Tucked away on an 89-acre parcel of oceanfront land on Oahu’s north shore in Kahuku between Turtle Bay’s golf course and Kahuku’s famous shrimp farm sits the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station. The hauntingly beautiful property has long since been abandoned and gives us a rare glimpse into the United State’s telecommunications history.
The station was named after Guglielmo Marconi, an electrical engineer who invented and commercialized a method in which to transmit morse signals wirelessly over great distances. The idea was that signals could be transmitted around the world: from Great Britain to New Jersey, then Panama, the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippines, Singapore and India, Africa, and finally Great Britain again. However, World War II interfered with the creation of the British Imperial Chain, and the goal was not met.
When the wireless station opened for operation in 1914, it was the largest wireless telegraph station in the world - in terms of power and capacity, that is. In just two years, regular communication between Hawaii and Japan was frequent, covering a distance of 4,200 miles.
The property of four distinct buildings ranging in height from one to two and a half stories - including a powerhouse and operating building, manager’s cottage, and administration building.
The station was repurposed as an air base - specifically, as an airstrip sending cargo planes off to their destinations across the Pacific - during World War II, and after Hawaii was linked to the United States mainland through the use of undersea telephone cable in 1957, the use of telegraph stations declined.
Purchased by Marconi Point LLC in 2005, the property currently sits vacant, constantly deteriorating, until owner Jeremy Henderson can determine the right use for the property. "I’d love for the Marconi buildings to be restored, preserved and approved for adaptive reuses, which would share the history while generating income from the property," said Henderson to HAWAII Magazine.
The Marconi Station sits on property that is referred to as Makai Ranch, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. It is one of only two remaining telegraph stations in Hawaii; there are only a few other receiving stations found throughout the country.
You can read about photographer Jonathan Haeber’s trip to the Marconi Wireless Station here. If you love exploring abandoned places, we think you might be interested in this epic road trip to some of Oahu's most abandoned places.
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