The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

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KENJI
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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1651 Post by KENJI »

Steve wrote:
Sam wrote:Hi Kenji...The house used in the "The Case Against Philip Christie" the party house has changed very little..The most noticeable change is the upstairs walkway connecting the two sides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrxZHW_1p54
Wow, that house is gorgeous.......I wonder what that sold for or if it has...As a fan of Robins Nest I think I would have to think hard about purchasing this one (dreaming I have 1% er funds) over our run down Mecca........
Hi Sam & Steve,
While we are on the topic of this particular episode.....here is the house that is just a few doors down with the pier.
It's not as nice as the party house or even close to Pahonu, but the location is similar. :wink:
They are calling the pier...... Pa honu Pier at least that’s what they have on one of the pics.....also the pier has had some work done on it. I wonder how many hoops they had to jump through with the Dept. of Oceans and Fisheries etc. to get that done!

Type in Airbnb Pa Honu and it should come up.

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1652 Post by KENJI »

Fr. Paddy McGuinness wrote:I was just streaming HFO's "A Stranger in His Grave" from season 10 last week. It was amusing to watch Hillerman get a massage on the estate lawn. It was one of those things where I was thinking about all the success that was still ahead of him as a middle aged man...in that very spot. I wondered if he ever stood out there years later and looked back with nostalgia.
Hi Fr. Paddy,

I'm sure at the very least he smiled when he heard where the estate was located for the filming of MPI. :higgins:
It was a sign of things to come and boy did it ever!

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1653 Post by Sam »

KENJI wrote:
Steve wrote:
Sam wrote:Hi Kenji...The house used in the "The Case Against Philip Christie" the party house has changed very little..The most noticeable change is the upstairs walkway connecting the two sides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrxZHW_1p54
Wow, that house is gorgeous.......I wonder what that sold for or if it has...As a fan of Robins Nest I think I would have to think hard about purchasing this one (dreaming I have 1% er funds) over our run down Mecca........
Hi Sam & Steve,
While we are on the topic of this particular episode.....here is the house that is just a few doors down with the pier.
It's not as nice as the party house or even close to Pahonu, but the location is similar. :wink:
They are calling the pier...... Pa honu Pier at least that’s what they have on one of the pics.....also the pier has had some work done on it. I wonder how many hoops they had to jump through with the Dept. of Oceans and Fisheries etc. to get that done!

Type in Airbnb Pa Honu and it should come up.
Is this the house?

YES! Hawaii 5-0 filmed at our property for Season 6: Episode 1 & the infamous Magnum PI house are less than a 1/2 mile away!

https://www.vrbo.com/340734

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1654 Post by KENJI »

That's the one Sam. :)
You can see the pier from upstairs in the Philip Christie episode (season 11 episode 4).
I'll have to check out the HFO season 6 episode 1 footage that the owner referenced.....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0598067/

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1655 Post by Rembrandt's Girl »

KENJI wrote:Here is a complete HFO library that contains Pahonu footage. If you’re not a fan of the show just go to the counter reference on the right to fast forward to Pahonu content. Let me know if I've missed one and I'll add it.
It’s great to see Pahonu footage that we don’t normally see in MPI. By the time MPI came on the seen, Eve no longer allowed any filming inside.
I’ve also included the cross over from Murder She Wrote. I’m sure a few of our members haven’t seen some of this collection before – ENJOY! :D
I vote that this library be placed on the Robin's Nest page where the HF0 episodes are mentioned! :D

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1656 Post by Pahonu »

KENJI wrote: We now the builder, the cost of the land and construction, redwood was one of the main building materials and it appears it was built in 1931 and NOT 1933 as we all thought. I wonder if the cost of the build included the construction of the concrete ocean wall or even the rock walls surrounding the property....maybe they came later.
Hey Kenji,

I just noticed two questions you posed here a while back and I think I have the answers. First, one of RG's posted articles states that work on the home began in December of 1931 with the construction of the perimeter stone wall, so that's quite clear. Second, one of RG's posted land plats, that predate the estate, show existing sea walls in the area of the main house and another near the boat house. These were separate properties at the time (with Hawaiian names listed), and RG commented the area between them seemed to be a natural drainage channel. This would explain why the easement for a storm drain was included in the plat, and indeed, the drain was built in that area, exiting at the beach steps leading to the estate gate. It would also lead us to the conclusion that these existing two sea walls were simply connected by new construction, rather than torn down and rebuilt.

