Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 27, 2026

Edwin L. Bauer

Edwin Leo Bauer was an American architect, who worked in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Last revised
Jul 27, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
531 w
Citations
26
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Edwin Leo Bauer
BornOctober 28, 1905 1
San Francisco, California, USA
DiedDisappeared in 1984
Last seen in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationArchitect
ProjectsHawaiian Village Hotel (1955)

Edwin Leo Bauer (1905–c. 1989) was an American architect, who worked in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Early life and education

Originally from San Francisco, Bauer relocated to Honolulu in 1940, influenced by Roy Kelley, a fellow classmate from the University of Southern California. Bauer relocated to Honolulu in 1940.2

Career

Bauer worked on residential, commercial, public, and religious buildings in Hawaii.3 A member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) from 1944, until his presumed death in 1984,4 5 His projects used natural ventilation and local materials.

Disappearance and legacy

On March 26, 1984, Bauer disappeared, last seen entering a bus along Kuhio Avenue in Honolulu.2 He had limited vision and Alzheimer’s disease at the time of his disappearance.2 Despite extensive searches, his fate remains unknown, and he was presumed dead 5 years later in 1989.2

Bauer was a leading architect in Hawaii's mid-century architectural scene alongside contemporaries such as Alfred Preis, George "Pete" Wimberly, and Vladimir Ossipoff.2626

List of works

Bauer designed the following projects in Hawaii:

  • Saint Patrick Catholic Church (school addition, 1950), Honolulu, Hawaii; 16 classroom building connected to the Catholic church
  • Kuhio Homes Low Rent Housing Project (1952), Kalihi, Honolulu, Hawaii; 20 unit low rise affordable housing project.22
  • St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church (1952), 720 North King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii; an ecclesiastical building in Honolulu.227
  • Breakers Hotel (1954), 250 Beach Walk, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; two-story, sixty-four-units with Japanese details8
  • Hawaiiana Hotel (1955), 260 Beach Walk, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; the design was similar to the nearby Breakers Hotel but more modern9
  • Hawaiian Village Hotel (1955; now Hilton Hawaiian Village), Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; a resort hotel and hallmark of tropical modernism.2
  • Palolo Valley Homes Housing Project (1956), Honolulu, Hawaii; another affordable housing project by Bauer.2
  • White Sands Hotel (1958), 426 Nahua Street, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; multi-building courtyard hotel.
  • Kaiser Foundation Medical Center (1958, demolished in 1986), 1701 Ala Moana Blvd., Waikiki, Hawaii; with lanais and views of the Ala Wai Harbor.1011
  • The Kalia (1958), 425 Ena Road, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; a residential building in Waikiki.66
  • Harbor View Plaza (1965–1968), 1676 Ala Moana Blvd., Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; condominiums in with “Waikiki Gateways” special district design historic preservation status.12
References

References

  1. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995". FamilySearch. 27 November 2014. Edwin L Bauer, 28 Oct 1905; citing San Francisco, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  2. Fawcett, Denby (2018-11-06). "What Happened To This Honolulu Architect Is Still A Mystery". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  3. "1950 Architecture exhibit". The Honolulu Advertiser. 1950-04-09. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  4. "1951 AIA convention". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1951-11-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  5. "AIA Historical Directory of American Architects". AIA Historical Directory. 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  6. "The Works of Edwin Bauer (Docomomo Hawaii)". ThinkTech Hawaii. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  7. "St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church". SAH Archipedia. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  8. Hibbard, Don J. (2018-07-16). "Breakers Hotel". SAH Archipedia. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  9. Hibbard, Don J. (2018-07-16). "Hawaiiana Hotel". SAH Archipedia. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  10. "Kaiser Foundation Medical Center Waikiki". Docomomo Hawaii. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  11. "Kaiser Foundation Medical Center Waikiki". Docomomo Hawaii. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  12. "Oct 26, 1965, page 9 - The Honolulu Advertiser at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-22.