Charles William Dickey
Encyclopedia
Charles William “C.W.” Dickey (6 July 1871 – 25 April 1942) was an American architect
famous for developing a distinctive style of Hawaiian architecture
. He was known not only for designing some of the most famous buildings in Hawaii—such as the Alexander & Baldwin Building, Halekulani Hotel
, Kamehameha Schools
campus buildings—but also for influencing a cadre of notable successors, including Hart Wood
, Cyril Lemmon, Douglas Freeth, Roy Kelley, and Vladimir Ossipoff
.
. His maternal grandfather, William P. Alexander, was an early missionary to Hawaii. His mother was Anne Alexander (1843–1940), whose brother Samuel Thomas Alexander
founded Alexander & Baldwin
with Henry Perrine Baldwin
who was married to his aunt Emily Alexander. His father was Charles Henry Dickey (1841–1932). He grew up in Haikū
on Maui
, but he returned to California for schooling. After finishing high school
in Oakland, California
, he obtained a B.A.
in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1894, then worked with Clinton Briggs Ripley
(1896–1900) and E.A.P. Newcomb (1901–1905) in Honolulu, Hawaii
, before returning to open his own firm in Oakland. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii
style can be seen in Punahou School
's Pauahi Hall (1894–96), the Bishop Estate Building on Merchant Street (1896), the Irwin Block (Nippu Jiji building) on Nuuanu Street (1896), and Progress Block on Fort Street (1897) in Downtown Honolulu
, the last now occupied by Hawaii Pacific University
. One of his finest early designs was the Italianate
Stangenwald Building
(1901) on Merchant Street. Many of these are contributing properties to the Merchant Street Historic District
.
Even while in Oakland, Dickey continued to design for clients in Hawaii. In 1920, he reopened an office in Honolulu, in partnership with Hart Wood, and then returned for good in 1925. This time he felt a stronger need to adapt his buildings to the local environment, declaring in 1926: "Hawaiian architecture is a type distinctive to itself and Mediterranean styles must be adapted to fit local conditions before they are at all suited to the islands." He favored larger open spaces and fewer walls, to allow the tradewinds to circulate, and roofs with projecting eaves in order to keep rain out without having to close the windows.
The shape of the roof and the projecting eaves became such a Dickey trademark that it became known locally as the "Dickey roof": a hip roof
with a "double-pitch", that is, a shallower pitch
at the eaves, as can be seen on the house he constructed in 1926. So many other architects have adapted this roof style over the years that it has now become a stereotypical feature of a "Hawaiian sense of place."
During the 1920s, Dickey designed guest cottages in Waikiki
for the Halekulani Hotel
that attempted to replicate the charm of Hawaiian grass houses. In 1930 he completed the hotel's Honeymoon Cottage, and in 1931 its main building. He designed the Waikiki Theatre
in 1936. In 1940 he designed another new hotel at the edge of the Kīlauea
volcano for Greek businessman George Lycurgus
called the Volcano House
.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
famous for developing a distinctive style of Hawaiian architecture
Hawaiian architecture
Hawaiian architecture is a distinctive style of architectural arts developed and employed primarily in the Hawaiian Islands of the present-day United States — buildings and various other structures indicative of the people of Hawaii and the environment and culture in which they live...
. He was known not only for designing some of the most famous buildings in Hawaii—such as the Alexander & Baldwin Building, Halekulani Hotel
Halekulani hotel
Halekulani is a U.S. luxury hotel located on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It has 453 rooms in five buildings on of property. Halekulani is a Hawaiian word meaning "House Befitting Heaven"....
, Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...
campus buildings—but also for influencing a cadre of notable successors, including Hart Wood
Hart Wood
Hart Wood was an American architect who flourished during the "Golden Age" of Hawaiian architecture. He was one of the principal proponents of a distinctive "Hawaiian style" of architecture appropriate to the local environment and reflective of the cultural heritage of the islands...
, Cyril Lemmon, Douglas Freeth, Roy Kelley, and Vladimir Ossipoff
Vladimir Ossipoff
Vladimir ‘Val’ Ossipoff was an American architect best known for his works in Hawaii.Vladimir Ossipoff was born November 25, 1907 in Vladivostok, Russia, but grew up in Tokyo, Japan, where his father was a military attaché of the Russian embassy, and emigrated to the United States in 1923...
.
