Hau‘oli Lā Hānau: Celebrating Local Company Anniversaries—May Edition

Every month, we celebrate the anniversaries of local companies and organizations. This month: An educational and religious institution, a booster of the economy and a new vision of Waikīkī.

May 9, 2017

Michael Keany,

The first buildings at the St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls.

Photo: Courtesy of St. Andrew’s Schools

St. Andrew’s Priory and Cathedral

St. Andrew’s School for Girls was founded on May 30, 1867 by Queen Emma Kaleleonālani, making it the oldest all-girls school on O‘ahu. It was just one of the vital institutions she established to serve the needs of her people, including the Queen’s Hospital, St. Alban’s School for Boys (now ‘Iolani School) and the invitation of the Anglican Church to Hawai‘i (a construction team broke ground on the St. Andrew’s Cathedral the same year the priory opened.). There were 11 girls in the inaugural class at St. Andrew’s, and tuition and boarding cost only $100. Since then, St. Andrews’s Schools has expanded to a family of schools, including The Prep, an all-boys school for grades kindergarten through 5, and the Queen Emma Preschool.

The ’70s Big Island Candies crew.

Photo: Courtesy of Big Island Candies

Big Island Candies

These days, Big Island Candies offers treats for just about any taste, with inventive concoctions including orange-cream chocolate brownies, Hawaiian red chil toffee, milk-chocolate-covered corn-chip crunch bars and green-tea-dipped macadamia-nut shortbread. But, back in 1977, Allan and Irma Ikawa started the company small, as a manufacturer and wholesaler of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. Things grew from there. In 1983, the Ikawas introduced the invention that would really put them on the map: the diagonally chocolate-dipped macadamia-nut shortbread cookie. Big Island Candies opened its first retail store in 1989, its first mail-order catalog in 1996, and bigislandcandies.com in 1999, expanding its product line all along the way. Today, you can visit Big Island Candies at its original shop in Hilo, a newer one at Ala Moana Center, or just order your treats and gifts online.

Waikīkī Beach Walk

Before the dramatic 2007 renovation of Lewers Street and the nearby Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, the neighborhood was a decidedly old-school collection of bars and shops—The Honolulu Advertiser’s Andrew Gomes memorably called it the “armpit of Waikīkī.” Roughly $1 billion worth of new construction later, though, and Lewers Street turned into an upscale pedestrian magnet, with tenants including Yard House, Mondo Gelato and Quiksilver, presaging the luxury transformation that the International Market Place would undergo a decade later.

Photo: Michael Keany

Did You Know?

Many people have heard about or seen the surfing Jesus at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It’s one of the cheekier aspects of the huge, 50-foot-tall stained-glass wall fronting the church that depicts more than 30 biblical scenes. But did you know that the wall, designed by John Wallis of Pasadena, Calif., includes a termite in the lower-right corner? It’s a reference to the termite infestation that required the replacement of the wooden floor, the pews and the roof of St. Andrew’s in the 1950s.

Have an upcoming anniversary to share? letters@honolulumagazine.com.