Summer Sessions at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
A Visiting Student's Guide
The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Campus
If you are interested in architecture, sculpture, or botany, there are a number of 1–2 hour self-guided tours you can take of campus. A total tour takes 3–4 hours.
Direction terms in Hawai‘i:
makai = toward the ocean
mauka = toward the mountain
ewa = to the west
diamond head = to the east
Main Campus: Dole Street
Founders' Gates, stone, Ralph Fishbourne, 1933.
Two large stone gates inscribed with Hawaiian and English verses are at the intersection of Dole Street and University Avenue. The Diamond Head-side gate stands for the University's School of Education. The Ewa-side gate stood for the Territorial Normal and Training School. These gates symbolize the 1931 merging of the two institutions to form the University's Teachers College (now the College of Education). The gates once had more of a visual impact when University Avenue was only two lanes wide. After a lane-widening project, adding two more lanes, the gates were moved to their current locations.
Bachman Hall
The Relation of Man and Nature in Old Hawaii, fresco, Jean Charlot, 1949.
Commencement, fresco, 10' x 36', Jean Charlot, 1953.
In the hall lobby, the frescoes each cover an entire wall for two stories. In Relation, the subject matter is a feast in ancient Hawai‘i. In the background, is Captain Cook's ship approaching. Commencement is the lei presentation to graduates in an Andrews Outdoor Theatre commencement.
Wa, ceramic, Wayne A. Miyata, 1982.
This sculpture embodies the Japanese concept wa, which loosely translates to "harmony," but also denotes "wholeness," and "completeness."
Chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus sp.).
Originally planted by the King Prajadhipok of Siam (present-day Thailand) makai-ewa of Farrington Hall in 1935. During the construction of the Student Services Center in 2000, the tree was replanted mauka of Bachman Hall and re-dedicated to Alice Ball. There is a marker.
Gold Tree (Tabebuia donnell-smithii).
Planted just makai of the hall on 1959 in memory of the College of Extension directors (F.G. Krauss, H.H. Warner, H.S. Wadsworth, and Y.B. Goto). The College of Extension later became the College of Continuing Education and Community Service (CCECS). The CCECS is now part of Outreach College. There is no plaque or marker.
Andrews Outdoor Theatre
Known more by its popular, but erroneous, name of Andrews Amphitheatre. Created in 1935, the stone for the theater was quarried from the old Mo‘ili‘ili Quarry (now the University's Lower Campus). The theater can seat 3,500, with an additional 1,500 if the field is used. This theater was the sight of graduations for the University until high enrollments made that impractical. Summer Sessions, with its smaller graduating classes, held commencement exercises in the theater well into the 1970s.
Krauss Hall
Water garden, Richard C. Tongg and Lorraine Kuck, 1948.
In 1996, Betsy Sakata, lotus and water lily expert (and associate dean of Summer Sessions), restored the courtyard pond and plantings. Then in 2004, after the October flood, volunteers and Outreach College staff restored the pond, plantings, and fish again.
Phoenix Palms (Phoenix roebelinii).
Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the United Nations. Planted by the School of Social Work makai of Krauss Hall along Dole Street in 1985. There is no plaque or marker.
Sakamaki Hall
‘Alae a Hina, ceramic tile, Shige Yamada, 1977.
Untitled, ceramic tile, [artist and year unknown]. (Note that there is a smaller mural on the opposite end of the hall, mounted above double doors. There is no other information about this mural.)
Holmes Hall
Gate of Hope, painted steel tubing, Alexander Liberman, 1972.
Located at the corner of Dole Street and East-West Road, on the lawn next to the hall is this red-orange sculpture. Over the years, this sculpture has become an informal Rorschach test for student passersby. It was purchased for the University of Hawai‘i through the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Marine Science Building/Lawn
Divers, red brass, Robert Stackhouse, 1991.
Watanabe Hall
Krypton 1 x 6 x 18, brass/bronze, Bruce Hopper, 1973.
The resemblance to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 monolith is intentional. Like the monolith, the sculpture at one time hummed (since then distorted into a campus urban legend). The hum mechanism was disconnected in the late 1970s amidst energy conservation concerns and constant noise complaints.
Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics
Gold Tree (Tabebuia donnell-smithii).
This is a memorial to Gary Niemeyer, Bob Harvey, and Mike Allen. On 9 December 1978, these men, along with 7 others, set sail from O‘ahu's Snug Harbor on the research vessel Holoholo. Their destination was Moloka‘i's Kawaihae Harbor, 2 days away. They never made it. The memorial was originally a trio of trees planted in 1978 along with a plaque. However, in the years since, one tree died and the others did not fare well. The state of the memorial prompted scientists to voice their concerns to the University's landscape committee. A new memorial was re-dedicated on 25th anniversary of the Holoholo's disappearance.
