Utulei | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.png)  Utulei  Utulei | |
| Coordinates:14°17′13″S170°40′59″W / 14.28694°S 170.68306°W /-14.28694; -170.68306 | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory |  American Samoa |
| County | Maoputasi |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.33 sq mi (0.85 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 479 |
| • Density | 1,500/sq mi (560/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−11 (Samoa Time Zone) |
| ZIP code | 96799 |
| Area code | +1 684 |
Utulei orʻUtulei is a village inMaoputasi County, in theEastern District ofTutuila, the main island ofAmerican Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, thelegislative capital of American Samoa, and is located on the southwest edge ofPago Pago Harbor.[1][2][3] Utulei is the site of many local landmarks: TheA. P. Lutali Executive Office Building, which is next to theFeleti Barstow Library; paved roads that wind up to a former cablecar terminal on Solo Hill; the governor's mansion, which sits on Mauga o Alii, overlooking the entrance to Goat's Island, and the lieutenant governor's residence directly downhill from it; theLee Auditorium, built in 1962; American Samoa's television studios, known as theMichael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center; and theRainmaker Hotel (a portion of which is now known asSadie's Hotel). Utulei Terminal offers views ofRainmaker Mountain.[4]
Also in Utulei are some of the hotels based in Pago Pago, such as Sadie’s by the Sea,[5] and the Feleti Barstow Library (American Samoa’s central public library), which is located across fromSamoana High School.[6][7][8] The library, which has the largest selection of literature in American Samoa,[9] was developed between 1998 and 2000 with funds from theCommunity Development Block Grant, a program of theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.[citation needed]
Utulei Beach Park has an enormousfale with ornate carvings, which is used for performances and events. Smaller fales in the park are used for everyday gatherings. Across from Utulei Beach Park is the Executive Office Building andFeleti Barstow Public Library. Next to the library is the largest high school on Tutuila Island,Samoana High School.[10]
| Year | Population[11] |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 479 |
| 2010 | 684 |
| 2000 | 807 |
| 1990 | 930 |
| 1980 | 980 |
| 1970 | 1,074 |
| 1960 | 719 |
| 1950 | 744 |
| 1940 | 488 |
| 1930 | 375 |
Utulei is by tradition considered distinct from Fagatogo because it is the site of Maota o Tanumaleu, the residence of the High Chief Afoafouvale (also known as the Le Aloalii). The current holder of that title isAfoa Moega Lutu, who has held it since 1990.
On November 3, 1920, GovernorWarren Terhune mounted to the second floor of theGovernment House in Utulei, entered a room commanding an unobstructed view to the south through the entrance of Pago Pago Bay, and committed suicide by shooting himself.[12][13]
During World War II, the population of the village of Utulei, around 700 inhabitants, was almost entirely displaced to make room for US military installations. One Naval officer was said to have describe Utulei as consisting of "a few native houses". The inhabitants were told to move out of the village and into the hills, and bachelor officers’ quarters and other military support facilities were built there.[14] During World War II, the 1922 facilities for the storage of oil were insufficient for the demands of the war, and had to be replaced by a new oil dock inFagatogo and a new tank farm at Utulei, the two being connected by piping. The electric power plant, which had lighted theU.S. Naval Station, gave way to two larger plants located respectively inPago Pago and in Utulei, which provided power for the ship repair unit and other vital wartime installations.[15]
On January 11, 1942, during World War II, shells from a Japanese submarine struck, ironically enough, the house of one of the few Japanese residents, Mr. Frank Shimasake, in Utulei, the only Japanese-owned building in the archipelago.[16][17]
In 1946, a vocational school was established in the former Marine barracks at Utulei, under the direction ofHarry Matsinger, an educator from Hawai’i. Twelve of its fourteen teachers were perforce Americans, and their salaries alone amounted to roughly one-fifth of the total educational budget in American Samoa.[18]
