Alfred Preis

Constructing a Monument

The existence of the memorial owes much to Elvis Presley. Following the conclusion of World War II, the USS Arizona remained undecorated until 1950 when commander-in-chief in the Pacific Admiral Arthur W. Radford ordered a flag platform erected over the sunken hull. Six years later the platform was declared unsafe and removed. In response the U.S. Congress authorized the construction of an Arizona Memorial and established a commission to raise private funds for its construction. A national campaign commenced on December 7, 1957, but after three years, was still far from its goal. In 1960 the Navy asked Hawaii’s Pacific War Memorial Commission, chaired by Tucker Gratz, to take on the fund raising. The fund raising continued in a meager manner, with only $7,300 in private donations obtained by November 1960. The turning point in the fund-raising campaign came on March 26, 1961, when Elvis did a benefit performance at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena, raising over $64,000 for the memorial. More importantly, the concert sufficiently increased public awareness to raise the necessary construction funds not only from the private sector ($275,000), but also Congress ($150,000), and the Hawai‘i State Legislature ($100,000).

The construction of the memorial had to await the availability of sufficient moneys and moved forward in two phases. The Navy initially took the project out to bid in May 1960, following test borings by drilling contractor Nat Whiton. However, the sole bid came in too high. As a result, the project was split into two phases, with the first phase being the placement of the piles and girders to support the memorial. Navy shipyard crews began driving the piles in June 1960, and on October 4, 1960, the first of four pre-stressed concrete girders, each weighing 130 tons, was put in place.

The second phase of the project, the building of the memorial itself, did not commence until October 1961, six months after Elvis’ concert, when all moneys were in hand. Honolulu building contractor Walker-Moody was the low bidder, and they completed the project on time for the dedication of the memorial on May 30, 1962.

The memorial was one of the last projects Alfred Preis would work on as an architect.