Obama tore down Robin's Nest with video

[Styles Bitchley]

And to think that the REAL Robin’s Nest in the show was much more expansive than the Anderson Estate. I expect it would have been gobbled up long ago. In the few episodes I’ve seen of the new series, it seems they settled for a much smaller feeling “estate.” I wonder how many truly large waterfront estates remain on Oahu?

[Gorilla Mask]

Panohu, i must say that I essentially share your point of view. As a lawyer, I am prone to stick to proven facts.

And I must say that , in the case of the Pahonu demise, I think that the simplest explanation is probably the best until proven otherwise.

This property, where I dreamed of living when I was 7, years old has disappeared due to individual short term interests and lack of long term discernment. This is a fact.

The fact that a former President of the United States, undercovered, wanted to buy a window on the Pacific for a cheap price is surely revolting for many of us.

Very individualistic, selfish, perhaps, yes, but premeditated to harm an architectural property that had, if anything, a place in the imagination of thousands of fans ... um ...

What is advanced without proof can be rejected without proof, without consideration for a scowling air of former President or not... of any political side he is...

[Pahonu]

I've missed several life dreams, and made one. I missed flying on the Concorde, and I missed seeing Pahonu before it was razed. The one I made was to take my wife to Europe before we had children -- we were able to go in her second trimester with our first child. What a trooper she was! Anyway, I just hope I can go see the turtle pond and boat house/guest house someday and that they don't completely block access to or remove those.

Eagle, I may be able to provide a little insight into what will happen to access to the tidal pool. In the 70’s after Richard Nixon resigned, he lived part of the year in a home on the coast in San Clemente CA called Casa Pacifica. Just to the north of the property is a state campground on the beach. My wife’s grandmother and family used to camp there frequently. There could be hundreds of beach goers.

I remember her telling me more than once about how when Nixon was in residence there would be more security around. They would ask people if they would “prefer” to move a little further up or down the beach. She said most people would move, but if someone stayed closer they would simply stay nearby them. She never saw anyone removed but she also never saw Nixon at the beach. He was a bit older then and doesn’t strike me as the beach-going type. LOL! Hawaii has very similar public beach access laws as California so similar circumstances might happen.

[Pahonu]

And to think that the REAL Robin’s Nest in the show was much more expansive than the Anderson Estate. I expect it would have been gobbled up long ago. In the few episodes I’ve seen of the new series, it seems they settled for a much smaller feeling “estate.” I wonder how many truly large waterfront estates remain on Oahu?

That’s a good question. It’s a limited quantity and rising land prices mean subdivision is more lucrative for developers, and property taxes on so much real estate for one person prohibitively expensive for all but the very wealthiest.

[ConchRepublican]

Here's Obama inspecting his new beachfront mansion where the original Robin's Nest once was he plans on re-naming it Obama's Nest

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

"Obama's Nest"?!?!

[ConchRepublican]

It is interesting to see how the this has played out over the last few years. We went from vague news articles, public records, and conjecture about Obama obtaining Robin's Nest via Nesbitt early on in this journey; to now seeing Obama walk the hallowed grounds. For him, it's just a new home in paradise. I wonder if he knows, or even cares, about the history and significance this place held.

I feel I have been there in person. I had always planned on it, but then kids came along and, as Jimmy Buffett sang, "Twenty more years slipped away". Now, Robin's Nest is gone, but we have so much knowledge thanks to the people in this forum. My deepest thanks to Pahonu and the other members who have given us so much information, images, history, infinity and jelly doughnuts...

I'd guess going by his age he's quite familiar with the show. He left Hawai'i in '79 but I'd think he still had friends/ties to what was going on around his old home?

[ConchRepublican]

It is interesting to see how the this has played out over the last few years. We went from vague news articles, public records, and conjecture about Obama obtaining Robin's Nest via Nesbitt early on in this journey; to now seeing Obama walk the hallowed grounds. For him, it's just a new home in paradise. I wonder if he knows, or even cares, about the history and significance this place held.

