Members and sponsors received an invitation to the Friday preview event of the new Hawaiian Hall. The actual reopening was scheduled for the next day, the Saturday, Aug. 8 2009 . Parking was completely taken by fortunate owners of a local parking pass. I was not one of them. We mortals/remote visitors were directed to a public school parking lot on the next street and walked back to the museum. The line was almost 200 yards/meters long, but it moved quickly. Organization was very good. We were issued time slot tickets and entered the museum in small groups in 15 minutes intervals. My ticket was for 7:15pm.

We were all waiting with great anticipation and we were not disappointed. The restoration of the Hawaiian Hall was a grand project by any standard and it was beautifully done. The hall has now a new exhibit on all 3 levels. A connecting passage and elevator between the Hawaiian and Polynesian Halls have been added. Between these both halls is now located the restored to its original look Picture Gallery.

This is what the Hawaiian Hall looked like before... The great skeleton of a sperm whale is still hanging from the ceiling, now accompanied by a Hawaiian canoe and several other models of maritime fauna. The probably visually first noted changes are the missing stage from the ground floor. The columns are now dark, complementing the warm color of the wood. A colorful contemporary artwork decorates the entire wall to the right of the main entrance.

Patrons of the museum were invited to a special reception. Refreshments were provided to all visitors in a series of tents placed on the museums lawn. All halls and buildings were open.