running water and it’s possible that the supply was eventually just turned off. The entire monument was noteworthy enough without it.
Considering the years of effort and fundraising to erect the fountain, it was unfortunate that the ruler who was honored by this impressive structure was both physically and mentally incapable of actually performing his imperial duties. Emperor Taisho was withheld from public and ceremonial appearances from 1919 onwards and died seven years later.
Then came World War II. After the shocking surprise attack on the island of O‘ahu by the Japanese military on December 7, 1941, all things associated with this new enemy were treated with suspicion or outright hatred. The showy fountain, not surprisingly, felt the effects of this rejection. The City & County of Honolulu Parks Board received letters from the public calling for the monument to be demolished, and the board itself was in favor. It was hoped that the metal contained in the structure — derided as being merely iron along with (incorrectly) “cheap brass” — could be melted down to be turned into war munitions of some kind, to symbolically be used against Japan.
As manpower and equipment were busy with other war-specific jobs, there was a brief call for citizens to gather and literally pull down the structure by hand. However, City & County workers did the job professionally on December 14, 1942, a year and a week after the infamous attack that had started the war. Some of the artistic handwork of the fountain appears to have been saved, like the four large stone dogs that stood around the base of its pedestal, along with four carved vertical panels. But once this vengeful destruction was completed, the park was left without a water feature — for a time.
In August 1949, the City & County of Honolulu accepted a contractor’s bid of $10,784 to build a new Kapi‘olani Park fountain which was to be completed by December of that year. This was not located in the same spot as its predecessor; it was more towards Diamond Head in what was called the “Kalākaua Avenue Circle”. This was a round island in a park roadway that had been started in late 1941 but wasn’t finished probably until late 1945 and which mostly paralleled the original Kalākaua Avenue that was lined by ironwood trees, closer to the beach. Far simpler than the previous ornate Japanese fountain, this new 1949 version consisted of just a shallow round pool with a single jet of water in the center. In turn, this lasted until 1967.
The unassuming pool was then considerably improved to become the Louise G. Dillingham Memorial Fountain which was dedicated on July 27, 1967 and remains in use today. Funded by Mrs. Dillingham’s adult children and family friends and constructed by Hawaiian Dredging, the new fountain was accepted as a gift by the City & County of Honolulu. It contains multiple jets of water of different heights, like the classical ones found in public squares in Europe, and was designed by Edwin Murayama and Albert Ely Ives. Its honoree had been a member of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation from 1931 until her death in January 1964, and she and her husband Walter had lived in the estate that they had constructed nearby known as La Pietra. This still remains today on the slopes of Diamond Head not far from this fountain, housing a private girls’ school of the same name.
As attractive as the current fountain is, we can regret that the unique tribute to Emperor Taisho did not survive. Its outstanding craftsmanship might not even be possible to replicate today, and it would be an outstanding attraction of Honolulu if it still stood in Kapi‘olani Park.
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