HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I—Since December,
the Honolulu Museum of Art’s main location on Beretania Street has been
undergoing a beautification project. Funded by the Shidler Family, the museum’s
façade and Mediterranean and Central Courtyards have gotten a facelift with new
paint and landscaping.
Now, the museum will
be closed Sunday, May 7, and Tuesday, May 9, as it undergoes important
maintenance to remove two trees that
threaten the integrity of the building and safety of visitors.
The museum’s Doris Duke Theatre and Spalding House location in Makiki
Heights will remain open.
The museum offers a free shuttle bus to Spalding House, departing from
the Honolulu Museum of Art School at 1111 Victoria St. On Sunday, the shuttle
begins service at noon and runs continuously until 4pm, departing about every
half hour. On Tuesday, the shuttle begins service at 10am, and runs
continuously until 4pm, departing about every half hour.
The two trees—a kamani and a mango—are beautiful and offer shade, but
close inspection revealed that the size of the trees above and below ground are
damaging the museum’s historic building and pose a safety threat to its the
almost 300,000 annual visitors.
During high-wind weather, branches break off the trees and crack roof
tiles, while the extensive root systems are dangerously close to pushing
through the basement walls. In addition, the museum spends thousands of dollars
a year clearing the roof gutters of tree debris. In future the museum will be
able to allocate that money to the visitor experience.
The museum informed the environmental nonprofit Outdoor Circle of the
tree removal, and the organization agreed the removals are necessary.
This project was originally scheduled for the end of March, but, as with
the $8 million improvement project for the downtown Capitol District Building, had
to be rescheduled when it was found that a resident white tern had a fledgling
in the mango tree.
The museum is working with the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to ensure the safety of the terns during the tree removal.
