History

History of Castle Memorial Hall (home of the Children’s Center)

Building a Rainbow: A History of the University of Hawai‘i's Mānoa Campus Edited by Victor N. Kobayashi Published 1983. Castle Memorial Hall (1941) by Patrice Choy Situated on the west side of the University campus stands Castle Memorial Hall. With its airy classrooms, wide lanais and spacious courtyards, it has served its purpose as a preschool facility. In November, 1939, the University was presented with a $300,000 gift from the Samuel and Mary Castle Foundation for the building of a training center for kindergarten and nursery school teachers. $100,000 was allocated for the construction of the facility and $20,000 was designated annually over a 10-year period to support the program under the University's Teachers College, It was named the Castle Memorial Hall in honor of Henry and Dorothy Castle The gift for the Iraining center grew out of a long tradition of dedication to exceilence in education by the Castle family with the main strength coming from Mary Castle. in January 1895 her youngest son Henry and his daughter Dorothy were lost at sea in the disaster of the steamship, the S.S. Elbe, while enroute to Honolulu after visiting in Germany. This tragic event became a turning point for education in Hawaii. Mrs. Castle and her husband. Samuel, had always had a fond interest in progressive education. In recognition of her son's interest in young children and education. and as a fitting tribute to her kindergarten age granddaughter, Castle established the first Henry and Dorothy Castle Memorial Kindergarten in 1899. Castle wanted the kindergarten "to be the embodiment of the best and most enlightened education" and was able to achieve this goat by approaching family Iriend and philosopher, Dr. John Dewey in Chicago. Dewey had started his famous Laboratory School in connection with the University of Chicago with the purpose of the necessity of working out something to serve as a model " He also stated that We want the school in its relation to the University to be a working model of a unified education." In preparation for her own school, Mrs. Castle requested the incorporation of a kindergarten in Dewey's new school, Covering all expenses she also asked that he personally select and train a teacher who would come to Hawaii and organize the Castle Memoral Kindergarten, patterned after the Chicago school A building to house the new kindergarten was built on the Castle estate located on King Street near Kawahao Church. In the Fall of 1900, Miss Florence La Victoire arrived in Hawaii after having one year of training with Dewey and opened the new kindergarten with the first class of 35 students, predominantly Hawaiian. Due to poor health she resigned in June, 1902, after serving as the first director of Castle Memorial Kindergarten. The Castle Kindergarten became one of the most progressive schools in Hawaii and the establishment of the training center on the Universily campus was a
A comfortable wooden building with hallways that open into several courtyards is the Henry and Dorothy Castle Memorial Hall, that has historical ties with the famous philosopher and educator, John Dewey. Completed in 1941, just before Pearl Harbor, the building marked the involvement of the College of Education in kindergarten and early childhood education. The building was carefully planned for young children and incorporated many innovative ideas. There were so many requests for the building's plans from educators throughout the U.S. in the forties that Dean Benjamin Wist began to charge requestors for the expenses involved in meeting the requests. The courtyards meet the dreams of Frederich Froebel, the German founder of the kindergarten, "a garden where children grow." University Photo by Masao Miyamoto (n.d.) A portrait of Mary Castle was loaned to the University for hanging in Castle Memorial Hall in May 1941. A well-known painter of the time, Wilton Lockwood, painted the portrait in 1903, and it was placed over the fireplace in the once beautiful social hall, Today it hangs in the office of Dr. Arthur R. King, Jr., Director of Curriculum Research and Development Center, which operates the University Laboratory Schools. Photo by Paul S. K. Yuen (1982) Two replicas of classical statues, Boy with Thorn in his Foot, and Sleeping Chloe were given to the University in 1947 by Mrs. George F. Straub, and were placed in one of the courtyards of Castle Memorial Hall, near Dole Street. Unfortunately only Chloe remains; the Boy has been missing for several years, probably stolen. University Archive Photo (n.d.)
