 Anders Elias Jorgensen (born Denmark, active
United States, 1838–1876) View of Honolulu from Punchbowl, 1875 Oil on canvas mounted on board
Gift of Hester M., Richard C., and David E.
Vanderburgh in memory of Richard M. Vanderburgh,
1981 (4954.1) The Danish artist Elias Jorgensen, a resident of
Oakland, California, came to Hawai‘i in 1875
as a vacationing tourist. So captivated was he by
the charms of the islands that he decided to stay awhile, and he sent for his easel and
sketchbooks in order to so that he could sketch the scenery in and around Honolulu. This bird’s eye view of the city looks beyond out over
the crumbling remains of old Punchbowl Fort, erected
to defend Honolulu, to Waikīkī and Diamond Head
beyond it. Although the old fort was erected to defend
Honolulu, its cannons, of
various sizes and origins, were never fired a militant
shot. Instead, they called upon to fire a shot, save
when pressed into service to salute incoming vessels
and/or to record royal births, deaths, and marriages. The fort's only casualty was said to
have been an unlucky citizen caught by the accidental
discharge of a cannonball. Then as now, the rim of
Punchbowl Crater was famous for the superb
panoramic views of the town it afforded. The ribbonlike
path of the road below its summit leads past
pastures, ponds, and marshy areas to the palm-
-fringed-shores of Waikīkī. Although occasional
signs of habitation are visible along the way, but the
area would not be developed until a few years later
with the drilling of artesian wells. |