11 Most Endangered
Ford Island at Pearl Harbor
Year Listed: 2001
Location: Hawaii
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Development
Ford Island at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii (Listed in 2001): Ford Island is the centerpiece of the Pearl Harbor National Historic Landmark District. Remnants of bomb craters and signs of the Japanese aircraft's strafing runs are still visible on the island. The original airfield, air tower, World War II hangars, a collection of bungalows, officers' housing, and landscaping with mature Banyan trees remain on the site. In 1999 the National Trust and the Historic Hawaii Foundation learned that the Navy planned to construct a major housing complex, a festival market place, and recreational marina on Ford Island. Despite the concerns raised by preservation organizations, the Navy is moving forward on several major development initiatives for Ford Island, which will dramatically change the historic character of the island. While the Navy has modified its plans somewhat-for example, by eliminating the festival marketplace and marina-the historic character of large portions of Ford Island is still threatened by insensitive development, including the construction of hundreds of tract houses, radical re-grading, removal of large expanses of concrete from historic aviation areas, and partial or total destruction of features such as compass roses. The historic bungalows featured in the 2001 listing are on the verge of collapse due to neglect, and the mast of the USS Oklahoma, pulled from the harbor in 2005, lies rusting on the shore, completely exposed and unprotected by the Navy. The National Trust is continuing to work with the Navy in an effort to reduce and mitigate the damage from the new development.
Update
The National Trust's Western Office, in partnership with Historic Hawai’i Foundation, assembled a Heritage Advisory Team to advise the Navy in prioritizing preservation sites on Ford Island. In April 2002, the Navy struck a compromise in its plan to consolidate facilities by redeveloping Ford Island and adding new housing, office space, and visitor attractions to the historic World War II property. The Navy committed to pursue a "medium intensity" development that included up to 420 family housing units, bachelor quarters for 1,000 personnel, 190,000 square feet of office space, and a new training complex. Since 2002, the Historic Hawai’i Foundation and the National Trust have monitored the situation on Ford Island. There have been favorable developments such as the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the base theater, several airplane hangars, and historic military housing. However, the historic character of large portions of Ford Island is still threatened by insensitive development, including radical re-grading, removal of large expanses of concrete from historic aviation and other work areas, partial or total destruction of features such as compass roses and newly-discovered gun emplacements, and preservation of only limited areas of strafing runs and bomb crater marks. The National Trust is continuing to work with the Navy to maximize preservation on Ford Island and reduce impacts from new development.