This also answers a question I have thought about more than once over the years, namely, "Why does the sea wall change so dramatically from one side of the property to the other?" At the boat house it is quite low with no seating ledge and a chain link fence. Moving toward the main house, the wall gets a bit taller and includes the seating ledge and a slightly lower chain link fence. By the main house, it is so high it doesn't include fencing for most of it. It makes perfect sense. The three parts were constructed at different times. A completely new sea wall would have looked much more uniform, I would think.
Last edited by Pahonu on Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1657 Post by Pahonu »

KENJI wrote:The original tennis court that is mentioned in RG's articles must've be removed at sometime and later replaced in the 1970's with a new one because during a time when HFO was filming there was no tennis court.
I wonder if both of them were located in the exact same spot or maybe 5ft or so to the left or right and maybe even rotated in another direction ...i.e. length ways and parallel to the driveway. I would guess that's in the same spot as it maximizes the space better, but you never know.....I'm sure there were less trees back then.
Hey again Kenji,

Also noticed these questions, but I don't have such conclusive answers for you. RG's first two posted articles state that a tennis court was "planned" for the estate. That doesn't mean it was built. The final newspaper article posted as the house neared completion is just a drawing and doesn't show the area where the tennis courts were eventually built, but it clearly shows none was built in the area shown in the drawing. That doesn't leave a lot of other possible locations. Also mentioned in the articles are a planned bathing pavilion and farmyard for poultry. Don't know anything about the yard, but a bath house was built behind the main house, but, if I recall correctly, at a later date according to the property tax records. Those same records listed a slat house for propagating seedlings as also existing on the property at some time. Things came and went over time it seems. Anyway, I would find it hard to believe a tennis court was built, torn down, and then rebuilt, especially by the same owner. Remember, there were change made from the initial drawings to the finished house over the course of just several months. Maybe no poultry yard was completed and the tennis court dropped from the construction schedule. Nothing for certain, but fun to think about. :)

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1658 Post by Rembrandt's Girl »

Pahonu wrote:
KENJI wrote:The original tennis court that is mentioned in RG's articles must've be removed at sometime and later replaced in the 1970's with a new one because during a time when HFO was filming there was no tennis court.
I wonder if both of them were located in the exact same spot or maybe 5ft or so to the left or right and maybe even rotated in another direction ...i.e. length ways and parallel to the driveway. I would guess that's in the same spot as it maximizes the space better, but you never know.....I'm sure there were less trees back then.
Hey again Kenji,

Also noticed these questions, but I don't have such conclusive answers for you. RG's first two posted articles state that a tennis court was "planned" for the estate. That doesn't mean it was built. The final newspaper article posted as the house neared completion is just a drawing and doesn't show the area where the tennis courts were eventually built, but it clearly shows none was built in the area shown in the drawing. That doesn't leave a lot of other possible locations.
Hi Pahonu & Kenji! :D

Haven't been on in a while but I got a notification of a Robin Masters Estate thread post. :D They definitely did put in a tennis court way back when because I did read subsequent newspaper "Society Pages" blurbs from the 1930's saying that the family "entertained the so & so's at their Waimanalo home and they enjoyed tennis and bridge, blah, blah, blah." I'll post the article(s) later...I'm actually in Hawaii right now but unfortunately not on Oahu so I can't provide an update on the status of Pahonu nor post pics. :(

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1659 Post by Pahonu »

Nice RG!

Another definitive answer to our many questions. :)

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1660 Post by KENJI »

Pahonu wrote:Nice RG!

Another definitive answer to our many questions. :)
I second that RG!
Enjoy your time off in Hawaii, you've been working a lot of overtime on MM and deserve a break!

Hi Pahonu,

Thanks for the reply! I agree with you that there are limited areas to install a tennis court on that property. I was just wondering if it was re-installed (now confirmed-thanks RG) in the exact same location or lets say i.e.... five feet one way or the other or even turned so the ends of the court face the properties on either side of Pahonu and not out to the road and sea....splitting hairs here, but it's interesting either way. I could see the court being rebuilt over that period of time especially so close to the ocean (damage caused from salt air, possibly a huge storm did damage to the original....I know the Shriner's Beach place suffered damage in a storm or two, heat, cracking etc.) I've seen many courts being resurfaced in less that 10 years of use, but that might be because they were asphalt and not concrete....even concrete after say 20 yrs is cracking and showing it's age...the original was built around 1933......hmmm I wonder when they removed the original and what was the playing surface material.....asphalt, concrete etc. and how many years was Pahonu without a tennis court? Calling RG!!! :wink: I know Barbara Cox (James Glover's wife/Eve's step-mother) enjoyed tennis, but just off the top of my head, I think it may have been Eve who brought it back to Pahonu (basing it on the Hawaii Five-0 timeline and not seeing it then)....either way, glad to see that it was reinstated. It's always interesting to discuss anything Pahonu! :D

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1661 Post by Pahonu »

KENJI wrote:
Pahonu wrote:Nice RG!

