The Sight of This Makes Me Sad

[Fr. Paddy McGuinness]

I’ve swam here many times over the years. Brought my children there to swim and play. When the stress at Schofield Barracks became unbearable I would peak through the fence and indulge in an adult fantasy of the Thomas Magnum carefree lifestyle. As a teenager growing up in a foreign land Robin’s Nest was a fantasy that drove me. I knew it was coming, but this just crushes me.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -wall.html

[Gorilla Mask]

I easily share your feeling. Besides, you could also consider the following.

It's really sad, indeed, not only from the point of view of the fan of the show but also because this house was a very original architectural example. I will not however rehash the developments made on this forum on this subject.

Obama and Nesbitt will certainly be criticized a lot. But, if we disregard the symbolism that this property represents for the MPI fan, and the environmental considerations, what has been done here would pass for rather acceptable:

- According to the information gathered on the forum, the house was quite crippled and almost abandoned. The roof was pierced in several places and the structure had suffered a lot from the wet and salty environment;
- A simple restoration would perhaps not have been enough. It would probably have been necessary to rebuild at least for a setting to the 2020 standards;
- Land in this location is expensive. If Nesbitt and Obama wanted their own villa, it was necessary to raze the existing one;
- Without raising the walls, the whole property would have been lost in the mid term;
- From the owner's point of view, it seems logical to ask for derogations and legislative exceptions when this type of action is offered to you, especially to preserve the value of your property.

What bothers me the most is the effect of seawalls on the tidal regime and the movement of the beaches...

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

How many seaside mansions does B.O. need? He's already got one on Martha's Vineyard.

[Fr. Paddy McGuinness]

How many seaside mansions does B.O. need? He's already got one on Martha's Vineyard.

Maybe the plan is to eventually have a castle in England, a luxury apartment in Manhatten, a villa in Andros, and a chalet in Innsbruck?

[Gorilla Mask]

... And a Château on the Loire ...

It's really a pity, but businessmen think like businessmen, whether they are former presidents or not.

Despite questions of logic, the MPI "time capsule" is gone forever. In fact, we could revive it with testimonies, our fervor and our research and archive work...

... At least that's my point of view...

[Pahonu]

I preface these comments by saying that I have been fascinated by, and studied and drawn and lately modeled this property since I was a teen in the 80’s. My posts here in the last decade plus and my contribution to the knowledge about the estate reflect that. I too was heartbroken when it was sold in a state of disrepair by Ms Anderson, particularly because I knew what that meant. Without historic protection, I have seen far too many historic structures razed around the US, particularly those on the water. Many were in far better physical condition.

Sadly, this is not unusual at all, but the the strict government protection laws necessary to protect such structures are unpopular with many as they interfere with private property rights and are typically seen as government overreach… until it’s a property that one cares about. I believe that’s what we are witnessing here. The emotional connection to the estate is very real, but saving it would have required much stronger governmental control over historic properties in general. I don’t think many like that idea.

It’s also important to remember that Mrs. Wall, who commissioned Pahonu, did exactly what is now occurring when she had several structures torn down as she assembled the pieces of property for the estate. This was not her primary home either as she had a mansion in Honolulu and in her hometown of Chicago. This was a getaway property for her and her wealthy friends. She then had two smaller existing sea walls connected to create the property we we all knew and loved. This much larger sea wall protected her new home, but ultimately lead to the disappearance of the beach with decades of sea level rise. The same increase in sea wall protection has occurred again.

Ms Anderson understood very well when she decided to sell the property that if she didn’t secure an extension from the state for the sea walls to remain and be reinforced, the property’s value would plummet. It would have been impossible for any buyer to secure financing for such a vulnerable property. So she applied for and paid the $61K to secure the permits and retain her property’s value, which because of severe deterioration by that point was almost entirely the land value. At any point she could have applied for historic preservation protection but chose not to as that limits the potential number of buyers to those willing to do a restoration and also drives down value.

We now see the result of all those decisions over the decades. Placing the blame for these things in one place is both misguided and overly simplistic. Many decisions led to our beloved Pahonu being razed, but I feel the single biggest variable was allowing the structure to fall into such a state of disrepair, essentially sealing its fate. There is a path forward to saving such historic structures in the future, but the current national mood regarding private rights versus the public good seems far from such protection happening anytime soon. As a lover of historic architecture, I sadly don’t hold much hope and expect to see many more future losses.

[Mark de Croix]

Thanks to this issue I got an epiphany about owning a rich estate--huge annual tax bills! We're on a TV quiz show and win big time, a huge estate. We think we're on easy street. But for most people, the real estate taxes would make impossible living there. How do rich people do it? Amazing.