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Pacific Tsunami Museum (Bishop Bank)

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Bishop Bank
1930, C. W. Dickey. 130 Kamehameha Ave.
  • (Photograph by Augie Salbosa)
  • (Photograph by Augie Salbosa)

Hawaiian Classical Revival at its most commanding, this reinforced-concrete, former bank building is clad in cast stone, manufactured on-site by Mario Valdestri. Its Hawaiian interpretation of classical forms includes distinctive coconut husk column capitals. The wrought-iron grillework above the entrance reveals an Art Deco influence. The monitor roof allowed for an imposing interior space with a thirty-two-foot central section and clerestory lighting, which has since been compromised. Marble is used extensively on the interior, including Tennessee gray for the floors, and Napoleon Grande Melange and black Belgian for the counters. In 1997, the bank donated the building for use as a museum.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Don J. Hibbard
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Data

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Citation

Don J. Hibbard, "Pacific Tsunami Museum (Bishop Bank)", [Hilo, Hawaii], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/HI-01-HA31.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Hawaii

Buildings of Hawaii, Don J. Hibbard. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011, 264-265.

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