Another definitive answer to our many questions. :)
I second that RG!
Enjoy your time off in Hawaii, you've been working a lot of overtime on MM and deserve a break!

Hi Pahonu,

Thanks for the reply! I agree with you that there are limited areas to install a tennis court on that property. I was just wondering if it was re-installed (now confirmed-thanks RG) in the exact same location or lets say i.e.... five feet one way or the other or even turned so the ends of the court face the properties on either side of Pahonu and not out to the road and sea....splitting hairs here, but it's interesting either way. I could see the court being rebuilt over that period of time especially so close to the ocean (damage caused from salt air, possibly a huge storm did damage to the original....I know the Shriner's Beach place suffered damage in a storm or two, heat, cracking etc.) I've seen many courts being resurfaced in less that 10 years of use, but that might be because they were asphalt and not concrete....even concrete after say 20 yrs is cracking and showing it's age...the original was built around 1933......hmmm I wonder when they removed the original and what was the playing surface material.....asphalt, concrete etc. and how many years was Pahonu without a tennis court? Calling RG!!! :wink: I know Barbara Cox (James Glover's wife/Eve's step-mother) enjoyed tennis, but just off the top of my head, I think it may have been Eve who brought it back to Pahonu (basing it on the Hawaii Five-0 timeline and not seeing it then)....either way, glad to see that it was reinstated. It's always interesting to discuss anything Pahonu! :D
It is fun discussing all these possibilities. The first tennis court might even have been grass or clay originally. Who knows? They certainly didn't have composite courts like today back in the 30's!

I've also been thinking lately about the construction methods used. Mrs. Wall didn't spare any expense, it seems. In RG's articles, it's described as fireproof and seems built to last. Hollow tile was used for the exterior walls (about a foot thick) likely filled with concrete and rebar. The tile roof would also be fireproof. The floors are described as concrete rather than wood joists. You can get a glimpse of this construction method in the stair hall, where part of the floor cantilevers out with barrel vaulted concrete beams under it. Also, the upstairs lanai over the arches cantilevers out about three feet and is concrete with shaped concrete brackets beneath. Two rear balconies are concrete and have vaulting under them as well. The balcony facing the drive and the one facing the ocean are wood, though. This means all the ceiling beams used in the living room, for example, are decorative not structural. Other spaces having beams, like the arched arcade, would follow suit. The stair hall ceiling is coffered wood, for example, and only decorative. Perhaps only the roof rafters are wood, and even then it's possible they are steel, to be fireproof, and sheathed in wood where exposed. As far as sparing no expense, the wood used in the construction is described as being redwood, which is definitely expensive, but more importantly durable in the salt air and other elements, and very resistant to termites which are a HUGE problem in Hawaii. Like I said, built to last! It's 85 years old and has had minimal upkeep for more than a decade so I think it is definitely a good candidate for restoration. Good bones, as someone said,

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1662 Post by KENJI »

Hi Pahonu,

I agree, always fun to discuss anything Pahonu!
Yes, I was also mulling over the possibility of the court being clay or grass, but was thinking the close location to the ocean and the abundance of sand under it not to mention salt in the air might make maintaining such a court a little trickier and way more costly......i.e. great drainage with the sand, but it might need to be watered on a ongoing basis, not to mention mowing it, fertilizing, rolling, more mowing and then dealing with the potential for disease where the whole court could be lost....golf greens are high maintenance so I'm guessing a true grass court would be just as much work. I wouldn't rule it out, as Mrs. Wall did have the money to do whatever she wanted. Maybe she went this route or maybe she had a more basic grass court (standard grass & net and just for fun), but based on the rest of the build, it's probably not the case. I know that Maui has a few synthetic grass courts (no idea what the bounce would be like on one of those), but I can't think of one grass court in Hawaii today (does anyone know of one?), so I'm guessing it's not worth the hassle not to mention the expense ( today or back then) - a total guess. As for clay, I'm thining there was a better chance for clay than grass......BUT not convinced they went this route either.....again I think the drainage would've been good at Pahonu for clay, but I'm wondering if it was too good and caused issues with drying out the surface.....again, a complete guess. Like you said Pahonu......the courts were not the same back in the 30's as what we see today. If there is anyone out there who builds courts for a living please fill us in!!!

