The world-famous architect I.M. Pei, who died Thursday at age 102, may be best known for designing the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre in Paris.

But Pei also did notable work in Honolulu.
The modernist architect designed the Imin Center at Jefferson Hall, located on the East-West Center campus, in 1963. It includes an auditorium, meeting rooms, dining rooms and a reading lounge.
“The East-West Center community will be forever grateful to the architectural master I.M. Pei for the enduring legacy he has left us in the form of the Center’s extraordinary structures,” said EWC President Richard R. Vuylsteke. “His genius has helped make our campus recognizable across the globe, and has provided the inspirational backdrop for a special environment where world leaders have gathered and thousands of scholars and students from all over the world have come to share ideas and experiences.”
Pei also designed the Kennedy Theatre, which opened in 1963. It sits on the University of Hawaii Manoa campus directly opposite the Imin Center.

Kennedy is the home base for the productions of the Department of Theatre and Dance and hosts events such as the Asia Pacific Dance Festival.
It features a 620-seat mainstage theater and a 140-seat flexible “black box” space, named the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre after one of the department’s long-time faculty members.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB.