Hawaii Governor’s Mansion Rich With State’s Colorful Past

Jack Castroverde, butler to four of Hawaii’s governors, had a possessive feeling about Washington Place. “He had the attitude, ‘You may be here now, but I’ll still be around when you’re gone,’ ” Charlotte Ebert said. “And he was.”

Ebert is a daughter of Gov. and Mrs. Samuel Wilder King, who were residents of Washington Place from 1953 to 1957.

Gov. and Mrs. George Ariyoshi, the fifth governor and his family to live in the historic house across from the state Capitol, recently moved out to make way for Hawaii’s new governor, John Waihee.

The four-year lease on Washington Place comes with the job, along with funds to pay a household staff and the big, black limousine with the flag and the Hawaii-1 license plate. Two former state first ladies, Beatrice Burns and Nancy Quinn, miss the car as much as the house.

“Never having to park is a great luxury,” Quinn said. “We often had two or three things to do the same night and it was wonderful having someone to drive you.”

The two youngest of the Quinns’ seven children, Mary and Gregory, were born during William Quinn’s term as governor. “We discovered that it isn’t easy raising small children there,” Quinn said.

Both the Quinns and the Ariyoshis made a fairly hard and fast practice of saving all day Sunday and Sunday evening for family events, turning down all but the most urgent public appearances or entertaining.

Parties Are Key Duty

But entertaining is a major responsibility, almost a career, for the first lady of Hawaii. She generally doesn’t know half of the people at a big party and may never have met the guests of honor until they walk in the front door. Guest lists are prepared by the governor’s protocol officer.

Ebert remembers a party given for former President Harry Truman, his wife, and their daughter, Margaret. “Margaret had gone to school with my sister Pauline in Washington when dad was a delegate from Hawaii. So we had some young people there--something of a departure. Harry Truman sat down at Queen Liliuokalani’s piano and played ‘The Missouri Waltz’ for us.”

Burns, too, did her share of VIP entertaining during the administration of her late husband, John Burns, although she didn’t expect to enjoy it. “I had a lot of fun, and I never thought I would. It opened a lot of doors. I could make a difference by the strength of my husband’s position and people listened to me.”

It was she who recruited top garden experts in the state to rebuild the deteriorating garden at Washington Place and to plant the showplace rose collection.

Termites Took Their Toll

The house was partially rebuilt during the King Administration when someone stepped through a hole in the floor near the front door. Severe termite damage required extensive repairs.

During the Quinns’ stay, family quarters were extended over the enclosed lanai. There was no major construction or reconstruction during the Ariyoshi Administration. Rather, Jean Ariyoshi authorized the cataloguing of historic contents of the house, something never attempted before.

During the Burns Administration, security at Washington Place was improved. Ebert recalled that people wandered in an out of the property while her father was governor.

All of the first ladies agreed that, whatever inconveniences Washington Place may create, it should remain Hawaii’s First Family’s official residence.

“It was built to be a home and it is the oldest home still in use in the state,” Beatrice Burns said. “It has a history, Hawaii’s history, since it was built in 1846.”

Long, Perilous Voyages

Washington Place was built 140 years ago as the last major act of a clipper ship captain. John Dominis had made many perilous trips from Boston around Cape Horn to Hawaii before he decided to settle with his wife and son in Honolulu.

He acquired the land, had the house built by island craftsmen, and then boarded the brig William Neilson bound for China, where he planned to buy furniture. The ship was never heard from after leaving Honolulu.

His widow, unable to maintain the big house, rented rooms to boarders. One was Anthony Ten Eyck, American commissioner to Hawaii, who established the American legation there. It was his idea to name the house after his country’s first president.

John Dominis’ son John Owen Dominis grew up in Washington Place and in 1862 brought home his bride, the High Chieftess Lydia Kamakaeha. When her brother, David Kalakaua, became King of Hawaii, he named her heir apparent under the title of Princess Liliuokalani.

She inherited the throne in 1891 and two years later was deposed when the Hawaiian monarchy came to an end. Liliuokalani lived at Washington Place until her death in 19l7. In 1919, the house was bought by the Territory of Hawaii to be used as the official residence of the governor.

Many of the original furnishings are still in Washington Place, including the queen’s koa wood piano and the guitar on which she composed “Aloha Oe.”