Some would say the decision settling the fate of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, built as a memorial to Hawai'i's World War I soldiers, already had been made, over the course of decades. So many years went by without a commitment to maintenance that full restoration of the facility became a difficult fiscal burden.

In recessionary times, that burden becomes a practical impossibility.

So the administration of Mayor Mufi Hannemann would be reasonable to follow its original inclination to dismantle the seawater pool and preserve its distinctive columned facade elsewhere.

The mayor now has the recommendation of its task force to do just that. But its options were constrained long ago.

The Natatorium was closed in 1979 after three decades of neglect. According to the Friends of the Natatorium Web site, the last recorded public investment in capital maintenance prior to its closing was $100,000 in 1949. Sustaining a saltwater pool, especially one this exposed to the elements, requires a regular schedule of maintenance, something the Natatorium, unfortunately, never had.

A spirited rally for its salvation yielded a plan 10 years ago, along with $11.5 million for the restoration. After the facade and restrooms were repaired, opposition from critics who favored restoring the beach on the site, as well as delays creating health regulations for the saltwater pool, put the renovation work on hold.

Ultimately the funding lapsed back to the city's coffers. Now the city has set the pricetag to complete the rehabilitation at $57 million. At this stage of Honolulu's economic doldrums, that is simply a nonstarter.

The 82-year-old facility is on the national and state registers of historic places, meaning that its dismantling will require additional oversight by state historic-sites officials.

Regrets over the Natatorium's neglected state don't change the current reality: Honolulu can't assume the liability of restoration and upkeep the Natatorium would require. Salvaging the facade as a historic tribute to our war dead, and the beach for the use of all residents and visitors, remains the best option now.