Biography
Dickey was born in Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
. His maternal grandfather, William P. Alexander, was an early missionary to Hawaii. His mother was Anne Alexander (1843–1940), whose brother Samuel Thomas Alexander
Samuel Thomas Alexander
Samuel Thomas Alexander co-founded a major agricultural and transportation business in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Early life:In November 1831, the Reverend William Patterson Alexander and Mary Ann McKinney Alexander arrived in April 1832 as missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands...
founded Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
with Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry Perrine Baldwin was a businessman and politician on Maui in the Hawaiian islands. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Henry Perrine...
who was married to his aunt Emily Alexander. His father was Charles Henry Dickey (1841–1932). He grew up in Haikū
Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii
Haiku-Pauwela is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 6,578 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Haiku-Pauwela is located at ....
on Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, but he returned to California for schooling. After finishing high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, he obtained a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1894, then worked with Clinton Briggs Ripley
Clinton Briggs Ripley
Clinton Briggs Ripley was an American architect active in Honolulu, Hawaii, from the 1890s until the 1920s. He arrived from California in 1891 at the age of 42, became Commissioner of Patents in 1894, then formed a partnership with a junior but well-connected local architect, C.W...
(1896–1900) and E.A.P. Newcomb (1901–1905) in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, before returning to open his own firm in Oakland. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
Work
His initial designs in Hawaii were eclectic. Influences of the then popular Richardsonian RomanesqueRichardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style can be seen in Punahou School
Punahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
's Pauahi Hall (1894–96), the Bishop Estate Building on Merchant Street (1896), the Irwin Block (Nippu Jiji building) on Nuuanu Street (1896), and Progress Block on Fort Street (1897) in Downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, governmental, and central part of Honolulu—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District...
, the last now occupied by Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University, also known as HPU, is a private, Nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Honolulu, Hawaii and Kaneohe, Hawaii. HPU founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W...
. One of his finest early designs was the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
Stangenwald Building
Stangenwald Building
The Stangenwald Building at 119 Merchant Street, in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii was the city's first high-rise office building, with its own law library, and one of the earliest electric elevators in the Territory when it was built in 1901...
(1901) on Merchant Street. Many of these are contributing properties to the Merchant Street Historic District
Merchant Street Historic District
The Merchant Street Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, was the city's earliest commercial center.-Location:Bounded roughly by Fort Street at the southeast end and Nuuanu Avenue at the northwest, its older, low-rise, brick and stone buildings, surrounded by contemporary, concrete high rises,...
.
Even while in Oakland, Dickey continued to design for clients in Hawaii. In 1920, he reopened an office in Honolulu, in partnership with Hart Wood, and then returned for good in 1925. This time he felt a stronger need to adapt his buildings to the local environment, declaring in 1926: "Hawaiian architecture is a type distinctive to itself and Mediterranean styles must be adapted to fit local conditions before they are at all suited to the islands." He favored larger open spaces and fewer walls, to allow the tradewinds to circulate, and roofs with projecting eaves in order to keep rain out without having to close the windows.
The shape of the roof and the projecting eaves became such a Dickey trademark that it became known locally as the "Dickey roof": a hip roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
with a "double-pitch", that is, a shallower pitch
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
at the eaves, as can be seen on the house he constructed in 1926. So many other architects have adapted this roof style over the years that it has now become a stereotypical feature of a "Hawaiian sense of place."
During the 1920s, Dickey designed guest cottages in Waikiki
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
for the Halekulani Hotel
Halekulani hotel
Halekulani is a U.S. luxury hotel located on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It has 453 rooms in five buildings on of property. Halekulani is a Hawaiian word meaning "House Befitting Heaven"....
that attempted to replicate the charm of Hawaiian grass houses. In 1930 he completed the hotel's Honeymoon Cottage, and in 1931 its main building. He designed the Waikiki Theatre
Waikiki Theatre
Waikiki Theatre was located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It opened August 20, 1936 and closed November, 2002. It was demolished April, 2005. The architect was Charles William Dickey.-External links:* Theatre Historical Society of America website...
in 1936. In 1940 he designed another new hotel at the edge of the Kīlauea
Kilauea
Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...
volcano for Greek businessman George Lycurgus
George Lycurgus
George Lycurgus was a Greek American businessman who played an influential role in the early tourist industry of Hawaii. He ran afoul of the government of the Republic of Hawaii and was accused of treason...
called the Volcano House
Volcano House
Volcano House is the name of a series of historic hotels built at the edge of the Kīlauea volcano, within the grounds of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Island of Hawai'i. The original 1877 building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now houses the Volcano Art Center...
.