I vaguely remember reading a comment Eve made about Pahonu's construction and saying it was built to last and the stone used was very hard/solid she may have said blue stone.... I also remember one of the realtors mentioning the walls were quite thick and very solid which supports your comment about the bones being there and being built to last. I know Mrs. Wall's first house (closer to the Pali) burned down (built of wood) and was probably the reason Pahonu was made fireproof. I'm sure it wasn't completely fireproof, but within reason. My guess the rafters weren't steel, thinking of the exposure to the salt air and visually not as appealing as wood....but having said that, I do like your theory about the rafters being sheathed in wood....now that would've been really expensive and right up Mrs. Wall's alley! The use of just redwood sounds more correct though and like you said termite resistant, etc. which is definitely a problem over there. The concrete construction was well thought out for where they were building.....just imagine if it was all built out of wood.....I doubt it would still be standing.....thank goodness for deep pockets!!! :wink: Hey Pahonu, you mentioned the two balconies made of wood (ocean and driveway side).....I've been wondering about those for a while now.....your sheathing theory might've come into play with at least the joists/supports under those balconies or the redwood is actually cantilevered going inside the wall and beyond, making it structural and not fun to replace if they are rotten and not exposed on the inside of the building (i.e. hidden the ceiling)....if we could only get a quick look inside the place we could solve all of these mysteries and then some. I agree with you, Pahonu is a good candidate for restoration....long live Pahonu! :wink:

I'll comment on your gate house comment later...sorry for the delay! RG should be back from her trip to Hawaii soon and will probably have something to share as well.

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1663 Post by Pahonu »

Hey Kenji,

Interesting info about tennis court surfaces. I don't know a whole lot about it, other than grass was still pretty common until the 70's tennis craze. Apparently the US and Australian Open tournaments were still played on grass until the 70's, and Wimbledon still is of course.

I did a little research on fireproof construction and the hollow tile mentioned in the newspaper article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_clay_tile and http://historicbldgs.com/terra_cotta.htm It was common in the late 19th and early 20th century for fireproof construction. It has been largely replaced by modular concrete block today.

You may be right about the two wood balconies. Steel cantilevered joists sheathed in wood are not uncommon at all. They're protected from the weather by the sheathing as would be steel roof rafters. I don't really think Pahonu's roof rafters are steel, but it would be fireproof, along with the clay tile roof sheathing, and I have seen this type of construction. In the late 19th century, iron roof trusses covered with slate or tile were the common method of fireproofing a roof structure. They often hung the slates from purlins attached to the trusses by means of copper wire. This could last for more than a century! The reason I doubt Pahonu actually has this feature is the wood rafter tails that are exposed. They seem much too small to be sheathed steel. Fun to consider, none the less.

No worries about the gate house comments. All in time. :)

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1664 Post by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) »

Hello guys,

I have been on Hawaii at the beginning of the month and of course a visit at the Robin Masters Estate (now that it's not the Anderson estate anymore, how do we properly name it?? Future Obama crib?) was on the agenda

Unfortunately I did not take my camera with me, but I caught a beautiful and sunny day (no clouds over the estate) and enjoyed swimming in the tidal pool for some time.

The trees and bushes have been heavily trimmed down at the waterfront - the view at the boathouse, tennis courts and the house itself has not been any better!

Is there anyone on the island soon, who can shoot and update pics! I can highly recommend visiting the place NOW.
Last edited by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) on Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

#1665 Post by Steve »

Bondtoys.de wrote:Hello guys,

I have been on Hawaii at the beginning of the month and of course a visit at the Robin Masters Estate (now that it'Äs not the Anderson estate anymore, how do we properly name it?? Future Obama crib?) was on the agenda

Unfortunately I did not take my camera with me, but I caught a beautiful and sunny day (no clouds over the estate) and enjoyed swimming in the tidal pool for some time.

The trees and bushes have been heavily trimmed down at the waterfront - the view at the boathouse, tennis courts and the house itself has not been any better!

Is there anyone on the island soon, who can shoot and update pics! I can highly recommend visiting the place NOW.
Good to hear they trimmed the foliage on the beach side. BTW, I caught this video of a guy on a motorcycle trying to find the house. It is kind of funny as he keeps going past it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw6GvUGzoE0

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