HONOLULU
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort celebrated the completion of its newly restored, iconic Rainbow Mural on June 23 with a traditional Hawaiian blessing and dedication ceremony.
The event was attended by media, local tourism officials, contractors and other dignitaries. Hilton invested $4.25 million to ensure the two-sided mural, once named the world’s tallest mosaic when it was first revealed in 1968, would be an exact replica of the original designed by renowned artist Millard Sheets.
The original mosaic, designed by Sheets, consisted of more than 16,000 hand-painted ceramic tiles on two sides of the 31-story Rainbow Tower with the focal point being 2.5 miles away, which on the ocean side, provides a warm welcome for visitors flying to Oahu. For the reproduction of the 286 feet high by 26 feet wide mosaics, Hilton contracted specialist United Kingdom-based Johnson Tiles – a company with a long history in both restoration projects and ceramic art tile production.
The restoration project started in September 2013 with the removal of the existing tiles from both sides of the tower. The process of creating and installing the tiles included a detailed tile-by-tile review and extensive photographic comparisons by Johnson Tiles experts, allowing them to perfectly color-match and intricately replicate each of the mural’s tiles. The new mural features more than 31,000 tiles.
New artwork by Tony Sheets is also incorporated at the base of the mountainside mural.
Following the opening of the Rainbow Tower in 1968, a gala unveiling of the Rainbow Mural was held celebrating the completion of the world’s largest mural. Hundreds of dignitaries attended including the Governor of Hawaii, John A Burns and U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. Barron Hilton, then president of Hilton Hotels Corporation and son of its founder, Conrad, represented the hotel company at the event.