In 1946, the Public Health Department of American Samoa found its facilities grossly inadequate for the post-war demand. The old hospital, built in 1914, was too small and antiquated, and the U.S. Navy’s Medical Department could not be expected to provide all health services indefinitely. To address this issue, GovernorHarold Houser turned two-story barracks at Utulei over to the department. These now-vacant Marine barracks were renovated and repurposed as a new 224-bed hospital—sometimes referred to as the Hospital of American Samoa — and included between 24 and 27 bassinets, along with a pharmacy and a dentistry. The hospital opened its doors in 1946. By 1950, it had admitted 2,771 patients and delivered around 40 percent of all babies born that year in American Samoa. Nursing needs were met by graduates of the local nursing school, while medical requirements were fulfilled by students chosen for the Central Medical School.[19][20]: 247 and 267 After the Navy's departure in 1951, however, there was a severe shortage of physicians and other health care professionals. In 1954, for example, there were only four doctors (one stateside and three European), and only one dentist. The hospital therefore depended heavily on nurses to provide its patient care.[20]: 268
In 1964, theMichael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center was completed.[21] It is named for RepresentativeMichael J. Kirwan, who was chairman of theHouse Appropriations Committee.[20]: 279–280 [22]
In the late 1960s, questions about where American Sāmoa's capital should be arose again after GovernorOwen Aspinall moved his office to Utulei. Some argued that this violated theAmerican Sāmoa Constitution, which designatesFagatogo as the capital and seat of government. Aspinall, however, was protected by the fact that Utulei is a subvillage of Fagatogo.[23]
In 1980, during celebratoryFlag Day military demonstrations, a U.S. Navy airplane accidentally hit the cables of the Mount ‘Alava Cable Car and crashed into theRainmaker Hotel. All six naval personnel on board the aircraft died, as did two hotel guests.[24]: 167
In 1995, GovernorA. P. Lutali restructured the Public Library Board to implement the 1989 plan for establishing a main public library in American Sāmoa. Construction of the library in Utulei was completed in 1998, resulting in an 11,000-square-foot facility built byFletcher Construction, a New Zealand-based firm. After 18 months of legislation, development, and planning,Cheryl Ann Morales and her team officially opened the library to the public on April 15, 2000. The library quickly became a central hub for community activities in Utulei.[25]
Surface runoff - fromUtulei Ridge, theTogotogo Ridge, andMatai Mountain - flows through Utulei, carried by theVailoa Stream. The stream discharges into the sea at a point on the north side of thePago Pago Yacht Club in Utulei.[26]: 24–26
Historical records reveal that, prior to 1900, extensive areas along thePago Pago Harbor coastline, including the present-day locations ofAua and Utulei villages, were covered bymangrove vegetation.[27]
Utulei Beach Park is one of only a few public parks inPago Pago — and onTutuila Island as a whole. It was built by theU.S. Navy in the 1940s by filling in a marshy area near thePago Pago Harbor. Next to the park are two historic naval buildings erected in the 1940s — two of four remaining original structures built here by the Navy during World War II - as well as the Pago Pago Yacht Club and the ASG Tourism Office. The park includes a grassy area with scattered trees and picnic sites. It is used for recreational activities, such as volleyball and picnicking, and is a common gathering place for social activities and events. The adjoining beach is used for canoe racing, kayaking, and windsurfing.[28]
In 2006, the governor proposed approving the addition of aMcDonald's restaurant to Utulei Beach. He said he hoped the restaurant would boost activity during the evenings, a time when the area was usually almost deserted. This was a controversial proposal, because Utulei Beach is a designated park area that has received substantial funding from theNational Park Service.[29] The proposal was defeated.
In 2009,then-GovernorTogiola Tulafono designated Su’igaula o le Atuvasa as one of the venues for the 10thFestival of Pacific Arts, slated to be hosted by American Samoa in the summer of 2010. Su’igaula o le Atuvasa is the portion of the beach closest to the former site of thePago Pago Yacht Club.[30]
Another public park in Utulei is Su’igaulaoleatuvasa, which is managed by theAmerican Samoa Parks and Recreation department.[31]
The $10-millionA. P. Lutali Executive Office Building, constructed in 1991, is located near the Pago Pago Yacht Club. TheFeleti Barstow Public Library, constructed in 1998, is located just behind the Executive Office Building. Beyond the library is a paved road that winds upwards to the former cable-car terminal on Solo Hill. A monument on the hill recalls a 1980 disaster in which a U.S. Navy airplane hit the cables and crashed into the Rainmaker Hotel, killing eight people. The cableway had been one of the world's longest single-span aerial tramways; it had been constructed in 1965 to carry TV technicians to the transmitters at the top ofMount ʻAlava. In December 1991,Hurricane Val put the cableway out of service, and it has yet to be repaired. But the Utulei terminal is still visited because of its views, including its view of Mt. Pioa (also called the Rainmaker Mountain).