Kuykendall Plaza
Untitled, ceramic wall sculpture and fountains, Isamu Enomoto, 1964.
Campus Center Diamond Head staircases
Hawai‘i Ka‘u Kumu (Hawai‘i My Teacher), painted murals, Calley O‘Neill with Teresa Ho, Christopher Turco, and others, 1982. In the winter of 2006, O‘Neill spent several days touching up the murals.
Campus Center Ballroom staircase
Untitled, painted photorealist mural, Donald Yatomi, 1990.
Campus Center Ballroom entrance, 3rd Floor
Arctic Portals, polished stainless steel, Jan-Peter Stern, 1975.
Campus Center mauka entrance
Hina o na Lani (Mother of the Universe), pink granite, UH Art department graduate Gregory Clurman, 1975.
Sinclair Circle
Cannonball Tree (Couroupita guianensis); C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
Planted Diamond Head of the circle by Thorton Wilder. There are two signs on the tree.
Sinclair Library
Indian Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica); C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
Planted mauka of the library near Campus Road. There is a marker on the tree.
Jack-in-a-Box Tree (Hernandia ovigera, or perhaps H. nyphaefolia; C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
Planted mauka-ewa of the library, near the sidewalk. There is a sign on the tree.
Java Olive (Sterculia foetida); C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
Planted near the library entrance. This tree is commonly referred to as the "skunk tree" because of its characteristic odor when in bloom (from September to December). Planted in the early to mid-1900s.
Sun Sapote Licania platypus.
Planted makai of the library by Dr. T.V. Smith on 25 March 1957. The occasion marked the 50th Anniversary of the University. Smith was the speaker for the anniversary. There is no plaque or sign.
Adam, bronze, Satoru Abe, 1954.
Commissioned by the UH Manoa Class of 1954. Originally installed at the old Student Services Center, Adam would be "liberated" by members of one of the fraternities on a yearly basis. After its last liberation, Adam disappeared for several years. Upon its recovery, Adam was installed in its current location of the main staircase for safekeeping.
Main Campus: Old Quadrangle
School of Architecture
Skunk Tree (Sterculia foetida); C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Memorial. Planted mauka Diamond Head of the School of Architecture Building next to the ramp. There are two signs on the tree.
Shidler College of Business
Bamboo Forest, painted mural, Padraic Shigetani, 1978.
Shidler College of Business 2nd floor lanai
Nth Power, steel, Charles W. Watson, 1971.
Social Sciences Building
Peace Post, anonymous, 1995.
The place for its original installation was in the Campus Center courtyard. The reason for its re-installation was concern for the structure because of the high level of foot traffic in the area. The courtyard of the Social Science Building was undergoing a re-landscaping and remodeling effort and the re-installation seemed the best for all concerned.
Queen Lili‘uokalani Center for Student Services
Bo (Ficus religiosa), Bodhi (Enlightenment); C&C Honolulu Exceptional Tree.
This ficus has a rather astounding history, though there are differing accounts. What can be agreed upon is that in 1912 the first graduating class of the University planted the cutting that was to grow into this tree. The University received the cutting from Foster Botanical Garden. The cutting came from a tree planted by Mary Foster, when the botanical garden was still her home.
This is where the accounts diverge, in one account, Foster's tree grew from another cutting that was a gift from the King of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). It was for her support of Buddhism, Foster had financed the temple where it is said Buddha held his first sermon. The king's tree grew from a cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya, India, which Buddha had sat under until achieving enlightenment.
In the second account, Foster traveled to India to study meditation. When her study near completion, Foster decided to sponsor her guru and bring him back to Hawai‘i. In return, her guru made a gift of a cutting from the original tree in Bodh Gaya. After carrying the cutting back to Hawai‘i, Foster planted the tree at her home.
Mind & Heart, metal, Frank Sheriff, 1995.
Spirit of Loyalty, cast glass, Rick Mills, 1995.
VVV, copper, Bumpei Akaji, 1995.
These three works on the second floor honor the Varsity Victory Volunteers, which were UH students who served the US Army during World War II.
Main Campus: McCarthy Mall
Varney Circle
Varney Circle Fountain
At its center is a fountain named in honor of a teacher from the Normal School. The School existed in the late 1800s to early 1900s before a merger with the University in 1931. The fountain was one of the first to incorporate Hawaiian mythological figures into its architecture; it was quite the controversy at the time.
Hamilton Library entrance
Shinto koma-inu, anonymous, ca. 1924.
The koma-inu (lion-dogs) were brought from Japan to front the Shinto Inari Shrine on King Street. The koma-inu were given to the University in 1942.
