WHEREAS, there are but a handful of historic water tanks in the United States that were constructed to represent a certain industry, and the Dole pineapple-shaped water tank at Iwilei, erected in 1927, was regarded as a particularly significant and symbolic architectural structure; and

WHEREAS, the Dole tank was more famous than the peach water tower in Clanton, Alabama and the Brooks Foods ketchup bottle water tower in Cillinsville, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, the original pineapple water tank was a attractively painted work of art, weighed 30 tons and held 100,000 gallons of water that was used to drive the cannery’s sprinkler system, and stood as a prominent Honolulu landmark next to the now defunct cannery; and

WHEREAS, the famous and beloved old water tank was finally taken down in 1993, and placed in storage because it had become frail, badly corroded and apt to topple in a strong wind; and

WHEREAS, pineapple and sugar were the two major agricultural crops upon which the economy of Hawaii rested before the onset of tourism; and

WHEREAS, thousands of Hawai`i’s citizens worked in the pineapple industry, their lives intertwined and affected by this mainstay of the Hawaiian economy, included:

WHEREAS, many Honolulu motorists will recall the aromatic emanations from the cannery at the height of the pineapple season until its closure in 1991; and

WHEREAS, the restoration or replacement of the pineapple water tank would serve as a attraction to today’s tourists, educate people about the history of pineapple in Hawaii’s history; and

WHEREAS, most importantly, the water tank would stand as a memorial to the thousands of residents who earned a living through "pine" and were part of a great industry that represented a long gone era; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawai`i, Regular Session of 2006, that this body requests the appropriate House Committees to investigate the various possibilities to restore or replace the Dole pineapple-shaped water tank at the site of the old Dole Cannery to serve as a tourist attraction and to educate visitors and residents alike about the important contribution of pineapple in Hawai`i’s history and economy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Committees invite interested parties such as former employees, historic preservationists, union officials, art historians, experts in American Studies, the Hawaii Farm Bureau and others to share their expertise and support in this project and suggest diverse ways to effectuate this endeavor; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division within the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the chair of the American Studies Department at the University of Hawai`i, the ILWU, the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, the Chairperson of the State Department of Agriculture, the Historic Hawaii Foundation, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Report Title:

Dole pineapple-shaped water tank; restoration; investigation