Tai Sing Loo
Encyclopedia
Tai Sing Loo was a photographer of Pearl Harbor
and many sporting events in Hawaii
.
From 1919 until his retirement in 1947, he served as an official Navy photographer. In that capacity, he photographed the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the battleships, and recorded VIP
visits and recreational events. He also photographed for the Interisland Steamship Company and was an accomplished landscape photographer. Some of his well-known photographs include many of Duke Kahanamoku
, Pearl Harbor
before and after the bombing, celebrities and presidential visits to Hawaii. In 1984, the US Navy honored Tai Sing Loo with a calendar chronicling his career. Tai Sing Loo also helped to break the Japanese Codes that were put into false newspaper advertisements that detailed when the attack would occur and the formations of the planes for the attack.
He was married to Florence Loo and had two sons and two daughters; Franklin Ting Fai Loo (1934–2002), Robert Ting Ho Loo, Florence Loo(Baptist), and Evelyn Loo(Lee).
Tai Sing's father, Sam Choy Loo, almost contracted yellow fever just before he arrived in Hawaii in the 1880s on a ship called the Cassandra. The Loo family came from Kwangtung, China, Chung Shan (Koon sheoung Doo Society). Sam Choy Loo was a Gold Leaf Sign Painter. Tai Sing had two brothers; Tai Chung, Hoon (Cowboy), three sisters (names not known). Sisters married into the Choy family, Young/Lum family (Broom Factory). One daughter never married and is buried in a plot at the Pauoa Chinese Cemetery. Parents and brothers are buried in Manoa Chinese Cemetery. Tai Sing grew up in Honolulu in what is now Foster Gardens. The first listing of the Loo family was in 1908 in the Honolulu city directory
and the 1910 Census. Tai Sing's mother used to pray for people at Kwan Yin Temple on Vineyard Boulevard and River Street. The only Christian of the Loo family, the others practiced Daoism and Buddhism and honored Kwan Yin. Tai Sing lived on the US mainland in Twentynine Palms, California
. Moved to Manoa Marquis Lane. Tai Sing and Hoon were isolated from the rest of the Loo family due to practicing Christianity and his father's traditional ways. Hoon was disowned from the family because he married a Hawaiian woman.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
and many sporting events in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
From 1919 until his retirement in 1947, he served as an official Navy photographer. In that capacity, he photographed the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the battleships, and recorded VIP
Very Important Person
A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...
visits and recreational events. He also photographed for the Interisland Steamship Company and was an accomplished landscape photographer. Some of his well-known photographs include many of Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian swimmer, actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming.-Early years:The name "Duke" is not a title, but a given name...
, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
before and after the bombing, celebrities and presidential visits to Hawaii. In 1984, the US Navy honored Tai Sing Loo with a calendar chronicling his career. Tai Sing Loo also helped to break the Japanese Codes that were put into false newspaper advertisements that detailed when the attack would occur and the formations of the planes for the attack.
He was married to Florence Loo and had two sons and two daughters; Franklin Ting Fai Loo (1934–2002), Robert Ting Ho Loo, Florence Loo(Baptist), and Evelyn Loo(Lee).
Tai Sing's father, Sam Choy Loo, almost contracted yellow fever just before he arrived in Hawaii in the 1880s on a ship called the Cassandra. The Loo family came from Kwangtung, China, Chung Shan (Koon sheoung Doo Society). Sam Choy Loo was a Gold Leaf Sign Painter. Tai Sing had two brothers; Tai Chung, Hoon (Cowboy), three sisters (names not known). Sisters married into the Choy family, Young/Lum family (Broom Factory). One daughter never married and is buried in a plot at the Pauoa Chinese Cemetery. Parents and brothers are buried in Manoa Chinese Cemetery. Tai Sing grew up in Honolulu in what is now Foster Gardens. The first listing of the Loo family was in 1908 in the Honolulu city directory
City directory
A city directory is a listing of residents, streets, businesses, organizations or institutions, giving their location in a city. Antedating telephone directories, they have been in use for centuries....
and the 1910 Census. Tai Sing's mother used to pray for people at Kwan Yin Temple on Vineyard Boulevard and River Street. The only Christian of the Loo family, the others practiced Daoism and Buddhism and honored Kwan Yin. Tai Sing lived on the US mainland in Twentynine Palms, California
Twentynine Palms, California
Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...
. Moved to Manoa Marquis Lane. Tai Sing and Hoon were isolated from the rest of the Loo family due to practicing Christianity and his father's traditional ways. Hoon was disowned from the family because he married a Hawaiian woman.