Rainmaker Hotel was a 250-room luxury hotel in

Utulei Utulei or Utulei is a village in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District, American Samoa, Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fag ...

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. It was the only proper hotel in American Samoa and was operated by the government. The hotel was at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was known as the Pacific's Intercontinental Hotel. The hotel was dedicated in November 1965. The four-day hotel opening celebrations began with a flag-raising at the Governor's Office on

Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

, followed by a royal ‘ava ceremony conducted at the

Fagatogo Fagatogo () is the downtown area of Pago Pago (the territorial capital of American Samoa).Grabowski, John F. (1992). ''U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series)''. Chelsea House Pub. Page 51. . Located in the low grounds at the foot o ...

malae by Taumafaalofi and Aumaga of Nuʻuuli. The parade that followed was the longest in history. Several members of the U.S. Congress attended and the Air Force Band played music. Senator

Alan Bible Alan Harvey Bible (November 20, 1909 – September 12, 1988) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1954 to 1974. He previously served as Attorney Genera ...

was the featured Flag Day speaker and the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

sent its top officials. Governor John A. Burns came from Hawai'i with General Harris of the Air Force and Admiral Fabik of the Coast Guard. Prime Minister Mata'afa headed the

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...

n delegation. In 1980, an air disaster occurred when a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

plane hit the cables of the Mt. Alava aerial tramway and crashed into the hotel, killing the six servicemen aboard and two tourists who were staying at the hotel. The hotel manager reportedly refused that a memorial be erected inside the hotel grounds. The hotel hosted most of the Miss Island Queen Pageant competitions between 1987 and 2001. In May 2002 the hotel was ordered to pay a US$400,000 overdue power bill to the American Samoa Power Authority. In March 2003 the ASPA cut off its power for a night after failing to receive payment. In 2004 the government agreed to lease part of the hotel to businessman Tom Drabble. In August 2004 the American Samoan Senate rejected a government bail-out plan. In 2014 it was announced that the derelict hotel would be demolished. It was demolished in 2015 after sitting deserted for over a decade.

History

On February 21, 1964, it was reported in the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' that the Area Redevelopment Administration (ARA) had announced a million-dollar loan toward constructing a hotel in

. The ARA stated in the article that “only tourism… offers a sound basis on which to restructure the economy.” It was anticipated that tourists would be arriving in increased numbers due to new scheduled flights. The paper notes that “if Samoa were independent… it would doubtless be getting a far costlier restructuring.””Restructuring in Pago Pago." ''

'' (Feb. 21, 1964). Page 8.

References

{{coord, 14.2897, S, 170.6800, W, source:wikidata, display=title Hotels in American Samoa Buildings and structures demolished in 2015 Demolished buildings and structures in American Samoa