The Cathedral Fountain

​The Cathedral’s beautiful fountain fronting South Beretania Street was a gift of long-time members Robbins Battell and Mary Morris Anderson, and their children.  Mr.  Anderson, a lawyer, was also a warden of the Cathedral. It was unveiled on December 24, 1959. Bishop Kennedy read a short service, and Dean James S. Cox read a Psalm.

The court of the fountain, made of cream limestone paving stones, is 40 x 80 feet. The fountain pool is 48 x 42 feet and features a 10 foot high bronze statue of St. Andrew, fisherman and missionary apostle. He is surrounded by ten bronze fish emitting streams of water high into the air and at his feet. The fountain symbolizes the theme, “Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Matthew 24:14 and 28:19) inscribed in the stone curbing surrounding the fountain.

The fountain was designed by Carleton Winslow, of Beverly Hills, CA, and constructed by Mario Valdastri & Son, of Honolulu.  The figure of St. Andrew was built by Yugoslavian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, while the fish were executed by French-born Robert Laurent, both men well-known in their fields.  

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​A plaque on the Diamond Head/makai end of the fountain reads:

St. Andrew by Ivan Meštrović
Fish by Robert Laurent
Architect Carleton Monroe Winslow
This fountain is the gift of Robbins Battell & Mary Morris Anderson
and their children 1958

​At the time of the unveiling, Meštrović was teaching at Notre Dame in Indiana. Laurent, considered one of America’s foremost sculptors, was at the time a sculptor in residence at the American Academy in Rome, Italy.

Area lighting for the fountain was also a gift from a Cathedral member, according to a plaque on the Beretania St. side of the fountain curb which reads:

Olive Tree and Fountain Lighting
Given by Col. Jonike E. Heny, U. S. A. Ret.
To the Glory of God
And in Loving Memory of
John Kendall Henry
Esther Ellis Henry
Nelda Henry Chapman

​In 2020, the fountain was extensively re-surfaced and given a tile ring around the waterline. The plumbing was repaired, along with a number of the spouting fish. The lighting of the fountain and central statue is currently under study, and we hope to install new lighting in 2021.​