Classic Kamaaina Home Restored, Offered By Owner

The historic Nuuanu mansion known as Lihiwai (water’s edge) was designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue for Hawaii’s second Territorial Governor George Robert Carter and his wife, Kodak heiress and philanthropist Helen Strong Carter.

One of the great American architects of the turn of the century, Goodhue was based in New York but came to Hawaii to confer with Anna Rice Cooke (Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke), who had selected him as the chief architect for the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The Academy had been chartered by Mrs. Cooke in 1922 and was built on the site of her Beretania Street estate, which she donated along with portions of her art collections.

When Goodhue died unexpectedly in 1924, an associate, architect Hardie Phillip, took over both projects. The Honolulu Academy of Arts opened in 1927 and Lihiwai was completed in 1929.

One of the largest homes to be built in Hawaii with more than 40 rooms, Lihiwai, also commonly referred to as the Carter mansion, originally occupied ten acres. The residence is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Its current owner, David Dressel, has been in the process of restoring it for the past 30 years and recently placed it on the market at $4,500,000.

According to listing Realtor Ron Munoz, principal broker of the Million or More Corporation, the original estate was subdivided and the remaining 2.313 acre tract he is currently listing includes the main house, the east wing, gardens with mature and rare trees, and three roadway parcels. Nuuanu Stream, which feeds the natural swimming pool, runs through the Diamond Head side of the property.

The main house and east wing include six bedroom/bath suites, most with separate dressing rooms, a drawing room, dining room, library, double kitchen, breakfast room with solarium, flower room, lady’s powder room, men’s smoking room, sewing room, trunk room, housekeeper’s offices and quarters, butler’s pantry, vestibule, foyer, portico, and loggia.

The two story main living area, with a total of 21,407 square feet, also includes a 6,452 square foot cellar. The east wing’s main living area is approximately 3,392 square feet; its lower level once served as a theater and housed the poolside dressing rooms.

“Enlisting the services of many of the artisans from Iolani Palace and a paint specialist from Annapolis, Maryland, Dressel used photographs from the 1930s and details sent to him by friends and relatives of the Carter family to revive Lihiwai and her illustrious history. Over the past three decades, Dressel dedicated his life and holdings to rescue this proud lady from obscurity,” Munoz said.

“For example, he spent years extracting adhesives from the ohia floors after peeling back linoleum that a previous owner had installed. The slate, sandstone, ceramic tile, and scored concrete floors have also been cleaned and buffed. He managed to pierce layers of paint on the walls to obtain chips of the original colors so he could duplicate them. Also, as much as possible, he has retained and replicated original bathroom appliances and fixtures. Closets and cabinets are lined with most of the original cedar. The original bronze window and door framing remains intact. The clay tile roofing had deteriorated, so Dressel replaced it with standing seam copper roofing at great expense. The original 80 year old Otis Elevator, which is sought after as a museum piece, is in operation daily and connects three floors. The entire home is cooled and ventilated by a forced air system based on a plan by Bertram Goodhue and installed in collaboration with Carter.

“It has been an honor to personally witness the renaissance of Lihiwai during her custody by David and Valaree Dressel. We are awed each time we have the privilege of crossing the threshold and sharing the elegant rooms of those who shaped the foundations of our state scores of years ago. We hope that those who follow the Dressels as residents of Lihiwai will continue their painstaking efforts to recapture the grace and grandeur of this historic home.”