Hamilton Library lobby
Makahiki Ho‘okupu (Harvest Celebration), fresco, Juliette May Fraser, 1938.
Hamilton Library makai wall
‘Anuenue #2 (Rainbow #2), three-part woven wall hanging, Reiko Brandon, 1977.
GovDocs, mural, Judith Yamaguchi, 1982.
Mayan Warrior, acrylic on Masonite, Jean Charlot, 1970.
Nana i ke Kumu (Look to the Source), batik triptych, Yvonne Chang, 1978.
Seated Amida Buddha, wood with gold over black lacquer, anonymous, ca. 1400s.
Untitled, collection, anonymous, 1950<–>1970.
Hamilton Library plaza
Epitaph, bronze, steel, and granite, Harold Tovish, 1970.
Henke Hall
Grid/Scape, terrazzo and aluminum, Mamoru Sato, 1982.
In memoriam Glenn Edward Gunter (1943–1974).
John F. Kennedy Theatre/Lawn
Hawai‘i Peace Memorial, granite, Koji, 1986.
Keller Hall
Untitled, stained glass, Art Professor Murray Turnbull and Phyllis Turnbull, 1959.
Above the lobby's main entrance to the hall is a huge stained glass window. The best vantage point is from the inside.
Bilger Hall
Air, fresco, Juliette May Fraser, 1953.
Earth, fresco, Sueko Kimura, 1953.
Fire, fresco, Richard Lucier, 1951.
Water, fresco, David Asherman, 1952.
Each artist that created a fresco was a student of Jean Charlot.
Hutu (Barringtonia asiatica).
Rufus C. Harris Memorial. Planted mauka of Bilger Hall in McCarthy Mall on 25 March 1952. See botanical sign for more information.
Art Building
Baobab (Adansonia digitata).
This large tree situated strikingly close to the ewa side of the building. The reason for this proximity is that the baobab predates construction of the building. The tree has the unflattering nickname of "dead-rat tree," because of its fruit, which is a large, fuzzy, and brown ovoid, 6–18 inches in length, hanging from a long stalk.
The Fourth Sign, metal, Tony Smith, 19xx.
A representation of Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac, it crouches next to the building on the lawn adjacent to the McCarthy Mall. Smith, a well-known American sculptor, gifted this massive sculpture to the University.
Tubebuia rosea.
Martin Luther King Memorial. There is a market set in the ground. The original MLK memorial tree was a Clitorea. It was located Diamond Head of Hamilton Library. In 1993, strong winds toppled the Clitorea.
Miller Hall
Sausage tree (Kigelia aftricana).
The hall is notable for the sausage tree sited next to the hall. The sausage tree is so named because of its sausage-shaped woody fruit.
Upper Campus: Maile Way
New Gilmore Hall
Pulelehua (Kamehameha Butterfly), ceramic mural, Robert Flint, 1986.
Sherman Laboratory/courtyard
This is the site of the Re-landscaping Project. Started in October 2004, the goal of the project was to remove inappropriate and difficult to maintain plantings from the Sherman courtyard and replace them with native Hawaiian trees, shrubs, and ground covers. The 16 types of native Hawaiian plants represent the dry, mesic, and wet ecosystems in Hawai‘i.
Biomedical Sciences Building/lawn
Maka ‘a e ‘Ike Aku i ke Awawa Uluwehi i na Kuahiwi o Manoa (Glowing eyes Looking at the Lush Valley in the Mountains of Manoa), hammered copper with brass brazing, Bumpei Akaji, 1979.
Lunalilo Yellow Shower Tree (Cassia X nealieae ‘Lunalilo Yellow').
Planted by Mrs. Simone (wife of former President Simone) makai of the building. There is no plaque or marker.
Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Shadow of Progress, mixed media, Rebecca Steen, 1990.
Newman Center
Holy Spirit [upper window], stained glass, Timothy Newman, 1982.
Holy Trinity [lower window], stained glass, Timothy Newman, 1982.
Untitled [other windows], stained glass, Timothy Newman, 1982.
Main Campus: East-West Road
Center for Korean Studies
Untitled, Chong In-guk and Na Sang-gi, 1975–1976.
The building and pavilion are replicas of structures from the Kyongbok Palace (Yi Dynasty circa 1400 C.E.) in Seoul, Korea.
The Thai Pavilion
Located beneath banyan trees on a small grassy rise across from the East-West Center is the Thai Pavilion. Built by Thai craftsmen, it was disassembled and shipped to Hawai‘i. At the time of its reconstruction, it was one of three in the world outside of Thailand. The pavilion was a gift from the royalty of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.
