Joseph W. Podmore Building
Encyclopedia
The Joseph W. Podmore Building on the corner of Merchant and Alakea streets in Honolulu, Hawaii
was built in 1902 by Joseph W. Podmore, an English sailor who did business in Honolulu during the early 1900s. He built it to rent out for retail and office use, initially to a tailor and a decorator on the ground floor and to the Mercantile Printing Company upstairs. At the time it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on 24 March 1983, the Bon-Bon Cafe was its principal tenant and the name by which the building was once better known.
In 1907, Peter Cushman Jones
, the property owner, donated the land and building to the local Board of Missions, who used it as their headquarters until the Mission Memorial Building was constructed in 1916. Their monthly newspaper
, The Friend, was published in the print shop upstairs. Other notable tenants include the Honolulu Advertiser
and the original Honolulu office of DHL
Air Cargo.
Built of dark, locally quarried lava rock in a simple Richardsonian Romanesque
style, the only arch is above the side doorway on Merchant Street. The main entrance is on the corner, behind a stone column. Decorative elements include a stone balustrade along the roofline, lintels and sills of lighter stone on the second-story windows, stone bands of alternating sizes (8 and 16 inches), and light reddish mortar lines.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
was built in 1902 by Joseph W. Podmore, an English sailor who did business in Honolulu during the early 1900s. He built it to rent out for retail and office use, initially to a tailor and a decorator on the ground floor and to the Mercantile Printing Company upstairs. At the time it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on 24 March 1983, the Bon-Bon Cafe was its principal tenant and the name by which the building was once better known.
In 1907, Peter Cushman Jones
Peter Cushman Jones
Peter Cushman Jones was a businessman and politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Provisional Government of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.He founded the second bank in the Hawaiian Islands.-Early life:...
, the property owner, donated the land and building to the local Board of Missions, who used it as their headquarters until the Mission Memorial Building was constructed in 1916. Their monthly newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, The Friend, was published in the print shop upstairs. Other notable tenants include the Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu Advertiser
The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
and the original Honolulu office of DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
Air Cargo.
Built of dark, locally quarried lava rock in a simple Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style, the only arch is above the side doorway on Merchant Street. The main entrance is on the corner, behind a stone column. Decorative elements include a stone balustrade along the roofline, lintels and sills of lighter stone on the second-story windows, stone bands of alternating sizes (8 and 16 inches), and light reddish mortar lines.