Joseph W. Podmore Building, historic building in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA
The Joseph W. Podmore Building is a two-story commercial structure at the corner of Merchant and Alakea streets in Honolulu, built in 1902 from dark lava stone quarried locally. It displays Richardsonian Romanesque style with massive dressed stone blocks, a hipped roof, and decorative stone elements including a balustrade along the roofline.
Built in 1902 by English businessman and former sailor Joseph W. Podmore as a rental property, the structure later became Mission headquarters from 1907 to 1916. Subsequently, it served as offices for the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper and later the Mercantile Printing Company before being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building is named after Joseph W. Podmore, an English businessman who built it as an investment property. It shows how early residents of Honolulu used local materials and created business spaces downtown to support their communities.
The building sits at a busy corner in Honolulu's historic downtown and is easily accessible on foot. Visitors should note it is an active business building that can be viewed from the outside, though interior access may not always be available to the public.
Portuguese immigrant stonemasons hand-dressed the heavy lava blocks and lifted them into position using wooden blocks and tackle. It is one of only about ten structures in Hawaii that still retain original lava stone walls, making it a rare example of local craftsmanship from that era.
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