Jefferson Hall (East-West Center)
a pair of fu dogs, stone, anonymous,1971.
The temple dogs pair, one at the mauka end of the building, the other makai, were a gift from Taiwan.
Jefferson Hall (makai stairwell)
Wisdom of the East, fresco, Affandi, 1967.
Jefferson Hall (mauka stairwell)
Inspiration, Study, Creativity, fresco, Jean Charlot, 1967.
Jefferson Hall (Seien [Serene Garden], Kenzo Ogata, 1963)
If you look at the stream, you will see that it is the Japanese kanji character "kokoro" (heart). In the garden, there are two trees of note.
Willow (Salix x sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'). [right cultivar]
This tree grew from a cutting from a tree at the Kokyo (the Imperial Palace in Japan) during the reign of Emperor Hirohito.
Pink shower tree (Cassia grandis 'Caesalpiniaceae').
In 1964, the then Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko of Japan planted this tree at the mauka end of the garden during their visit.
Jefferson Hall (Chashitsu Jakuan [Cottage of Tranquility], 1972)
The Urasenke Konnichian (Urasenke School of Tea Ceremony) has had a long relationship with the University (including the Summer Session program). Soshitsu Sen, the XVth-generation tea grandmaster, donated the teahouse.
John A. Burns Hall Lobby
Haniwa (Circle of Clay, A Richly Dressed Man), ceramic, anonymous, 1966.
Lower Campus: the Quarry
Monkey Pods (Samanea saman).
Planted mauka of Johnson Halls A and B along Dole Street on 19 March 1959, the 7 Monkey Pods honored 5 Carnegie Visiting Professors (Theodore Andersson, H. Harvard Arneson, Lester V. Chandler, Robert E. Fitch, and William B. Sarles); the (at the time) new UH President, Laurence H. Snyder; and the Charter Day Keynote Speaker, Dael Wolfle.
William S. Richardson School of Law Libraries
Backyard Cooking, mural, Mataumu Toelupe Alisa, 1977.
untitled, mural, Frank M. Moore, 1919.
William S. Richardson School of Law Room 254
Silent Sound,brass bas relief, Paul Vanders, 1973.
William S. Richardson School of Law Plaza
Chance Meeting, cast bronze, George Segal, 1991.
Athletics Department Business Office
The Net Effect, polished stainless steel and cast bronze, Fred H. Roster, 1982.
Cooke Field
Mana‘o‘i‘o (Confidence and Faith), [welded??] copper, Bumpei Akaji, 1981.
Gymnasium 1
Maka ‘Io (Hawk's Eye), bronze and cast concrete, Edward M. Brownlee, 1984.
Physical Education (2nd floor)
Hula, ceramic tile mural, Mataumu Toelupe Alisa, 1982.
Stan Sheriff Center
Rainbow Spirit, copper, Babs Miyano-Young, 1997.
Rainbows, bronze, Shige Yamada, 1997.
Music Building Complex
Sumotori, marble, Greg Clurman, 1975.
Orvis Auditorium
Neumes o Hawai‘i, ceramic tile, Suzi Pleyte Horan, 1976.
Untitled, reflecting pool with copper and iron sculpture, Edward Brownlee, 1962.
Manoa Campus: Far-Flung Points
Center for Hawaiian Studies
2645 Dole Street
Untitled, [materials?], Ipo Nihipali, Charles Sousa, Herman Piikea Clark, Kauka de Silva, and Kaili Chun, [year?].
Institute for Astronomy
2680 Woodlawn Drive
Pleiades, 150+ prisms mounted on stainless steel rods, Otto Piene, 1976.
KHET TV (Hawaii Public Television Station)
2350 Dole Street
Untitled, woven tapestry, Jean Williams, 1972.
Self Guided Tours
Campus Art
Hawai‘i was the first state to enact a groundbreaking law, which required that 1 per cent of a building's construction budget be set aside for the commission (or purchase) and subsequent installation of art. Though even before the 1967 Art in State Buildings Law, the University of Hawai‘i was integrating artwork into the buildings.
A self-guided tour begins in Bachman Hall and ends at Campus Center. Set aside some time, preferably 1&ndsah;2 hours for each leg of the tour. The total tour can run upward of 3–4 hours.
The indoor-outdoor tour is available as the pamphlet "Campus Art" at the Campus Center Ticket, Information & ID Office or online at Self-Guided Art Tour.
Campus Botanicals
Hundreds of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers grow on the 330+ acres of the UH campus.
There is a short self-guided tour that begins at Bachman Hall and ends at Jefferson Hall. Set aside some time, preferably 1–2 hours, as the tour runs the length of the main campus.
A map and list, both detailing locations and plant names are available online at Self-Guided Botanical Tour.
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