I feel I have been there in person. I had always planned on it, but then kids came along and, as Jimmy Buffett sang, "Twenty more years slipped away". Now, Robin's Nest is gone, but we have so much knowledge thanks to the people in this forum. My deepest thanks to Pahonu and the other members who have given us so much information, images, history, infinity and jelly doughnuts...

Thank you for your thanks. I love architecture and the style of this home in particular, plus it’s great history in the series. I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit researching, studying, and learning everything I could about this home (and many others that no one here cares about). I am fascinated by the process of its creation from assembled properties, the history of the family who commissioned it and the process of the architect who designed it. I have enjoyed every minute I have spent drawing and creating the model of the estate.

I am just disappointed in the number of members who jump to conspiracy theories and reactionary cries of hypocrisy about why the estate was razed. Pahonu has succumbed to the same fate that most large country estates have from the pre-war era and earlier. These homes were built in an era of multiple servants and massive income inequality. They became too expensive to maintain and were razed long ago or allowed to fall into disrepair such as happened to Pahonu. It’s not a new story at all, though many fans on this forum may be experiencing it for the first time.

Money from filming gave Pahonu a temporary reprieve, but no one had lived in the home for decades. Unless legislation protects them or they become house-museums with public assistance or private charitable organizations, their fate is the same: destruction and subdivision. It’s been going on for more than a century across the US. The few that remain are just a tiny fraction of what once was and typically involved intense dedication among descendants to save their heritage.

Eve Anderson could have placed stipulations on Pahonu’s sale or had it listed as a historic structure to protect it. She did not, and rather chose to maximize the sale amount and I don’t blame her for that. She owe’s us nothing. She wasn’t thinking about our love for the estate any more than any potential buyer was, nor should they be. I’ve said it before, more than once, the individual who had the most influence in saving Pahonu was Eve Anderson. It didn’t happen as is usually the case. Making claims of political misdeeds or back room deals may sooth our pain at the loss, but they are not the reality of the story.

Sorry in advance if I upset anyone. As a great fan of architecture, I have sadly seen this happen far too many times.

Thanks Pahonu! As usual you always provide great perspective, not to mention excellent architectural insight and detail.

Something I wasn't aware of, Eve didn't live in the house during her time there? You mention no one lived there for decades, I was under the assumption she lived there up until the sale but wasn't able to keep up with the maintenance?

[Pahonu]

It is interesting to see how the this has played out over the last few years. We went from vague news articles, public records, and conjecture about Obama obtaining Robin's Nest via Nesbitt early on in this journey; to now seeing Obama walk the hallowed grounds. For him, it's just a new home in paradise. I wonder if he knows, or even cares, about the history and significance this place held.

I feel I have been there in person. I had always planned on it, but then kids came along and, as Jimmy Buffett sang, "Twenty more years slipped away". Now, Robin's Nest is gone, but we have so much knowledge thanks to the people in this forum. My deepest thanks to Pahonu and the other members who have given us so much information, images, history, infinity and jelly doughnuts...

Thank you for your thanks. I love architecture and the style of this home in particular, plus it’s great history in the series. I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit researching, studying, and learning everything I could about this home (and many others that no one here cares about). I am fascinated by the process of its creation from assembled properties, the history of the family who commissioned it and the process of the architect who designed it. I have enjoyed every minute I have spent drawing and creating the model of the estate.

I am just disappointed in the number of members who jump to conspiracy theories and reactionary cries of hypocrisy about why the estate was razed. Pahonu has succumbed to the same fate that most large country estates have from the pre-war era and earlier. These homes were built in an era of multiple servants and massive income inequality. They became too expensive to maintain and were razed long ago or allowed to fall into disrepair such as happened to Pahonu. It’s not a new story at all, though many fans on this forum may be experiencing it for the first time.

Money from filming gave Pahonu a temporary reprieve, but no one had lived in the home for decades. Unless legislation protects them or they become house-museums with public assistance or private charitable organizations, their fate is the same: destruction and subdivision. It’s been going on for more than a century across the US. The few that remain are just a tiny fraction of what once was and typically involved intense dedication among descendants to save their heritage.

