“A Haven in the Heights”

As Makiki Heights Drive ascends the lower slopes of Mount Tantalus, every turn reveals a new view of the city below or the forested landscape. Views are one of the attractions of this neighborhood; another is the integrity of the residential development that has been maintained over the years.

Vintage homes and estates, many the work of Hawaii’s most distinguished architects, have been preserved, upgraded, and extensively remodeled by new owners; the percentage that has been razed to make way for new structures is comparatively small. Some of the larger estates have been subdivided but generally open space has not been compromised.

Proximity to downtown Honolulu is another of the neighborhood’s features, and one that attracted Honolulu’s kama‘aina families who built their homes there a century ago. Such families included the Cookes, the Spaldings, and the Judds, one of whom, Laurence McCully Judd, served as Hawaii’s seventh Territorial Governor from 1929 to 1934.

Judd’s successor, Governor Joseph Boyd Poindexter, also moved up to the heights, where he built a home in 1935. Situated on 31,861 square feet of R-10-zoned fee simple land, the 3,853-square-foot home is now available from Coldwell Pacific Properties for $3.48 million — after 30 years in the care of a couple who purchased it from Mortimer Feldman, the co-founder of the Honolulu clothing company Tori Richards.

Listing agent for the property, Realtor Margaret Murchie, was part of the transaction with the buyers, Paul and Kathryn Sylvester, three decades ago.

“My clients, who were based in Idaho and California, had been looking for a suitable home for several years,” Murchie said. “Mr. Sylvester was a Palos Verdes real estate investor who fell in love with Hawaii while stationed here in the Navy, and he and Kathryn went back and forth often. Eventually we were lucky enough to purchase this home. Years later, their only daughter inherited the property, and lived in it for several years.”

Murchie has many fond memories of the years she lived in the home. “I came to appreciate what I consider the best weather on the island,” she said. “Most evenings it sprinkles lightly, and the lush tropical vegetation is very happy here. The three-quarter-acre property includes gorgeous banyan trees, palms, and an expansive landscaped yard that terraces downward with rock pathways.” She said her client, the daughter, named it “Where nature smiles.”

Located at the end of a long secluded driveway off Tantalus Drive, not far from the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu at Spalding House, the home still exudes the kama‘aina feel of Hawaii 85 years ago. The most prominent architectural feature is its grand lanai, an open, half-circle with elegant columns that Murchie described as “reminiscent of the governor’s mansion, Washington Place.” Adjacent to the lanai, is the main living room with high-vaulted ceilings, fine wood flooring, and a huge fireplace. Other features of the four-bedroom, three-bath, two half-bath home, are a fully equipped kitchen, butler’s pantry, reading room, abundant windows for natural light and cool breezes, ceiling fans, inviting window seating, French doors to the covered terrace, and double dining-room doors to the lanai, which Murchie described as “perfect for indoor or outdoor entertaining.” The home also includes a 650-square-foot maid or guest quarters; the garage can accommodate three cars.

“This wonderful home is very private and ready to welcome a new family,” Murchie said.

Murchie is hosting an open house Sunday, February 17, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home, located at 2549-B Tantalus Drive. For more information or to arrange a private showing, contact her at 226-6600 or MargaretM@cbpacific.com.