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College Hill was built on six lots in the College Hills Tract in lower Manoa Valley.
College Hill
The College Hill residence was built in 1902-3 on a knoll in the newly established College Hills Tract in lower Manoa Valley. On land once leased by Punahou School to a dairy farm, the College Hills Tract was considered "country" when young Frank C. Atherton brought his wife Eleanore there, but it soon became a desirable residential area served by a streetcar, which traveled up Oahu Avenue and made a wide U-turn around the Atherton home on Kamehameha Avenue.
Designed by architect Walter E. Pinkham, the shingled two-story wood-framed house was influenced by the late Queen Anne, Prairie, and Craftsman styles, but its lava rock piers, ohia floors, and large lanai denote it as Hawaiian.
College Hill was home for 60 years to the Atherton family, who donated it to the University of Hawaii in 1964 for use as the UH president's residence. It was listed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places in 2002 as part of the College Hills Tract Thematic Nomination.
In 2008-9 the University hired Mason Architects to design improvements, primarily exterior structural repairs and modifications to interior finishes, for the residence.
MAI prepared drawings and specifications for:
Repairs to the porte cochere
Repairs to the foundation, floor framing, and lanai stair
Repair and refinishing of the deck
Roof and drainage repairs
Replacement of wood floors on the first floor
Repair and refinishing of wooden windows and doors
Repair and refinishing of frames, casework, and shelving
These construction documents were followed by an Existing Condition Analysis and a Historic Structure Report to plan and prioritize future work projects.
Photos: MAI and Hawaii State Archives |
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College Hill circa 1910-20. Photo from the Hawaii State Archives.
The porte-cochere has piers of lava rock.
The new floors in the parlor are made of ohia wood.
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