Eve Anderson could have placed stipulations on Pahonu’s sale or had it listed as a historic structure to protect it. She did not, and rather chose to maximize the sale amount and I don’t blame her for that. She owe’s us nothing. She wasn’t thinking about our love for the estate any more than any potential buyer was, nor should they be. I’ve said it before, more than once, the individual who had the most influence in saving Pahonu was Eve Anderson. It didn’t happen as is usually the case. Making claims of political misdeeds or back room deals may sooth our pain at the loss, but they are not the reality of the story.

Sorry in advance if I upset anyone. As a great fan of architecture, I have sadly seen this happen far too many times.

Thanks Pahonu! As usual you always provide great perspective, not to mention excellent architectural insight and detail.

Something I wasn't aware of, Eve didn't live in the house during her time there? You mention no one lived there for decades, I was under the assumption she lived there up until the sale but wasn't able to keep up with the maintenance?

Thank you, and glad you like!

I read something years ago online, when she was briefly a state representative that she lived on the property in the gate house. So she lived on the property but not how we imagine it to be. The gatehouse was remodeled at some point, I don’t when, by opening up some downstairs rooms into a larger living space than the servants would have had. This can be confirmed in the real estate photos. The structure already had a kitchen, laundry area, and single garage. She may even have been living in it while Magnum was filming there.

Later, inside the main gate, chain link fence was placed that blocked the drive to the main house with another gate. It allowed access to the guest house and its garage, but essentially closed off the rest of the property, which she occasionally used to host some events. Even then, the main house was off limits and it was the grounds, beach, tidal pool, and bathhouse behind the main house that were accessible to guests. I read this on someone’s blog who attended a BBQ/beach day at the estate. They mentioned strict rules about not going in the main house and going inside only the bathhouse for the bathroom and for changing.

In a conversation with someone who had photos from a potential buyer who toured the property, the main house had sustained significant structural damage from water intrusion which is why the roof was eventually replaced with the green tile. This is likely why there were such strict rules about not going in it. It was unsafe. I think it was simply a matter of too much house and not enough money in the trust for her to maintain it. It is sad but not all that uncommon with these old estates. It really seemed beyond repair in any realistic way.

I also understand why many people who aren’t fans of Obama blame him in their anger or sadness. It is misplaced and the story is far more complex. I don’t really blame Eve Anderson either. She inherited something without the means to maintain it properly. I think the fees for filming on the estate gave it a little longer life, but Pahonu’s fate was sealed many years ago. Our little glimpse of it on MPI was not the reality of life on that estate even in the 80’s.

Fans often forget that it was not built as a primary residence but for entertaining and recreation for Mrs Wall and her socialite friends of wealth and privilege. Her husband died just a few years after its completion. Rembrandt’s Girl researched about the last true socialite events that occurred at the home, and they were in the early to mid 60’s, I believe. MPI created an alternate reality for the estate, but it wasn’t going to save it. Pahonu is now sadly another in a very long line of country estates to meet the wrecking ball.

[Mark de Croix]

Lindsay, thanks for article! No wonder you're a Commander.

The Prez is maskless!! This is shocking really because he should have more sense because those workers have to be masked and maybe even are fearful for their own safety.

These photos show hypocrisy of the elite how they say one thing but do another. Glaringly we also see social class hierarchy and its power structure. Where are the Founding Fathers when you need them?

[Pahonu]

Lindsay, thanks for article! No wonder you're a Commander.

The Prez is maskless!! This is shocking really because he should have more sense because those workers have to be masked and maybe even are fearful for their own safety.

These photos show hypocrisy of the elite how they say one thing but do another. Glaringly we also see social class hierarchy and its power structure. Where are the Founding Fathers when you need them?

An appeal to the founding fathers based on a Daily Mail article.

[308GUY]

So.......everybody/anybody.........what do YOU consider a trustworthy news source to be?

How does one sift through all the crap that's "out there" today and filter what the facts are and the actual "truth" is?

Anybody used to watch "House"...with Hugh Laurie.......his goto line was always...."Everybody lies."

