The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

[Rembrandt's Girl]

More Pahonu history...here we actually have descriptions of the interior! I always had a heck of a time getting around in Pahonu's SketchUp model so I can't really tell if this is any new info as to the floorplan? Does anyone know?


Honolulu Advertiser, October 16, 1930





Star-Bulletin, October 18, 1930





Honolulu Advertiser, May 3, 1931

[KENJI]

OMG RG.....you've found the HOLY GRAIL in MPI Land!!!!!!

Doc is going to be real busy updating the Robin's Nest Section!
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.

Thanks again for these terrific finds!!!!

[Rembrandt's Girl]

OMG RG.....you've found the HOLY GRAIL in MPI Land!!!!!!

Doc is going to be real busy updating the Robin's Nest Section!
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.

Thanks again for these terrific finds!!!!

Thanks Kenji! I was SO excited when I found these! Now hopefully Pahonu, or another MM member who is familiar with what we definitely know so far about the floorplan, will see this so we can find out if this helps at all!

[308GUY]

One or all of those "renderings" needs to separated from the text, enlarged and cleaned up as much as possible, then framed!

What a design....no wonder it has withstood the test of time and still holds an amazing attraction for it's esthetic value, not to mention it's cinematic history.

RG, you deserve a break....I say we get to the tidal pool and hang out on the beach before it becomes "off-limits" to the public!

Don't know how you find this stuff....have you thought about looking for all that supposed "unclaimed" cash it's rumored is floating around?

Great work....looking forward to any and all future finds.

[ConchRepublican]

Great work again RG!

I think you are going to need a title somewhat more than Fleet Admiral.

Records Sleuth Extraordinaire perhaps?

[308GUY]

Great work again RG!

I think you are going to need a title somewhat more than Fleet Admiral.

Records Sleuth Extraordinaire perhaps?

Seconded...

[Stelth]

Fascinating history! Thanks for all of your work.

[Pahonu]

Hey RG,

Fantastic work finding these! To answer your question right of the bat, these are immensely helpful to my model, but maybe not in the way you think. The first two elevations you show are very interesting, but it turns out the actual home was built very close to these conceptual drawings and they don't provide much new information. For those interested, the only major differences are the courtyard (they call it a patio) gate locations. It seems to show two, both off center, including one facing the driveway that was never built. Also, the windows that face the driveway, shown on the right elevation are slightly different, including a vent window that was never built. Here, the windows under the balcony are paired, not three as built, and centered unlike the current structure. The windows in the garage are also slightly different, but all present, and the small shed at the end of the garage shows a window rather than a door. The second, perspective drawing shows all these differences, as well as what appear to be railings on the second floor terrace facing the driveway court. The last rendering, which is quite beautiful and could indeed be framed as was mentioned if the resolution is good enough, looks to be very close to the final construction. Only the fountain and walkways in the courtyard seems not to have been built. I find it interesting because it also shows clearly the rear service and garage courtyard walls. These are almost entirely obstructed by trees today.

The real bombshell to me, and I'm not exaggerating, is the description of the interiors provided. This information will cause me to massively change whole parts of my model, Not that that's bad but it will be ALOT of work. SORRY IFTHIS GETS LONG. The first major part of my model's interior where I had absolutely nothing to go on was the upstairs space between the two end bedrooms (both shown in Hawaii Five-O episode Cloth of Gold). It's the area either side of the stair hall. The second area is the northeast corner of the first floor. This would be the room behind the single door on the left of the arched arcade, and the corner room facing the water behind the one story ell. According to the text of the articles, these are actually bedroom suites.