The University Elementary School building on Metcalf Street, on the ewa end of the central campus, was built in 1939 for $57,068.91 as part of the Teachers College (today, College of Education) complex. The wooden structure has double-pitched roofs, characteristic of the "Hawaiian Style" architecture. University Photo by Masao Miyamoto (1967) The original Hale Laulima building was constructed in 1940, as the second women's dormitory. The building later served as offices for the Counseling and Testing Center, and then the Community College system. The new Hale Laulima, behind the Korean Studies Center, was built in 1968. Today the wooden structure is called the "Dole Street Offices." University Photo by Masao Miyamoto (1963) The original Hale Laulima building was constructed in 1940, as the second women's dormitory. The building later served as offices for the Counseling and Testing Center, and then the Community College system. The new Hale Laulima, behind the Korean Studies Center, was built in 1968. Today the wooden structure is called the "Dole Street Offices." University Photo by Masao Miyamoto (1963) The Manoa Campus in 1941. Printed about eight months before Pearl Harbor, this map was also used later, in the 1945-46 Student Directory suggesting hardly any change in the campus for most students, except for some military barracks and a wooden University High School Building added in the intervening years. University Map (1941) From Ka Leo (Apri 23, 1941)
continuation of the educational ideals of Samue and Mary Castle and their son, which the Castle Foundation was dedicated to serving. The training center became the Castle Memorial Kindergarten as the original school was discontinued and was handed over to the University with the appropriation of the gift money. In January 1941, the University of Hawaii Board of Regents and Castle Foundation trustees approved plans drawn by Honolulu architect Mark Potter. He received assistance from various local preschool authorities and University of Hawaii's Dean Keller and Dean Wist. Input from mainland school architects and preschool educators was also incorporated. Eager to see the training program become a reality, and aware of rising cost factors and the shortage of labor due to military defense work on the island, in April 1941, the foundation gave the University an additional $50,000 for construction. In October 1941, they also granted Honolulu contractor Haydn Phillips an extension for completion due to rising construction costs. The completion date was moved to November 1941. In 1941, the U. S. Army began confiscating materials arriving at Honolulu boat docks that they determined useful for their work. This affected construction at Castle Memorial Hall when the Army decided they needed plumbing fixtures and took what was to be used in the building. They ended up returning the one-foot-high toilets suitable for small children to Castle Memorial Hall. On November 1941, Castle Memorial Hall was officially opened with an invitational party attended by foundation trustees and University of Hawaii and state government officials. Architect Potter created a sensible one story wooden burlding taking advantage of the indoor-outdoor lifestyle of Hawaii. Until 1976, a long trellised walkway led to the main entrance at the center of the H-shaped building. This middle section consisted of an administration office, a library, lecture room, and 78 health center. Long corridors unite the three sections of the building and on the makai end facilities for two-and three-year-olds were located. Workrooms and playrooms, with tall glass sliding doors, lined with ample lanais still remain. The doors open wide to ramps leading to fenced-in play yards with large trees, a wading pool and sand box. The mauka wing housed comparable facilities for four- and five-year olds, a cafeteria capable of serving 125 children, and the social hall. Classes began on November 17, 1941, and within weeks Pearl Harbor was attacked and the University was forced to close. Due to a lack of enrollment at the kindergarten training center, Dean Benjamin Wist of Teachers College felt that to close the new school would not be too crucial to the University at that time. Dr. Deal Crooker, principal of Punahou Elementary, heard about Wist's plan and the idea that Punahou lease Castle Memorial Hall for its classes moved forward. Punahou was attempting to centralize its students in one location after the Army occupied their buildings. Many elementary and high schools offered their facilities to Punahou, but none allowed for consolidation of its classes. In February 1942, after detailed negotiations, the University leased to Punahou the facilities at the Teachers College including Castle Memorial Hall. The building provided Dr. Crooker's elementary classes with an ideal setting Crooker added goats to the backyard behind the social hall and they remained until a member of the Castle family expressed his disapproval. Punahou used Castle Memorial Hall until 1945 when the University was able to reoccupy the building and resume classes there in September 1945. Castle Memorial Hall has been a well-used facility and presently houses the University of Hawaii Curriculum Research and Development Group and the Hawaii Headstart program. It also provides the University Laboratory School art department with studio space.