Rainbows Over Kapa'a
Bill Fernandez, owner of the Roxy Square, has just had published a memoir he wrote about growing up in Kapa'a during the pre and post war years. It details a time when the Aloha spirit was alive and well, and chronicles how his parents built and operated the Roxy Theater, once the largest theater in all Hawaii. This book can be purchased online at www.wfernandez.com, or picked up at Borders Kaua'i, and Kepler's in Menlo Park, CA.
The Roxy Theater
For more than 3,000 years the moving image across a screen has entertained audiences all over the world. It is this fascination for pantomime that intrigued William Antone Fernandez as he witnessed his first silent movie at the start of the 20th century.
William Antonne eventually entered into a partnership with a movie entrepreneur. This partnership soon dissolved, yet W.A. Fernandez's share of the termination was the movie equipment.
Hiring a horse and cart, W.A. began to travel the circuit of the plantation camps throughout the islands of Hawaii, screening his shows in whatever venue was available. In his travels he came to Kapa'a where he met Joseph Scharsch who owned a hall that would seat 200 people. Fernandez rented the hall to show movies.
Yet 200 seats did not seem enough. Nor was the rented hall much better than a warehouse. W.A. dreamed of a real movie house with carpeted stairs, comfortable seats, and state of the art equipment.
On December 30, 1936 W.A. Fernandez purchased an acre of ground in Kapa'a town. He began planning his theater.
Packing his wife and daughter onto the S.S. Lurline, Fernandez embarked for San Francisco. For two years he studied theaters from West Coast to East Coast. Finally he saw what he wanted in the Roxy Theater in New York City.
At first his conception of size was to build a theater of 600 seats, but soon he became convinced that war in the Pacific was coming and the size grew to 1,100 seats. It was planning on a grandiose scale; when built it would be the largest theater in Hawaii.
In the fall of 1939 the Roxy Theater of Kapa'a opened. It was a magnificent three-story structure housing state of the art projection and sound equipment as well as a world class performance stage. With carpeted halls and a beautiful foyer it was an outstanding motion picture theater.
Many thought it was a grand mistake, but when the Great War did break out, the island was soon home to thousands of military personnel with little else to do ... except go to the movies. Fernandez's great mistake was a hit.
For 63 years it provided a place of entertainment for thousands of locals, tourists, and U.S. servicemen. Over the years, stars like Lauritz Melchior, Yehudi Menuhin, and Marion Anderson appeared at the Roxy Theater. At the height of its entertainment life Roxy Theater and its surroundings was the liveliest place on Kaua'i.
With the advent of the conglomerated theater complexes, the audiences at the theater slowly dwindled down to mere dozens - local faithful who enjoyed figuring out images and designs in the 3 story water spots decorating the walls while they waited for the movie to start.
On September 8, 1992 Hurricane Iniki struck, destroying the ocean side of the theater and hurling parts of its roof throughout the District of Kawaihau.
Today nothing remains of the Roxy. But in its place the current owner, the son of W.A., has built a boutique shopping center, naming it the Roxy Square in memory of W.A. Fernandez.
The Square has allowed the Roxy to once again become a successful part of Kapa'a town and is currently filled with happy shoppers and interesting knick knacks and souvenirs to keep its part of the town still lively and entertaining.
