Neal Shaw Blaisdell (November 6, 1902 – November 5, 1975) served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

from 1955 to 1969 as a member of the

Hawaii Republican Party The Hawaii Republican Party (HRP; ) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP) in Hawaii, headquartered in Honolulu. The party was strong during Hawaii's territorial days, but following the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 the Democrat ...

. As chief executive of the

City and County of Honolulu Honolulu County (), officially known as the City and County of Honolulu (formerly ''Oahu County''), is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five counties in the state. The city-county includes both Urban Honolulu ( ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, he oversaw one of the largest construction booms in city and county history, working closely with

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John A. Burns. Blaisdell was the sitting mayor when Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959.

Early life

Blaisdell was born in

and had European and Hawaiian ancestry. His father was William Wallace Blaisdell II, who served as fire chief of Honolulu; and his mother was Maliaka "Malie" Alaneao Merseberg. A maternal great-grandfather was

John Adams Cummins John Adams Kuakini Cummins (March 17, 1835 – March 21, 1913) was a member of the nobility of the Kingdom of Hawaii who became a wealthy businessman, and was involved in politics as the kingdom was overthrown. Life John Adams Kuakini Cummins ...

. A paternal great-grandfather, John Blaisdell (1812–1889), came to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

in 1849.

Education and athletics

Known as "Rusty", Blaisdell played basketball, football and baseball at

Saint Louis School Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of St. Louis Heights in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the ...

. He attended the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and later transferred to

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

in Lewisburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, where he was quarterback of the school's football team, graduating in 1926. He was also a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. He received Bucknell's Alumni Award for Meritorious Achievement in 1968. Although Blaisdell also played basketball and baseball, he was inducted into the Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 in the football category. He was also a golfer, and started his day with push-ups. He returned to Honolulu to become a teacher, high school coach and athletic director.

Public service

Blaisdell was elected representative of the 4th district to the legislature of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

in 1945, and the territorial senate in 1947 and 1949. In 1950 he ran for

Mayor of Honolulu The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two fo ...

, but withdrew after suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Blaisdell ran against

Frank Fasi Frank Francis Fasi (August 27, 1920 – February 3, 2010) was an American politician who was the longest-serving Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, serving for 22 years. He also served as a Hawaii State Senate, territorial senator and member of the Ho ...

and was elected in 1954, taking office in 1955. As mayor, he oversaw the construction of the John H. Wilson Tunnels through the Koʻolau Range from

Kalihi Valley Kalihi is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States. Split by Likelike Highway (Route 63), it is flanked by Liliha, Chinatown, and Downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua, and Salt Lake to ...

; and erected the Hawaii International Center, a multipurpose complex with a concert hall, convention center, exhibition hall and sports arena. After Blaisdell's death, his successor, Fasi, renamed the complex in Blaisdell's honor; is now known as the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic W ...

. From 1965 to 1966, Blaisdell was president of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded ...

Death and legacy

Blaisdell married Lucy Thurston on October 23, 1926. Their daughter Velma Blaisdell Clark married James Kalaeone Clark and was a teacher for the Hawai`i State Department of Education. Their daughter Marilyn Blaisdell Ane married another football coach and taught at

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

for 28 years. Blaisdell suffered a stroke while doing yard work and died on November 5, 1975, one day shy of his 73rd birthday. He is buried at

Oahu Cemetery The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemet ...

. A park of on the shore of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

(at ) was named for him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaisdell, Neal S. 1902 births 1975 deaths Mayors of Honolulu Hawaii Republicans 20th-century mayors of places in Hawaii Burials at Oahu Cemetery Saint Louis School alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Bucknell University alumni Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors Native Hawaiian politicians