Harry Sims Bent Sites

In 1932, the city government began grading work and site preparations on the grounds of the Ala Moana park with the help of territorial relief funds. But it was the advent of federal assistance in 1933 that expanded the scope of construction and park development. Robert Weyeneth describes the process in the volume, Ala Moana: The People's Park: "The Federal Employment Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) and, briefly, the short-lived Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) provided the resources for the park board to undertake a major construction program in the thirties. During the construction program funded by the CWA and FERA, the daily labor force was as...

This shore-side park was constructed with CWA and FERA funds. From a Department of Land and Natural Resources calendar: "The moderne style, FERA funded Ala Moana Park East Entry Gateway (1934), designed by Harry Sims Bent, was officially named the Roosevelt Portals, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to Hawai'I to formally dedicate and open Ala Moana Park on July 27, 1934." The Roosevelt Portals are located at the east entrance to the park.  

Part of the Ala Moana Park complex, the Sports Pavilion and Banyan Court were designed by architect Harry Sims Bent and built with the help of federal funds and FERA and CWA labor. “The simple concrete exterior walls of the sports pavilion do not suggest the exotic richness of the banyan court hidden behind its walls. The banyan court is probably the best-kept secret in Honolulu's parks today; it is also perhaps Harry Sims Bent's most noteworthy design. The sports pavilion and banyan court were officially completed 1937, although much of the sports pavilion had been finished somewhat earlier, by 1935....