An artist's rendering of a restored Hawaiian Hall shows the addition of portrayls of suspended creatures, in the form of turtles, sharks and more, which will join the hall's hallmark sperm whale skeleton with its papier mache body. - Illustration: Courtesy of Bishop Musuem

Bishop Museum restores
its premiere gallery
Opening planned for summer 2009

By Lisa Asato / Ka Wai Ola

When Bishop Museum's Hawaiian Hall reopens next summer after an estimated three-year, $21 million restoration, visitors will be able to feast their eyes and ears and hands on Hawai'i's living culture through audio chants or the spoken word, introductory films, touch screens, and a rotating exhibition of the museum's “rarest and rarely seen objects.”

“There's a high-technology system behind all this,” said Ralph Appelbaum of Ralph Appelbaum and Associates, the designers of Hawaiian Hall's new exhibit. Leading a tour of Hawaiian Hall for media and a group from Hawai'i Pacific University on Aug. 4, Appelbaum pointed out communication wires hidden within a column, opened exhibit drawers that triggered automatic lights for better viewing of their future contents, and discussed bringing the hall up to “current conservation standards.” Temperature, humidity and light controls will allow the museum to bring out its “rarest and rarely seen objects,” said Appelbaum, who has won the Presidential Award for Design Excellence for his work for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and every major design award for his work for the American Museum of Natural History.

Ralph Appelbaum of Ralph Appelbaum and Associates, the designers of Hawaiian Hall's new exhibit. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom

Elizabeth Tatar, the museum's strategic initiatives director, said the public has only seen about 10 percent of the museum's collection, which includes photos, archives and about 25,000 artifacts from Hawai'i, such as bowls and other objects.

With its first phase now underway, the restoration will also bring increased accessibility, including an elevator in the new atrium lobby court that connects Hawaiian Hall with Polynesian Hall, the J.M. Long Gallery and the Picture Gallery; floors dedicated to the different themes of ocean, man, ali'i and gods; and the addition of a first-floor centerpiece exhibit of a reconstructed grass house, or hale pili, estimated to have been built before 1800 in Miloli'i, Kaua'i.

In this mix of old and new, visitors will be able to read “mo'olelo as it originally appeared” through excerpts from primary texts by Abraham Fornander or David Malo, Appelbaum said, adding that the galleries will also offer hands-on activities like playing musical instruments and poi pounding.

Among the surprises for the design team was revealing the true color of the woodwork in the Victorian-style hall, which had appeared “dark, somber,” Appelbaum said. “We really didn't know the color until it started to be peeled away,” he said, describing the refurbished wood as having “a honey glow that is really quite special.”