Those who have ridden Skyline have had a chance to look at the artwork featured at each station. The designs on the concrete columns are meant to reflect stories that are connected to each of the 21 stations.
However, the signs that are supposed to explain the artwork are missing.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation started selecting the designs and names ten years ago.
Daniel Kanekuni, vice president of WCIT Architecture, joked that he was hired so long ago that it was hard to remember some of the details.
Still, he is happy that people will be able to better appreciate the way the company showcased the history of the area.
There are images of pre-contact times and post-contact stories, from ʻulu in Hoʻopili to hula dancers in Halawa.
“We tried to make it so that wherever the station was located, out in Kapolei or as you head toward town, there’s enough space so that each station was in its own ahupuaʻa,” Kanekuni said.
“Within that space were either legends or stories, or at least bullet points, that we could take from each station. We did a ton of research for each station.”
HPR reached out to HART to ask why the art still lacked proper signage.
They said a contract for the signs went out in April 2022. Content for the signs is under review.
HART says it hopes to have signs for the first nine stations by the end of the year.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 13, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
