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!KENJI wrote:I second that RG!Pahonu wrote:Nice RG!
Another definitive answer to our many questions.
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!!! 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!
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,