COMPLETE SIMPLICITY in both plan and construction mark this new store building at Waikiki. When the project was started only two or three prospective tenants were interested, and maximum flexibility was called for to meet the needs of whatever tenants might eventually rent space. The site, on the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, is 120 ft deep, with a 438-ft frontage on Kalakaua Avenue, one of Waikiki's main thoroughfares. Off-street parking was a must. Another requirement. stipulated in the property lease, was that the total height. of the building be restricted to 30 ft.
To simplify financing, the building was designed as three identical units, each 136 ft long and 52 ft deep. which could be built one at a time, but which would look like one continuous structure when completed. The three units also made it easier to follow the slight curve in the street and the slight drop in sidewalk elevation.
Each unit consists of six 22 ft 8 in. bays, suitable for use either singly or in combination. Ceilings are high enough to permit installation of mezzanines if desired. Flexibility is further stressed in the basic structure a simple flat slab resting on three rows of seven columns each. Front walls are glass from floor to ceiling, rear walls concrete block, plastered. Dividing partitions are metal lath and plaster. A parking lot runs the full length of the building at the rear, reached by two 10-ft passages between units.
The three units are tied together chiefly by continuous concrete overhang. Tenants who leased space before building was finished had privilege of taking allowance for basic design to apply to cost of shop designed especially for their own requirements; McInerny's, in first building, had special front using a native sandstone.
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source: Design for Modern Merchandising | An Architectural Record Book | 1954
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