Uncertainty over the future of one of O'ahu's most historically and culturally significant spots has been resolved with the sale of Moanalua Gardens by the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon to an heir who intends to keep it open to the public.
John Philip "JP" Damon, a great-grandson to the namesake of the $900 million estate, bought the 22-acre, one-time home of Prince Lot, who became Kamehameha V, for $5.05 million. Damon, 45, took title to the property Friday.
One of Hawai'i's earliest public parks, it hosts the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest noncompetitive hula festival. It also is home to the so-called "Hitachi tree," one of two exceptional monkeypod trees on the property that are on the National Historic Register. The tree's nickname comes from its use in television commercials by Japan's Hitachi Corp., making it a popular photo stop for Japanese visitors here.
The historic site has been operated by the Damon Trust for public use since 1924, but the impe!
nding dissolution of the trust has had many worried that it could fall into the hands of an entity that would be insensitive to its role as a place for public respite, disrespectful of its past, or both.
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