I was WAY off in any of my speculations about this area and here's why: every description I had read of the home listed five bedrooms with en suite baths in the main house, as well as two half baths on the first floor. There is plenty of room upstairs for five bedroom suites, and the two sitting rooms mentioned in the text. I put them all in my model. The real news to me, is that upstairs doesn't have five bedroom suites at all, only three! The other two are downstairs in the second area I didn't know about. This is a bit unusual and I made a major WRONG assumption that the bedrooms were all upstairs. All five of these suites, upstairs and down, are described as having the bedroom, a dressing room, separate closet, and a bathroom. They must be very spacious, indeed. The two end bedrooms upstairs mentioned before, also have a sitting room attached, truly multi-room suites. That's why they occupy so much space so that only three are upstairs. As I said before, BIG modifications lay ahead for my model, but we finally have some answers to questions I've had for a very long time.

There are also several other details mentioned that I'll have to incorporate, like a dumb waiter and service stairs, but I won't get started on all of those. By the way, I knew that was an elevator in the stair hall, I just knew it, and now it's confirmed!

BIG thanks again, RG!!!!!

...and if you ever find a floor plan, that would be OK too. But then what would I have to think about!

[Sam]

Hi Pahonu...

Have you seen the final episode of HFO..This may help with the upstairs...I know we've discussed it before..but don't remember what we figured out..

Final episode..
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4zsw ... final_news

[Rembrandt's Girl]

Hey RG,

The real bombshell to me, and I'm not exaggerating, is the description of the interiors provided. This information will cause me to massively change whole parts of my model, Not that that's bad but it will be ALOT of work. SORRY IFTHIS GETS LONG. The first major part of my model's interior where I had absolutely nothing to go on was the upstairs space between the two end bedrooms (both shown in Hawaii Five-O episode Cloth of Gold). It's the area either side of the stair hall. The second area is the northeast corner of the first floor. This would be the room behind the single door on the left of the arched arcade, and the corner room facing the water behind the one story ell. According to the text of the articles, these are actually bedroom suites.

I was WAY off in any of my speculations about this area and here's why: every description I had read of the home listed five bedrooms with en suite baths in the main house, as well as two half baths on the first floor. There is plenty of room upstairs for five bedroom suites, and the two sitting rooms mentioned in the text. I put them all in my model. The real news to me, is that upstairs doesn't have five bedroom suites at all, only three! The other two are downstairs in the second area I didn't know about. This is a bit unusual and I made a major WRONG assumption that the bedrooms were all upstairs. All five of these suites, upstairs and down, are described as having the bedroom, a dressing room, separate closet, and a bathroom. They must be very spacious, indeed. The two end bedrooms upstairs mentioned before, also have a sitting room attached, truly multi-room suites. That's why they occupy so much space so that only three are upstairs. As I said before, BIG modifications lay ahead for my model, but we finally have some answers to questions I've had for a very long time.

There are also several other details mentioned that I'll have to incorporate, like a dumb waiter and service stairs, but I won't get started on all of those. By the way, I knew that was an elevator in the stair hall, I just knew it, and now it's confirmed!

BIG thanks again, RG!!!!!

...and if you ever find a floor plan, that would be OK too. But then what would I have to think about!

Hey Conch, I'm likin' that title! Thanks everyone for the great feedback so I'll keep on digging & posting. As I've said, it's all great fun!

Yes, yes, yes, Pahonu...that's what I was hoping for, that the description would help with the interior...fantastic! I didn't even think about all the differences in the exterior you mentioned! I've got to check that out.

I've been looking for a floorplan but have turned up empty so far. I've found other floorplans that Davis has done, but not Pahonu. Have you ever done a floorplan with architectural software other than SketchUp? I have a tough time getting around in it (D.U.E. - Dumb User Error) and visualizing when I use it, but when you update it I'll definitely give it another go.

Anyway, so glad everyone is enjoying the finds and super glad they're helpful in maybe one day helping Pahonu to get it 100% nailed!!!

[Sam]

Cloth of Gold
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5eba ... f-gold_fun

[Pahonu]

Hey RG,

The real bombshell to me, and I'm not exaggerating, is the description of the interiors provided. This information will cause me to massively change whole parts of my model, Not that that's bad but it will be ALOT of work. SORRY IFTHIS GETS LONG. The first major part of my model's interior where I had absolutely nothing to go on was the upstairs space between the two end bedrooms (both shown in Hawaii Five-O episode Cloth of Gold). It's the area either side of the stair hall. The second area is the northeast corner of the first floor. This would be the room behind the single door on the left of the arched arcade, and the corner room facing the water behind the one story ell. According to the text of the articles, these are actually bedroom suites.

