On this day in 1927, Hawaiian Olympian swimmer Duke Kahanamoku (1890–1968) celebrated his 37th birthday by opening the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium.

The structure, built for $252,000, was designed as a living memorial to 102 Hawaiian servicemen who died during World War I. It sits near the gentle slopes of Diamond Head, a sacred place of peace and power.

“Vita enim mortuorum in memoria vivorum posita est,” wrote ancient Roman orator Cicero—“The life of the dead lives on in the memory of the living.”

At the heart of the natatorium is a tide-fed saltwater pool where world-renowned swimmers like Kahanamoku, Buster Crabbe, and Johnny Weismuller once trained.

Generations of children learned to swim there. But over time, neglect led to deterioration, and the pool was closed in 1979 for safety reasons.

n 2000, a bold $11.5 million restoration effort began—an act of love to honor the past and breathe new life into the Natatorium. But restoring a saltwater pool on the ocean’s edge brought complex challenges. Decades of wear, shifting tides, and new safety standards paused the work—but never the dream.

Though the pool remains closed, the graceful arches still rise against the Waikīkī sky, holding space for memory, sacrifice, and aloha. With each tide, hope returns. The Natatorium endures—not just as a place, but as a promise: that what we build with love is never forgotten. This is the spirit of ka hoʻomau (perseverance, continuation, and enduring strength).