Also located in Utulei are theLee Auditorium, built in 1962, and theMichael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center.[32][24]: 166 It was at this television center, during the tenure of GovernorH. Rex Lee, that the pioneering practice began of broadcasting school lessons to elementary and secondary school students Guided tours of the Michael J. Kirwan TV Studios have been available in the past.[24]: 167
The two-storyGovernor's House is a wooden colonial mansion atop Mauga o Ali'i (the chief's hill), uphill from a road across which is the entrance to the Rainmaker Hotel. The mansion was constructed in 1903, and served as the residence of each of the island’s naval commanders in turn until 1951. At that point, theDepartment of the Interior assumed control of the mansion, and it has been the residence of everygovernor of American Samoa since then.[24]: 167
Pago Pago Yacht Club, next to the Canoe Club in Utulei, is the center of water sports activities in American Samoa. It offers game fishing, diving, canoeing, sailing, diving, and more. The historic club building, next toPago Pago Harbor, is used as a place to retreat and for dining. The yacht club is a member of theInternational Yacht Racing Union and the American Samoa National Olympic Committee.[33]
Utulei is also home toTauese PF Sunia Ocean Center, which is the visitor center for theNational Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. It offers informative exhibits on region's ecosystems and reefs.[34][35]
Blunt's Point, on Matautu Ridge in Gataivai, overlooks the mouth ofPago Pago Harbor. On it are two large six-inch naval guns that were emplaced in 1941. Matautu Ridge can be reached from Utulei by walking southeast on the main road past the oil tanks, keeping an eye out on the right-hand side for a small pump house immediately across the highway from a beach, and almost opposite two homes on the bayside of the street. The track up the hill to Matautu Ridge starts behind the pump house. The lower gun is located directly over a big green water tank, and the second gun is located 200 meters farther up the Matautu Ridge. Concrete stairways lead to both of the guns.[32] One gun emplacement is listed on theU.S. National Register of Historic Places, while the second gun has earned recognition as aU.S. National Historic Landmark. They are maintained by theNational Park Service.[36] The 3-km World War II Heritage Trail, which ends at Blunt's Point, is the most accessible and most popular trail on Tutuila Island. The ridge-top trail winds past various ancient archeological sites as well as World War II installations that were erected to fend off a potential Japanese invasion.[37] Farther on, the trail leads into a bird-filled rainforest.[38]
At the time of the1990 U.S. census, there were 156 houses in Utulei village. Between 1990 and 1995, 23 new residential building permits were issued, so that, by 1995, there were 179 houses. As of 2000, there were 60 commercial enterprises registered in the village, many of which are housed in the one- or two-story buildings on the southwest side of the shoreline roadway. Smaller shops are found in predominantly residential communities upland from Samoana High School and theExecutive Office Building.[26]: 24-23 and 24-25
Diesel fuel is delivered monthly toTutuila Island from Long Beach, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, supplied byMarlex and Pacific Resources, Inc. The fuel is carried by pipe from the dock area to an energy-storage tank farm operated by Marlex in thePunaoa Valley in Utulei.[39]
TheAmerican Samoa Department of Education operatesSamoana High School in Utulei (originally called theHigh School of American Samoa).[40] It opened in 1946, and was the first high school established in the territory.
TheAmerican Samoa Community College (ASCC), established in 1970, was located in Utulei during its first four years of operation. From 1972 to 1974, it was housed in the former Fia lloa High School building[41] and in the former navy buildings that had once housed theHigh School of American Samoa. By the spring of 1972, the college had 872 enrolled students.[42]
Feleti Barstow Public Library, the central public library for American Samoa, is located in Utulei.
14°17′13″S170°40′59″W / 14.28694°S 170.68306°W /-14.28694; -170.68306