I was WAY off in any of my speculations about this area and here's why: every description I had read of the home listed five bedrooms with en suite baths in the main house, as well as two half baths on the first floor. There is plenty of room upstairs for five bedroom suites, and the two sitting rooms mentioned in the text. I put them all in my model. The real news to me, is that upstairs doesn't have five bedroom suites at all, only three! The other two are downstairs in the second area I didn't know about. This is a bit unusual and I made a major WRONG assumption that the bedrooms were all upstairs. All five of these suites, upstairs and down, are described as having the bedroom, a dressing room, separate closet, and a bathroom. They must be very spacious, indeed. The two end bedrooms upstairs mentioned before, also have a sitting room attached, truly multi-room suites. That's why they occupy so much space so that only three are upstairs. As I said before, BIG modifications lay ahead for my model, but we finally have some answers to questions I've had for a very long time.

There are also several other details mentioned that I'll have to incorporate, like a dumb waiter and service stairs, but I won't get started on all of those. By the way, I knew that was an elevator in the stair hall, I just knew it, and now it's confirmed!

BIG thanks again, RG!!!!!

...and if you ever find a floor plan, that would be OK too. But then what would I have to think about!

Hey Conch, I'm likin' that title! Thanks everyone for the great feedback so I'll keep on digging & posting. As I've said, it's all great fun!

Yes, yes, yes, Pahonu...that's what I was hoping for, that the description would help with the interior...fantastic! I didn't even think about all the differences in the exterior you mentioned! I've got to check that out.

I've been looking for a floorplan but have turned up empty so far. I've found other floorplans that Davis has done, but not Pahonu. Have you ever done a floorplan with architectural software other than SketchUp? I have a tough time getting around in it (D.U.E. - Dumb User Error) and visualizing when I use it, but when you update it I'll definitely give it another go.

Anyway, so glad everyone is enjoying the finds and super glad they're helpful in maybe one day helping Pahonu to get it 100% nailed!!!

I actually made my first plans of Pahonu on AutoCAD maybe 12+ years ago from my original pencil drawings, Sorry you're having trouble getting around my SketchUp model. The best thing to help might be to locate a tool called section plane. It allows you to cut through a section of the model any where and see inside. If you cut it at the ceiling, you can look inside just like looking at a floor plan, either floor, or the basement. Good luck!

[Pahonu]

Hi Pahonu...

Have you seen the final episode of HFO..This may help with the upstairs...I know we've discussed it before..but don't remember what we figured out..

Final episode..
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4zsw ... final_news

Thanks Sam. I have seen Woe to Woe Fat. I think you provided me a link for that last time, It shows lots of the house, including the same second floor bedroom near the water as Cloth of Gold, but not the areas I mentioned in the previous post.

[Pahonu]

I also recently viewed the Vega$ episode filmed at the estate, which showed the rooms in the one story ell, and made some changes to my model.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet, but I actually started a new model after the release of the property plat two years ago around the time of the sale. So the property boundary and all building dimensions and locations are spot on, down to the inch, almost. The interior rooms not seen, though, are still unverified obviously. The new model is just not as far along as the first, but is more accurate. I'll be altering this newer version with the latest information and sharing it sometime soon.

[Rembrandt's Girl]

I actually made my first plans of Pahonu on AutoCAD maybe 12+ years ago from my original pencil drawings, Sorry you're having trouble getting around my SketchUp model. The best thing to help might be to locate a tool called section plane. It allows you to cut through a section of the model any where and see inside. If you cut it at the ceiling, you can look inside just like looking at a floor plan, either floor, or the basement. Good luck!

Ah gotcha', thanks! I"ll give the section plane at the ceiling a try. Looking forward to your revisions!