Back in 1937, super wealthy San Franciscans William and Lurline Roth became the second owners of the grand Filoli estate located in Woodside, California. (Think “Dynasty,” the 80’s TV show that was actually filmed there.) Well, the link to Hawaii tourism lies in Mrs. Roth’s maiden name, Matson. From the early 1920’s until the 1970’s,…
After the death of her husband in 1893, Jane Lathrop Stanford became sole trustee of Stanford University. For the next ten years, she involved herself in the daily running of the institution. She worked closely and often butted heads with Stanford University president, David Starr Jordan—particularly over issues of academic freedom and political patronage. By…
I remember the first time I stumbled across the statue of the weeping angel on campus. I had no idea that the entire Leland Stanford family (father, mother, and son) was buried right there, in a dusty and secluded grove of oaks between two towering palm trees. This part of Stanford University (at the juncture…
At the grand and venerable Moana Hotel might seem a bit like a cat with nine lives. The gracious hotel was originally built among one and two-story summer residences and small bungalows on the sands of Waikiki at the turn of the 20th century—the first of its kind geared to the newly-hatched tourist trade. Today…
