HAWAI'I LIFEMid-Century Modern Living in Hawaii Kai’s Portlock
Portlock is Hawaii Kai’s most prestigious upscale community. Why? This is where Henry J. Kaiser, who developed Hawaii Kai, chose to build his personal residence. Most of the homes along Portlock Road were built around the 1950s.
Today, many have since been torn down and rebuilt. If you haven’t been able to tell from some of my past blogs, I have a passion for mid-century modern architecture and architects such as Valdimir Ossipoff and Alfred Preis.
This Alfred Preis home (MLS# 1101376) is available for $2,800,000
So, you can imagine my excitement when the listing agent on this Portlock Road home told us all during a broker’s open that Alfred Preis was the architect of this home. Not only does this home have a modern and timeless feel, it is also a great deal!
As of today, there are 13 homes available in Portlock that range from $1,850,000 to $23,000,000. This home is one of the best values as it comes with its own tennis court and boasts a lot that is over 28,000 square feet (which is huge for Honolulu).
Seldom do you find a Honolulu home with a tennis court these days…let alone view of Koko Crater!
Personally, I love the home above. However, if you’re a mid-century modern junkie, have more money, and want an oceanfront (yes, Portlock is a beach community) home, here are 2 more options:
- This home (above left) (MLS# 1105116) for $3,500,000
- This home (above right) (MLS# 1011666) for $3,995,000
All three are some great options if you’re looking for that type of architecture in Hawaii Kai. As I mentioned earlier, homes in Portlock were built first in the 50s, whereas the rest of Hawaii Kai was developed later (primarily 1970s), so these Portlock homes are in the ‘Primo’ locations.
If you have interest in Portlock homes or mid-century modern homes on Oahu, contact me for more information.
What a gorgeous home! I love Hawaii Kai/Portlock area and I especially love 1950′s modern. Let’s not forget all the other great architects like Albert Fray, who established modern architecutre centered around Palm Springs, known as “desert modernism” or Joseph Eicler, who was actually a Real Estate developer who built 11,000 homes in and around L.A. and San Francisco. We are fortunate that we have these types of homes that come up for sale right here in Hawaii and how lucky is the person who buys this beautiful piece of heaven on earth; just beautiful!!
@Kathy- Frey and Eichler are both great architects in their own right. Thanks for bringing them up. Both Ossipoff and Preis are less known (nationally), however more better known here. Since we’re a smaller marketplace, we also don’t come across them as often, which makes their homes more of a ‘gem’ when they hit market in my opinion.
Aloha David –
These wonderful homes seem to be rare in Hawaii, especially properties that have been restored with the original design in mind – are any available as vacation rentals?
Mahalo,
Bradley Jones
@Bradley – I’m not aware of any as vacation rentals off the top of my head (mid-century wise) with some of the architects mentioned above. However, there are most likely vacation rentals on Oahu w/ homes built in that era.