Honest question though.....what source of info can one really trust and believe nowadays? The news used to just be reported...now it's relayed by talking heads, usually with some sort of "agenda".

Obviously, waiting to see how things play out is going to be the best (and really ONLY) way to determine what is true and what isn't, but how do you all decide who you're going to believe today?

In this age of 'instant communication" and a "global audience" capable of being influenced/inundated with information in a matter of seconds...how does one determine exactly what's true and what isn't?
Remember Orson Welles' radio broadcast "War Of The Worlds" in 1938...(google it if you're not familiar)....

Remember......at one time in history...the "learned men"...the "scholars"....were all pretty sure the earth was flat....and that the sun went around the earth..etc. In other words, time tells all...but we all only have such a short run here on this "sad spec of sand".

Curiosity got the best of me this morning...and I'm relatively certain, there will be as many different opinions as there are people giving them....invite to voice your version extended to anybody seeing this.....although it won't surprise me to get NO responses at all! LOL

Perspective....is....everything.

Thanks for looking....H ave A G ood O ne!.......HAGO!

[eagle]

The only news sources I absolutely trust are The Epoch Times and Not The Bee. I used to trust WSJ (news), but over the last few years their reporting has steadily moved from balanced to a left-leaning bias. (Their editorial page has always leaned right, but until recently their news reporting was pretty balanced.) I also trust Daily Wire, and know about their bias, I just double-check things I read about there.

I think the AllSides media bias chart was probably accurate a decade or so ago, but nearly all of those source have moved leftward, so much so that the chart is no longer valid and needs updating.

I miss the days when the news media reported on things and let us decide what those things meant. Today, so many are doing little more than working a narrative, but the truth is out there and is still relatively easy to discern, one just needs to do more work today.

Edited to add: I'll be interested to learn what sources other people use.

[Mark de Croix]

>An appeal to the founding fathers based on a Daily Mail article.

Absolutely. Mainstream US media cannot be trusted. Only the naive would think otherwise.

[Pahonu]

The only news sources I absolutely trust are The Epoch Times and Not The Bee. I used to trust WSJ (news), but over the last few years their reporting has steadily moved from balanced to a left-leaning bias. (Their editorial page has always leaned right, but until recently their news reporting was pretty balanced.) I also trust Daily Wire, and know about their bias, I just double-check things I read about there.

I think the AllSides media bias chart was probably accurate a decade or so ago, but nearly all of those source have moved leftward, so much so that the chart is no longer valid and needs updating.

I miss the days when the news media reported on things and let us decide what those things meant. Today, so many are doing little more than working a narrative, but the truth is out there and is still relatively easy to discern, one just needs to do more work today.

Edited to add: I'll be interested to learn what sources other people use.

Not the Bee, as distinguished from The Babylon Bee, but launched by the same creators including Seth Dillon, is a non-satirical site that reports on news stories and commentary and hosts a social media platform for subscribers. It is commentary on other news reporting not original reporting. Seth Dillon has described it as "a humor-based entertainment site that offers commentary on stories that are so outrageous they should be satire, but somehow aren't". Th Babylon Bee has been described as the conservative Christian alternative to the satirical site The Onion. It is a poor choice for unbiased reporting.

AllSides Media Bias Ratings is based on multi-partisan polling analysis. They use the average view of people across the political spectrum, not one individual or source to develop their ratings. It has been updated repeatedly over the years and represents the best non-partisan analysis of the media today. Those who disagree have no more accurate information and base their views on subjective opinion rather than multi-source data. collection.

I’m not familiar with the Epoch Times.

[Mark de Croix]

I agree with Eagle about the Allsides chart. It's a joke. For example no way NPR is centered--it's left learning. Oppositely, The Hill is not centered but right-leaning. Evidently their methodology was skewed in certain ways. (My view here is based on multi-source data collection.)

BTW, someone on this thread suggested that Obama wouldn't know the historical significance of the estate he bought??? Come on now. I agree it was unbecoming of him to disregard the welfare of the construction workers by his being maskless, but surely he would not be naive nor uninformed about a purchase as huge as that, surely.